Taking WW2 sims to the next level.
Written: Jan 23 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Immersive gameplay, intelligent enemies (AI), amazing graphics, great sound, varying level design.
Cons: No blood, disappearing bodies, pre-scripted events (deaths of key characters), insane enemy accuracy.
The Bottom Line: Even if you aren't a shooter fan, this game takes the best from shooters, adds adventure and strategy. Overall, it engulfs you into a world of war (II).
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| toughcritique's Full Review: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault For Windows |
Without resorting to rhetoric in terms of blind praise or irrational denunciation, I will provide a point-by-point critique of the main aspects of the game. I am qualified to do this due to my extensive experience with the FULL version for the last two weeks, as opposed to the usual demo reviews.
1. Graphics: Graphics are good. More importantly, if you decided to save cash by keeping that 386, graphics are still good. They automatically scale down without losing quality on most computers, and there is no boring texturing or sprite-like trees. The game runs very smoothly (in terms of graphics) on most machines. One bug: ze Gemanz penetrate ze vallz ven zey die. If someone dies on stairs, their gun levitates (maybe the supernatural forces in Wolfenstein are at work here). But its not a major concern. Also, the character modeling is believable, right down to the facial expressions.
2. Sound: Sound is good. EA actually recorded real weapon sounds, ranging from clip loading to shell casing ejection to firing. Weapons sound authentic. Good blend of sporadic music and ambient effects, so no polka on Omaha beach. Surprisingly, the Germans speak actual German, and not English with ze akzent. Don't worry, when you need to understand them, subtitles abound. But if you speak German, please email me and tell me what the hell they were talking about before my grenade interfered.
3. Gameplay: Gameplay is very good. The major differences when compared to other games are the level diversity and the objectives. In most shooters, such as Quake, Wolfenstein, Serious Sam, etc., you blindly mow down hordes of burning devils to find the blue card. And then the red key. Pain in ze boot. In contrast, MOH levels are all different, and the objectives are clearly defined, and also vary, so you never get bored. The gameplay is linear, so you always know where to go, no more hamster like mazes. In some missions, you are part of a squad, and you actually feel that you are part of the squad. For example, during the Omaha landing, you provide covering fire, while the captain is issuing orders. No, you are not the main hero in every mission.
4. AI: AI is the best. It's a little unfair because they have a huge numerical advantage, and they almost never miss. They have access to more positions than you do when you are on the offensive. The can knock over furniture, roll along the ground, hide behind corners, and stick their guns out from behind those corners. They run from grenades, and sometimes throw them back at you. When you are a part of a squad, the friendly soldiers act, umm, friendly. They scream "Grenade!" if there is one, point out enemies, watch your back, and actually advance carefully much like a SWAT team in Rainbow Six. The only thing is that nine times out of ten, the captain tells you to take point, which means you get shot first. But they do provide covering fire, so it's very realistic. The AI facial expressions range from anger to disgust to fear to orgasmic bliss. You feel as if you are part of a war, not (only) on a bloody rampage.
5. Little touches: Little touches are good. Barrels drain liquid depending on where you shoot them. If you hit the top, the liquid drains for a few seconds, but if you get the bottom, it takes a while. Play it yourself to figure it out. German shepherds are present with guards, and notice you before the guards do. Because you smell. Buy deodorant. Searchlights rotate, and have little fireflies buzzing around them. You get to shoot a .30 caliber machine gun from a jeep while your partner drives like a NYC cabbie, and you get to actually have full control of a tank. If you shoot a building, the walls come down. Just like a real tank shell. The various explosions throw up dirt and smoke, and leave craters. Using the binoculars, you call in air strikes and artillery. The best part is the mission organization; the captain says take out this building so we can get to that field to blow up that gun, and so forth. Objectives are realistic and sensible. No more blowing up the haunted cherry tree.
6. Gripes: Gripes are bad, but very few exist. In order to maintain a Teen rating, blood was removed. This was explained on the EA website by the fact that, believe it or not, the Germans wore too many layers of clothing during the war for blood to soak through when they were shot. Even on their foreheads. Hmm. Also, if a soldier sticks a rifle from around the corner at 100 yards and shoots you in the face without even taking aim, you start to question the inherent realism. Another unnecessary part was the sniper level. You must take out a bunch of snipers you cannot see, and to hit one, you have to expose yourself to all the others. The problem here is that German snipers never miss. Not once. Amazing. Another problem is that your squad dies at predictable points, and during replay, the same thing occurs all the time, so the replay value diminishes. However, the game is so amazingly entertaining to begin with that it doesn't really make much of a difference.
Overall, buy it. Make sure you have a weekend to spare, otherwise be prepared to take sick days.
P.S. Haven't played Multiplayer, since no one had the game yet. Pretty sure it will be great.
Recommended:
Yes
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toughcritique
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Reviews written: 18
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