Review System Specs: Pentium III @ 1GHz 512MB PC133 SDRAM Geforce 2 GTS 32MB SBLive 5.1 Windows 2000 Professional

It was almost a year ago, last E3, that many, including myself, were floored by the amazing visual splendor brought by EA's Medal of Honor. I knew it would be folly to trust the CG animated well-known "Beach" scene as an indication of the end product. I knew better than to get wrapped up in the hype typically arising from astonishing cut-scenes, rendered not by the game engine, but by a much more powerful hardware and software, and pre-recorded for playback as a showpiece. I knew I would have to wait almost a year to find out if the end result would amount to the intense reaction created by EA's marketing. All this I knew, but I couldn't fight it. I was amped, and wrongfully so.

It's been called "The most extraordinary tale ever told"… wait, that's not right. Must have been thinking of something else [Ten points for that reference- ED]. It's been called "One of the most anticipated games of the New Year". And that it was. Now that it's here, we can finally find out if we will be filled with the same emotion, the same terror, and the same action, we first felt post Saving Private Ryan. It's no secret that the developers of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault set out to clone as closely as possible, without infringing on any copyrights, the greatest WWII era movie. And if they tell you they were not inspired by the movie, they are lying! Don't take what I have said as a gripe however. I think Saving Private Ryan IS worthy of a game based on the movie, and EA seemed to be heading in the right direction. But there's something missing. Actually, there's a lot missing.

This is the story of Lieutenant Mike Powell. The year is 1944. The events are well known. As Powell, your mission is to do whatever you are told, and do it well. Your travels will take you through Europe on many suicide missions, including the well-known assault of Omaha Beach. Many weapons will be at your disposal, all faithful to the era. Aided at times by fellow soldiers that will both help, and need help, together, you will bring and end to the Axis powers. This is your Hell. Enjoy.

Engine of Honor


For your action, I present MOH:AA with the Congressional Medal of "At least you picked the most powerful game engine currently available." If you are a heavy hitter, such as Electronic Arts, and possess the funds to purchase licensing for the best engine, such as Electronic Arts, then it's a no-brainer to do so. EA was off to a good start. Powered by none other than the Quake 3 engine, the possibilities for MOH:AA were all but limited. The engine has already seen success in many other games as far as graphic ability is concerned, each game pushing the boundaries ever further. Games such as American McGee's Alice, Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and of course Quake III and Quake III: Team Arena. But you know the saying, "It's not the size of the ship…."

Story of Honor

For your action, I present MOH:AA with the Congressional Medal of "Damn this all seems awfully familiar". Now while it could be argued that this game was based on events that took place during WWII, as did Saving Private Ryan (SPR), the similarities of events that occurred in the movie and game are all but too obvious. Like a wise man once said- "It's all the same, only the names will change". Of course there are missions that go "off script" so to speak, and add some variance, but many of the maps lead you right back to the idea that you are playing SPR the game. Certain run-ins with certain battalions at certain times in certain places strikes much resemblance with the movie, but perhaps this could just be accurate to the real war. I really couldn't tell you for sure, but it is highly unlikely. Also, both the movie and game share some of the same exact dialogue, such as the Omaha beach invasion. And I mean verbatim!

Now while the similarities hardly detract from the game, it is the overall lack of full commitment to the SPR script that leaves one desiring more. Much more. Not once did I really feel any sort of emotion for Powell or any other soldiers. The overall story line was rather thin and lacking much outside of the fact it was based on historical events. All fine and dandy, but an engaging story and character development is just as crucial to a game as the gameplay. Otherwise you just end up with a game where you are merely trudging through mission after mission, with nary a sense of accomplishment. This works for some games, but I don't believe it works for MOH:AA.


Graphics of Honor


For your action, I present MOH:AA with the Congressional Medal of "If you've got one kick-ass system, crank up all the visual settings to the max and enjoy just about the best representation of quality you can get!". To say this game is beautiful is a slight understatement. Modeled more for realism than it's brother game Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW sported more of a comic book style look and feel), many of the levels come off extremely realistic and detailed. The characters are well detailed, although I think the faces could have been done a tad better. Some really excellent effects await the player as well. Mortar explosions create vertical pillars of dust and bodies, grenades visibly scatter shrapnel, and bullet tracers will whiz by with a color so hot, you'll swear you felt the burn of it! All effects seem to have been done with some restraint however. A restraint bound to realism. You won't find over the top explosions and effects here, which is fine, and better represents what the game is shooting for.

On the downside of the graphics, though, are the weapon models. I know I have seen slightly better skinned weapons. Even at the highest visual settings, the weapons lacked much detail. Detailed enough I suppose, but I recall being able to read tiny etchings and model numbers on some of the weapons in RTCW. The weapons in MOH:AA felt like they lacked the clarity to be that detailed. This is a very, very minor gripe. Still, the weapon models are very good, and I am merely nit picking at this point.

Sound of Honor

For your action, I present MOH:AA with the Congressional Medal of "The most cinematic aural experience". From the impressive musical score, to the background shouts of men in combat, all was top-notch. The score could have easily replaced the theme in SPR, and I actually had to make sure that it wasn't the same! Artillery fire and surrounding combat sounds are done well, although I have to admit, Day of Defeat did slightly better, as far as representing an overload of terror from ambient sounds and nearing sounds of chaos. Still, MOH:AA will have you checking your panties from time to time. [Panties? S.A.M., are you wearing panties again? –ED]

While not the best in game voiceovers ever, they are more than acceptable. The best dialogue, carried out during mission briefings by the Colonel, contained an excellent tone of serious urgency. The majority of other characters spoke with the typical husky drill-sergeant type tone, which tended to lack weight as far as really caring what the guy had to say.

Gameplay of Honor


For your action, I present MOH:AA with the Congressional Medal of "Mediocrity intermingled with a few excellent missions that quickly change into the bane of MOH:AA's existence due to the extreme difficulty of said missions".(that's a mouthful) While MOH presents the player with a few really great missions, most of these "really great missions" become the most painful part of the game, as there is no obvious strategic route to take through these missions without using uncountable continues. Once you DO find out the trick to these difficult missions, all is well. But until then, it's nauseating. Two examples of this are Omaha Beach and Sniper's Last Stand. On Omaha, the trick to making it up the beach in as few pieces as possible is to find the one guy, out of the hundreds (maybe not that many) to follow to the shore, then pick what moment to make your next dash to cover, and to which cover, again, which guys to follow, etc. There isn't really any helpful indication of which way to go, or who to follow. It's all trial and error. Lots of error! The only help I can offer is, stick with the guys doing most of the dialogue during the onslaught, and pray. I guess that's what the real "Operation: Overlord" was all about!

Even more difficult was Sniper's Last Stand. Making your way through a war-torn village, you will find that you aren't the only person possessing excellent sniping skills. Unfortunately, it isn't your squad members that possess these skills. It's the enemy. And there are a ton of them! Not only are they deadly accurate from distances almost beyond your range of vision, but also they are hidden better than Waldo at a Waldo look-alike convention! Again, just as with the beach, once you know the way, you're good to go. But until then, you will be buried once for every man downed at Omaha Beach. I will hand it to the designers. They have done the best job at hiding snipers than I have ever seen in any game, and it is one of the most entertaining missions to play. That is, until the hundredth time you have to click "continue". Sniper's Last Stand is truly a map that will put you on edge, forcing you to move slower through a map than you ever had before, trying to find out where the hell that bullet came from that just grazed your shoulder.


Most of the other missions are pretty humdrum run of the mill type missions, with a few exceptions. Probably the overall best map is the one that is available in the single player demo. And since you can get that for free….

The controls are as to be expected. Typical of FPS fare, nothing new. That's fine though. Learning curves are rarely fun for FPS games. Most weapons are highly accurate, with the strange exception of the supposed "gun of all guns" you acquire late in the game. The StG44 Sturmgewehr, with it's imposed capabilities, really sucked. While it fired at a tremendous rate, and held a larger clip than your Thompson, the accuracy was horrendous! Not only did its kick make for some horrible aiming, but even when your aim was on, it seemed to rarely hit its target! It wasn't long before I gave up all together on this gun and only used it for a quick switch in the heat of a battle when my Thompson needed reloading. Also annoying were the grenades. The detonation time was way too long, and the option of cooking the grenade before tossing it is painfully missing. I had more of my grenades tossed back at me than actually detonating near its target due to excess of time needed for detonation. Enemies had more than enough time to pick up my grenade and make me the inevitable receiver of its wrath. The only saving grace of the grenades is the fact that they can be thrown quite far. But due to this, I found short range aiming to be very difficult.

It may take a little getting used to the slower pace of character movement, which is closer to realism than most games you may have played. After playing MOH for a few hours, playing Counter-Strike will make you feel like you are the Flash! Another thing that may take some getting used to is the abundance of screen-bob. Mimicking the action of walking, I found it to be too much. Most FPS games incorporate this effect, but none as much as MOH. I am sure that a console command could lessen the bob, or kill it altogether, which I actually suggest you do, but I played through the entire game with it full on as to get an accurate depiction of the game at it's default intended setting. Unfortunately, I feel the extreme bob detracted seriously from the overall feel of the game.

The AI was decent. Nothing to write home about from the crumbling Church you will get your 3 hours of sleep in before carrying on with your mission. Enemies were smart enough to retreat when odds were against them, sometimes. Other times, they seemed more than happy to put themselves in front of your muzzle, I guess hoping to be put out of their misery. Some enemies would actually hide behind corners, realizing the threat, and with their back against the wall, reach an arm around the corner, and blindly fire upon you. Amazingly, they would hit a target at times. I thought that was a pretty neat touch to the AI.

While I didn't get a chance to mess around with the multi-player aspect of the game, as is the case most of the time, only time will tell whether it can compete with the rest. RTCW is currently enjoying twice as many servers and players, but then again, it has been out for quite some time now. MOH online play may continue to grow, and at the rate it is going now, it may surpass RTCW pretty soon. Once that happens, then the only game it has to compete against for online superiority is really Half-Life and its numerous MODS. You can read a preliminary review of online multi-play here.

Medal of Acceptance
While overall, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a good game, there are aspects of it that really brings the value lower than was expected. With top-notch visuals and sound, the delivery is what hurts this title. You never really feel connected to Powell, or those around you. And don't get me started on the ending, or lack thereof, for that matter! Yeesh. I suppose there aren't many new games currently out there that you would be better off with, and I suppose it is the high expectations that were bestowed upon MOH due to great marketing. But one thing is for sure. It didn't live up to those expectations. Related Links Electronic Arts(Publisher) 2015(Developer) Official MOH Site