Your Name: Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson. Your mission: To outgun thousands of Nazis in frantic WWII battles and secret espionage operations. Original, huh? Despite the hackneyed premise, the game's pretty darn fun. Here's a look at why:
Gameplay
There's no time to get used to the dangers of war (or for that matter, the control scheme) in Medal of Honor: Frontline. Level one dunks you into the cold blue ocean leaving you to scramble ashore to the "safety" of a beach full of flying bullets, exploding bombs and bleeding bodies. D-day in all its frantic, violent, glory.
And that's the cool thing about Frontline. While it's still guilty of glorifying warfare in the same manner as Hollywood, it succeeds at creating the gritty and intense atmosphere gaming non-veterans can only imagine to be as realistic as one could make it.
As in every other war-based FPS, you can cary around numerous large and heavy weapons with ease. You still find health packs and extra ammunition scattered throughout military bunkers and battlefields, and it still takes several shots to the heart before you die. But the sound effects, locations, visuals and mission objectives are often startlingly realistic. Your teammates dying around you will be a frequent sight, as you try and pick off the enemy troops around you.
The aritifical intelligence is good enough to get by. Enemies will hide wherever they can to get the best shot at you; behind objects, in train cars and on rooftops. Some are even programmed to use gun emplacements if they get the chance. Unfortunately enemies don't seem quite so worried about being shot as they should; it's way too easy to knock off Nazis while they stand in the open reloading. The best thing about the AI is the way you can effectively hide from (and occasionally even sneak past) enemies. If you're hiding behind a box, for instance, enemies won't automatically know which side you're going to poke out from; instead they'll come around to look rather than just wait for you to emerge directly in front of them.
Another fun feature (though unrealistic) is the way enemies will use their weapons as clubs if you walk close enough. You can do the same, if you're within striking distance.
The only times the AI opponents really screw up are in certain levels where many of them are crammed into a small area. In one particularly glitchy stage, they'll all run into each other until they form a massive circle and glide slowly across the floor until you dispose of them. Luckily, problems like this are usually more comical than bothersome. Less amusing (and more frustrating) are occasional problems with the AI's collision detection. It's often impossible to pass enemies and allies standing in hallways or other narrow areas, even if there appears to be plenty of room.
Most of the missions are of the usual find, shoot and kill variety, with a few simple puzzles thrown in for good measure. Find the secret blueprints, shoot your way through the warehouse, blow up a U-boat or two, and kill a king-pin Nazi.
Most of the problems with Frontline are problems with the missions. First of all, the game tries to let you fight cooperatively alongside AI allies, but rarely forces you to be a true team player. Despite the token support from fellow soldiers, you can easily shoot your way through the game without them most of the time. Occasionally you will be asked to help your squad complete their objective(s), but it only really seems necessary because the game developers deemed that was an objective that should be. For example, in one early level you are asked to man a planted machine gun looking over a bridge. Even if all your teammates have crossed the bridge or already died you are forced to take control of the gun in order to continue. As soon as you do, of course, dozens of teammates and Nazis instantly appear, seemingly from nowhere.
Less of an issue (but still bothersome) is the lack of mission objective details during gameplay. Things are generally pretty straight forward, but if you forget the details of how to complete a specific objective, you're basically screwed. The pause screen contains a list of the objectives you must complete, but that's about it.
Exclusive to the GC and Xbox versions of Frontline (which was originally available for PS2) is a four player split-screen mode. The levels are modified versions of the locations in the campaign mode and are small and uninspired. Otherwise, the multiplayer's okay and (like all of the game) 90% void of slowdown. Still, if you're thinking of buying Frontline just to play with your buddies, don't. There's plenty of bigger, better multiplayer games out there in this day and age.
Controls
There are several controller configurations available in Frontline, and gamers can also customize their own. Herešs a quick rundown of the default scheme:
Analogue: Move forwards, backwards, straif
C-Stick: Turn right, left, look up, down
D-Pad: Change weapon
L: Zoom in/aim
R: Shoot
A: Action (to open doors, etc.)
B: Use weapon as club.
Using the D-Pad to change weapons is somewhat slow, and it would be nice to be able to move around while zoomed in, but otherwise the default controls are simple and effective. Holding L down to control the distance you throw a grenade is handy, too. As for accuracy, the controls are dead on.
Graphics
With highly detailed environments and dozens of soldiers on screen simultaniously, Medal of Honor: Frontline is visually impressive GameCube title. Occasional slowdown does exist, but it's infrequent enough not to really merit too much of a mention.
Sound
In few games is the audio so important as in Frontline. The frantic battlefield sound effects are almost vital to the game's intensity and atmosphere. The simple, often slow, film-inspired orchestral score is surprisingly suitable and adds a desirable element of originality.
Replay
I'm not sure how many gamers will want to play through Frontline multiple times, but it's certainly inviting to those who will. The three levels of difficulty add to the replay value. As mentioned earlier, if you get tired of the single player experience, there's always mulitplayer.
Conclusion
Gamers hoping for the next GoldenEye will be dissapointed with Frontline's mediocre multiplayer, but will have no trouble falling in love with the solid one player campaign mode. As far as first person shooters on the GameCube go, Medal of Honor: Frontline is pretty dang good.
