Game rating: Medal of Honor

[PZ]

Game title
Medal of Honor

Category	Rating	Comments
Story line	10	The game has an excellent story line - a team of four SEALs sent out on covert missions.  You play one of the group, but at times, your character switches to one of the supporting Ranger groups.  Being a SEAL, the main object is stealth - on the other hand, when you're a Ranger, you get to be the gunner on an Apache, and several other jobs that the SEALs typically don't do.  During the game you play as an M4 assault guy, a .50 sniper, a mini-gunner in a Predator helicopter, and the gunner in an Apache. The honor and loyalty that I've read about regarding the SEAL community is very well portrayed in the game - two of their group were left behind during an extraction, and the two that got out were ordered to report for debriefing - instead they ordered the copter back to the action and just jumped out of the back while a ranger said "Man those SEALs are crazy mother f$%^#rs..." At another point in the game, a pair of SEALs jumped off a cliff muttering "bones break, but they heal..."  Unfortunately one of the two was seriously wounded - a fact that lead to a truly emotional ending of the game.  Story line - one of the best I've played.
Graphics	10	Based on comparing the graphics with contemporary games, this is without a doubt the best I've ever played.  I'm also playing Fallout New Vegas, and due to it's open world nature, it's graphics don't even begin to compare.  When you use a scope (or even just viewing one of your comrades up close, you can actually count the hairs on a person's face. When I played a Ranger on a mini-gun, it was amazing to see the barrel of the gun glow red as I fired it too long - it really looked like glowing steel - simply amazing detail. Often in other games I can be sighting directly down the barrel of my weapon at an enemy, with no evident obstruction and when I fire, I hit the rock in front of me instead - nothing like this in MoH - you hit wherever you are aiming.  The animation as someone is hit is excellent - you can see them stumble back, or if head shot, they go down immediately - the stumbling animations look life like. When in the helicopter, the desert passes beneath you, and I dare say that it would be difficult for anyone to tell that this is only a game.
Sound	9	The voice of each of the characters was recorded by a different human - as is evidenced by the large list in the credits - each in-game character had a person's name next to it.  The music was excellent, and not too invasive into the game (I normally need to turn the music way down in a game)
Game play	10	I'm playing on the console (PS3) which usually does not do it for me when shooting.  I typically find the controller to be clunky in operation, and nothing like the precision of a mouse.  However, MoH has a crisp feel, and the controller is almost as good as a mouse. The controls are well-placed, easy to use, and behave exactly as you think they should - none of the weird aiming acceleration I've experienced in other games - only crisp, smooth joystick action.
Replay value	3	The only reason the game is not a "10" in my book is the replay value.  I'll probably play through a couple more times, and try something called "Tier 1 mode", but as all aficionados of open world games know, it becomes boring when you know exactly what is going to happen next.

Final thoughts
In summary, the best linear shooter I have ever encountered, even though it is not set in my favorite time period (WWII).  I normally shun modern warfare, and only purchased the game on insistence by my son, and I'm glad that I did.

Completing the game left me with the same kind of feeling as watching a movie that has impacted me in an emotional way.  Sure, I won't want to play through more than once or twice more, but the way I look at it is that I spent $50 on a "movie" in which I get to be one of the star players, and the movie lasted 20 hours.  On a price per time period assessment, the game is a great value.

[Art Blade]

amazing score there.. you do seem to have liked it quite a bit, then  ;D

Well done, cheers  :-X

[PZ]

Thanks, Art - yes, it made quite the impact  :-X

[deadman1]

I wholehartedly agree wit PZ:s rating having just played the game myself.  :-X