Okay, so Medal of Honor is finally out, after months in development and showings of both the single player and multiplayer modes in action. We’ve already provided our
final verdict (check out our review for more information by clicking here), but one can’t help but wonder – did Electronic Arts come close to topping the experience that Call of Duty has reached over the years? Or does it still have a way to go? Well, let’s look at the finer aspects of Medal of Honor. First off, there’s the pacing. While the game moves very swiftly for the most part, there are times when you’re stuck in the middle of a Taliban standstill, either fending off a group that’s hard to pin down or awaiting an air strike from above before you can do any further damage. While this does add to the game’s realism, it does dwindle a bit from the continuous momentum that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 possessed. That game moved so fast, it was almost like a Michael Bay production.
Then there’s storyline. In Modern Warfare 2, we became attached to certain characters, only to lose most of them in the tide of war, due to a betrayal or a death that we simply couldn’t see coming. In Medal of Honor, though the characters are good ones (particularly Tier 1 master Dusty), we never really grow close enough to them to really get an idea of what they’re about, only what they’re capable of. And with the shortened campaign (it’s over in a matter of four to six hours, depending on the difficulty), it’s hard to really grasp onto anything, even during the more intense moments. Also, with single player and multiplayer for Medal of Honor being handled by two different developers (Danger Close and DICE, respectively), we couldn’t help but feel a slight disconnect as a result. That’s not to say they aren’t fun, because they certainly are, and once you get through with one, you’ll be compelled to try another.
But Modern Warfare 2 blended everything together in one flail swoop, and we have a feeling that the forthcoming Black Ops will do the same thing, since the team at Treyarch Studios is developing it all in-house (one studio usually equals better results). Plus, the options seem greater in Black Ops, with the ability to gamble based on your skills, while also working with others in the co-op missions. In the end, Modern Warfare 2 and the upcoming Black Ops have the advantage over EA’s war machine, but only because the experience behind the Call of Duty franchise is so overwhelming. The fact of the matter is, Electronic Arts has still done a bang-up job bringing Medal of Honor to the modern day, and we’re eager to see what they come up with next. Now go enjoy yourself with Tier 1, because Black Ops will be here before you know it.
