Medal of Honor Campaign Review

There are a number of things that Danger Close studios did right with the most recent installment of the Medal of Honor franchise.  This is the first foray into the world of modern military action for fans of the MOH titles, albeit a controversial one.  Medal of Honor follows the actions of the United States Special Forces operatives as they fight Al Quaeda in the mountains of Afghanistan.  Though the scope of the war is limited to only a few days of conflict, the developers succeeded in creating an immersive environment depicting the gritty "hit and miss" nature of the war on terror.  Some have criticised the story telling style chosen for this title given the lack of overall character development and depth that other recent titles have provided, but I felt the wide angle approach on this ongoing conflict was more appropriate.  Furthermore, over the top theatrics and villains weren't really needed to enhance the mood of this game.  The war on terror is something that most Americans don't need any help relating to, and it was easy to feel the frustration and urgency that the game's characters were experiencing.  In the end, it was obvious that MOH is a spectacular vehicle for showing that the war in the Middle East is not one measured by complete victories, but one that is fought by inches rather than miles. 

Like so many titles in MOH's genre, the story was somewhat short with an average play time of 5 to 6 hours depending on skill.  It is obvious that the campaign was more or less a supplement to the multi player experience that most developers are eager to sell.  EA games doesn't hide the fact that they are trying to chip away at the hold that their rival Activision Studios has taken in today's first person shooter market.  Regardless, the completed campaign didn't leave me wanting.  The brevity of the campaign mode was justified by the variety of game play included throughout it's span.  However, there were some game play elements that I felt detracted from the game's overall credibility.  The action style of MOH is not entirely original in today's FPS market, and there were some stylistic points that seemed "borrowed" directly from the competition.  One scene that has Tier 1 operatives breaching a Taliban hut employs a slow motion aim and shoot mechanic that was used heavily in Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  If one were to take an extremely critical view of this title, it would be difficult to find any part of this game that was innovative in comparison with what other titles have done.  With these shortcomings aside, MOH still provides an entertaining, if not groundbreaking, experience that any hardcore FPS campaign fan should enjoy.

The control mechanics of this title were also borrowed almost directly from the title's competition though this is something that Call of Duty fans will appreciate.  There were two innovations that the title provided including a "peek and cover" command and a "slide to cover" mechanic that did little for the overall control scheme.  In honesty, the title would have been much the same without them.  MOH also uses a ammunition stocking system that allows you to reload your supplies from your squad mates.  Though this was a nice feature, it seemed that the developers placed too high a value on retaining spec ops weapons rather than taking your opponent's inferior weapons.  Once you strip an AK from a fallen foe, you can no longer be resupplied by your squad mates, and you sacrifice the accuracy that spec ops weapons provide.  Plus, ranged weapons are in short supply on the battlefield making it all the more important to hold on to the load out you receive at the beginning of each stage. 

MOH's campaign mode is also plagued by some technical issues that can be somewhat frustrating.  The title's frame rate sometimes takes a terminal decline during some of the more intense battle sequences causing the action to stutter horribly.  This issue was fairly uncommon however, since most of the game's battles are fought in smaller enclosed spaces.  Later stages involving the Army Rangers seemed to tax the game's Unreal Engine 3 more than others.  There were also some way point errors throughout the course of the title which made it impossible to move to the next objective.  It seemed that during some sequences, the engine failed to load the next section of the game and made it impossible to move forward.  The result is that it is necessary to reload the last checkpoint and to try again.  At one point it was necessary to repeat this process three times before the game performed correctly.  At times it also difficult to know where the next objective point was to move the story forward.  During one sequence the way point marker did not generate and I was left to face a never ending wave of AI opponents before reloading the last checkpoint.  Even with these issues, the game was never unplayable, but it seemed that the title could have used a bit more polish before it was released.

Given the current gaming climate, Medal of Honor is one title that succeeds in creating an enjoyable experience that FPS fans should enjoy even if it doesn't serve to advance any of the genre's current game play conventions.  Its true that MOH's campaign is not a revolutionary experience when it is compared with other titles, but many of the more subtle story telling elements used can serve as a guiding point for future titles.  Rather than weaving an epic yarn like the Halos of the world or creating a blockbuster movie simulation like Modern Warfare 2, Medal of Honor creates a believable world to explore and a story that gives service to our country's service men and women.  If the campaign were to be judged against the competing titles of 2010, MOH might not stand out.  Multiplayer will be the ultimate deciding factor in how successful the title might be, but that is for a different review.  All in all, MOH provides an entertaining single player experience that should not be discounted in the current FPS gaming market.  If I were to rate this game's campaign on a scale of 1 to 10, I would confidently say that it deserves an 8 (very good, but not great).