The Drop: Game Reload
Alright guys, this week I’m going to try something a little different. This week I’m going to bring a game into the spot light that I think deserves a little recognition. Among all the FPS games that have come out this one seemed to be just another new aged title. The Medal of Honor series was long overdue for a reboot and with this edition the guys and gals at Danger Close and EA were ready and willing.
The atmosphere in this game draws you into the fray
Single Player:
The single player campaign uses a moded version of the Unreal Engine 3. From the get go, EA wanted its single player to be as close to real military operations as possible and they consulted many military professionals for assistance in the making of the campaign. It takes place in Afghanistan in 2002 and is loosely based off of the events that happened in Operation Anaconda (Wikipedia it, I didn’t even know they could release this kind of information so soon but there you have it). You play from the perspective of a variety of different military personnel from the Army Rangers and some Special Ops units. Objectives come in a variety of flavors from raids, to recon and even CAS (Close Air Support) operations. In my opinion, Medal of Honor (2010) is probably the most authentic to real life military combat that you can get in an FPS. It’s also one of the most enjoyable single player campaigns I’ve played in a long time. And at the end of it all, they pay respect to the members of the real US armed forces, which I took to heart.
Desert Cammies and Jungle Assault Vests.....sounds like the Military to Me
Multiplayer
The multiplayer was a bit lackluster in comparison to the single player, but it still provided me with hours of enjoyment and FPS joy. The multiplayer also brought on a bit of controversy with the fact that players could take the role of “Taliban” members. Many US military higher-ups as well as Coalition country officials concluded that it was “tasteless and disrespectful” which in my opinion was understandable. Players could choose between 3 classes: rifleman, special ops and sniper, each with a handful of unlocks which include weapons, ammo types, and scopes. There were also multiple game types from all out TDM and objective based games such as Raid and Hot Zone. The game played like most MP FPS games with kills getting you experience which is accumulated to help level up and unlock extra weapons for both sides. However, when you reach level 8 with a specific class, you become a Tier 1 operative which alters the player’s appearance. At the same time, when you kill a Tier 1 Op, you receive an additional five points for the kill. Staying alive and gaining kills starts a kill chain. Kill chains added up with kills and when you reach a specific amount, you get to choose between an offensive or defensive support action. Offensive support actions came in forms of mortar strikes, air strikes and guided missiles while the defensive support actions were either a UAV (or RPA for the more in tune with Military accronyms), which lasted roughly 3 minutes or ammo reload for everyone on your team. All and all the game wasn’t anything special but it did provide a new perspective of things to be implemented in later FPS games to come.
Games like Fire Fight require Communication and Team Work
Overall
Mostly the game’s single player is what I really appreciated in this game. It really does give people a good idea of what really goes on in today’s military operations. Other single players like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 were a bit more far-fetched but Medal of Honor sells it with little embellishment to heighten suspense and keeping things believable. The multiplayer like I said was nothing extraordinary but it did offer a new game to play when other games I had were getting stale. Not only that, but from the minute I opened the box, I was gratified with a certificate that guaranteed me early access to the Battlefield 3 Beta…which I’ve been playing alllll week. Its pretty awesome. Medal of Honor will have another installment coming in 2012 to continue the story and although it hasn’t been a “Blockbuster” title in the past few years, thats not to say you should let this next game fall off your radar.
Dice brought their Forstbite Engine to the Multiplayer Experience. Thanks Dice!
This has been your first Game reload brought to you on The Drop. I’m JP, thanks for reading and keep you mags stocked and loaded for the next edition.
