Medal of Honor has gotten a lot of press lately, but for all the wrong reasons. There was a small outcry when people caught wind that the game would feature the Taliban. AAFES responded by declaring that out of respect for military personnel and their families, they would not be selling the game on military bases. In an attempt to recover from the bad press, EA announced that they were renaming the Taliban in multiplayer to “Opposing Forces.” This wasn’t enough for AAFES, who still won’t carry the reboot of one of the biggest military shooter franchises of all time.
Not a good start for EA, who has been losing ground to the Call of Duty series since the core Medal of Honor team defected to Activision and formed Infinity Ward. This will be the first Medal of Honor game taking place in the war in Afghanistan, which is clearly an attempt to ride on Modern Warfare’s coat tails. As part of the Reboot, the multiplayer has been developed by DICE, the studio behind the hit Battlefield games. Gamers can expect a refined, if not revolutionary FPS with all of the fixings they are used to: twitchy acting, leveling, classes, kill streaks, etc. If you are feeling cocky, you can play in hardcore mode and adjust some settings. These settings include friendly fire, the ability to pick up ammo from fallen foes, and health regeneration. It should also be noted that PC gamers will get a little more freedom in which settings they can adjust.
The single-player experience will follow some Tier One operatives in modern day Afghanistan. You can expect lots of sniping, explosions and sand throughout the campaign. Spoiler Alert! You won’t end the war. Expect the story to feel similar to films about the war such as The Hurt Locker, where there is more of a focus on telling the individual stories of the soldiers rather than the broader conflict.
Medal of Honor is in a tough spot. It sits in between Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops and doesn’t have the fanbase it once had. I suppose that if the modern setting is why you loved Modern Warfare, then Medal of Honor is your best option this holiday. Otherwise, this series has an uphill climb ahead.
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