Before Allied Assault
This is one of the few games that I recall that actually started off on a console platform, and then was reproduced on the PC. The only other that comes to mind is Final Fantasy VII. In 1999 the original, Medal of Honor hit the streets on the Sony Playstation. It was a total success, bringing WWII FPS action to your console. A year later, the fizzled series released Medal of Honor: Underground, which was a feeble attempt to copy the original.
Late last year Medal of Honor: Allied Assault hit the PC scene and not the Playstation. Critiques howled at its realism, and review sites everywhere chanted in unison proclaiming Game of the Year. Touting the use of the rock solid Quake III engine, MOH:AA had all of the makings of a brilliant game.
Known for there great sports line of games, Electronic Arts recruited the best talent in the programming industry, and spared no expense at making this a successful new line of PC games. Standing on their soapbox, they repeated like Borg on how great the Quake engine was, and how they recorded real weapons for their sound effects. Needless to say, I went into the game objectionable as possible, and really gave the game a good workout.
A quality historical base
I love games that show evidence of time and thought put into the storyline, especially a war-type game. The setting is realistically portrayed from 1942 to 1946 era. Nearing the conclusion of the Second World War, we are given multiple realistic missions and tons of detail.
The game plays like an interactive movie, and the Omaha Beach scene is well worth the price of a movie ticket. Each mission is dramatically portrayed, with a great sense of realism. During your missions you will encounter various NPC (non playable characters), and depending on the mission, the NPC is fated to either live or die. There are only six missions in total, but there are multiple sub-plots within each main mission. Each mission briefing you are given specific objectives to complete, and during the mission new goals will pop-up. In total there are about 20 or so levels from start to finish.
Guns... CHECK... Fun... UN-CHECK
As mentioned before, the game is based on the smooth sailing Quake III engine. I admit, this is a good foundation for another great game, but much is lost in the actual gameplay. The most obvious flaw is the lack of a high framerate. The game nowhere nears the speed of QIII, and many times you find yourself struggling to avoid gunfire. There were times I had to stop and say to myself: "This is not supposed to be Quake... this is not supposed to be Quake.". And it's not. Electronic Arts tried to form a symbiotic relationship between the simulation feel of Rogue Spear and meld it together with the intense action of Quake. For the most part they were successful, but most gamers will want a more precise distinction between the two.
One of the "new" additions to recent FPS's is the compass/objective meter. Similar to the "threat indicator" in Ghost Recon, there is a small compass in the bottom-middle of your screen that shows you which direction to go to get to your next objective. On each side of the arrow are two dots. The closer you get to your target, the closer together the dots get to the arrow. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, this is a great feature that eliminates the endless wondering associated with others in the genre.
Most missions are played solely by you, but certain levels will also include a few other platoon mates. It does make it interesting to be a part of a platoon where you are not in charge. Many times, you will be told what to do by a shouting Lieutenant, and other times you will have to lead your team to a certain waypoint carrying the point.
For the most part, each level is designed in a linear fashion, with limited mobility. For example: if you have to disarm a secret Nazi weapon, there is only one way to get to it, and only one way to disarm it. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Let's say I wanted to flank the depot, and blow it up with a rocket launcher; it would be impossible. Instead, I have to follow the well-beaten path and blow up baddies along the way in droves. Once I get to the objective, I have to set explosives up and run away. Sure, this might be a bit critical, but I didn't let that take away from the full experience of the game.
Along the way during your missions, you will also encounter items that can be used "magically" at given times. Things such as wire-clippers, explosives and binoculars. Since these items are objective sensitive, they can only be used when appropriate. I'm not saying this is a deterrent, but you can see why this should have been a console game and not a PC game. PC gamers want full control, all the time...
Weapons. Don't expect a huge range of unbelievable armaments. This is a good thing. The guns are based on real life weapons, and have the look and feel of their counterparts. The realism associated with weapon use is unmatched by any game I have played. Each gun has a specific "kick back" which will jolt you depending on the caliber; just as you would expect in real life. Trying to run and shoot takes skill, patience and a bit of luck.
The detail set aside for realism doesn't end there. The infamous "head bob" associated with FPS's, is done flawlessly here. As you move, your player moves (as the screen) as it would in real life. Running wildly will produce a heavy "head bob" and tie that into the kickback from your weapon, and you can relate to those frontline Marines. In the line of physics, MOH:AA has it all... but when it comes to fun they missed the target completely.
I'm all about enemy AI. There's nothing worse than have an enemy act like a drunken zombie. The AI here ranges from incredibly stupid to insanely doctorate. I've walked up two feet from an enemy and even ran into them before they reacted to my presence. That is where their stupidity ends. Once they see you, many times they do everything possible to avoid your gunfire. From dropping to the ground, to hiding behind a wall. Their aim is peculiarly amazing. The can shoot blindly from behind a wall, and hit with dead accuracy my forehead.
There were so many minute details that added up to make this game frustrating, boring and basically elementary. What I mean, is that the game seems more fit for a middle school kid and not a weathered gamer. FPS veterans will be thirsty for more action and control. Let me give you some examples. Even with some shady AI, many effects are just plain horrible. Take your rocket launcher for example. Rocket launcher in most games historically are the most exciting weapons one can acquire. Not only are the graphics sub-par for these behemoths, the after effects are even worse. Shoot a rocket into a building and guess what? Nothing happens. No explosion. No destruction. Nothing. Lets sneak up behind our drunken zombie Nazi's.... Point blank range with a rocket to the head. Guess what? Nothing happens. No limbs flying, no blood and no fun.
I realize this game was produced by EA, and I have heard all the garbage about Germans and their clothing didn't bleed through, blah blah blah... We want to see a little blood and gore for the sake of blood and gore. For the love of gaming, show us some disemboweled Nazi's when they take a rocket in the gut! You will also notice the frustrating order in the game. Everything has a set pattern of events, and you have little control. Another example of the silly effects consists of shooting a German in the head. Expecting his head to fly off, or even see a splattering of a little blood; their little helmet flies off and hits the ground.
It's all about the little details, right?
As mentioned, the game is 100% linear. Not only is the gameplay based on a set of movements, so is the environment. Your own efforts can change little to nothing. The firing of weapons and the explosions of grenades change little to its surroundings. However, I will acknowledge the games ability to change the environment during its set timeframes. Incoming bombs blow and kick up dirt all over the place. Debris will fly, and water will splash. This is good... very good. But, again, it is limited to "when the action is needed". I cannot stress enough the movie style gameplay. Other attempts of detail still fall into the same category. Shooting an enemy on a tower will always result in the baddie flipping over the railing onto the ground. This would be a great effect, if it didn't happen every time.
There were a few exceptions worth noting, just so I'm not bashed by MOH:AA mojo. Certain items like liquid filled barrels and spotlights can be shot at. Some (I stress some) lights can be shot out, and some containers can be shot at releasing their liquid. It is far and few between, and I question the integrity of the design crew on their mediocre efforts. If you can do it to one, why not all? As Mr. Miagi told us in Karate Kid: "Do or do not... there is no try..."
Before I end my "gameplay" synopsis, I also wanted to point out the play of the sniper rifle. Sniping has become standard fare for all FPS these days. From Return to Castle Wolfenstein to Unreal Tournament, the sniper antics have been a huge part of the fun and action. The sniper functions within MOH:AA are a disgrace. Using your secondary weapon key brings up a set of crosshairs. Not only is the scope uncontrollable and without the ability to zoom, it looks plain and without any detail. This nearly ruins the functionality of a sniper rifle, and will was rarely used.
Before you jump into the game, there is a nice in-depth training level, which easily prepares you for battle. All of your basic maneuvering is included, and is dynamically introduced from your customized keystrokes. This was a nice function because most FPS have a set-command style. Before playing I set up the controls to my liking, and in the training it explained the keystrokes dynamically. What I mean, is that I (for example) changed the "forward" from "up arrow" to the letter "F". So, during the training it said hit "F" to move forward, instead of the pre-assigned "up arrow". A minor detail, but it allowed me to become very familiar with the settings before gameplay.
At the end of each level statistics are given that include hit percentage and hit location. It will also tell you if you earned a medal or not. Medals can be obtained by accomplishing un-named criteria; such as hit percentage or casualties. Medals can be viewed in the cooler-than-heck option screen.
The audio visual experience
As with most new PC games, the game is adaptive to your hardware settings. It will optimally configure the game to maximize quality and performance. I've tried everything from manually setting the options to the max to disabling hardware and enabling software. I discovered to just let the game take control of these settings to fully utilize your system. Even with my video card disabled and using software to produce visuals, the game was rock solid. I don't recommend using software, but it was for research purposes only.
The game was filled to the brim with eye candy, and again, never choked in the heat of battle. Characters were rendered in Quake style and the backgrounds, although shallow, were highly impressive. Gunfire and tracers were realistically portrayed and honestly couldn't get any better. I wasn't totally impressed with the backgrounds, simply because the sense of horizon was never there. The linear style gameplay came into play with the backgrounds never giving a great sense of depth and perspective. Even in the vastest areas (Omaha Beach) our sight was limited.
Character modeling, looked good but lacked the certain touch that others (Ghost Recon) produced. In Ghost Recon characters facial expression constantly changed and moved, and the slightest details like seeing their breath showed the high attention to detail. Even though the modeling was well done, the players expressions rarely changed, and looked like they were having a bowel movement.
Aside from a solid gaming engine, and pretty visuals; it was only skin deep. Being so linear, totally detracted from the beauty of the game. The pixelation was hardly noticeable, however. Even with your face implanted into a wall, there were no signs of haze or pixelation. The framerate, again, was solid and I never noticed any hesitation or flicker.
Every cloud has a silver lining; that's what my mom used to say. And the silver lining for MOH:AA is the audio. The soundtrack was nothing less than breathtaking. It was composed and introduced into the game flawlessly. Sounding like it came straight from Saving Private Ryan, I was immersed in the quality and conduction that rivaled John Williams himself.
Sound effects were equally impressive. As mentioned before, weapons were digitally recorded from their real-life counterparts and injected within the game perfectly. Everything from the reloading of the clip, to the discharge of the shells as they hit the pavement. The voice acting was also memorable and done exquisitely. The anathema of Return to Castle Wolfenstein was the cheesy German-American vocals that plagued the game from start to finish. Instead we have Germans actually speaking German, and subtitles pop up when it is important to your knowledge. Allied voices were also portrayed realistically, and made you actually feel a part of the platoon. Overall, a well-done audio track that gets high props from me.
Multiplayer has now become a staple option within most PC games, and a must for FPS's. MOH:AA is no different, and comes with a respectable multiplayer option. All of the standard fare are here: king of the hill, team play and deathmatch. Connecting to Internet based games are done with the included optional software of GameSpy. Connecting to games are simple, and I've always loved GameSpy and use it for most of my online games. Once connected to the game, is where my smile quickly fades.
The lag was horrible first of all. Instead of dealing with lag by moving around it in other games, the controls basically freeze until you are out of the mud. Even with my 350Kbs cable mode, the game was unplayable most of the time. A "fix" on their website dramatically improved the playing conditions, but still lag plagued the fluidity.
Aside from questionable lag, playing against other players was just no fun. Moving and avoiding gunfire was nearly impossible. The controls were tight, but the speed of your player just doesn't have what it takes to be competitive online. Playing in a death match or even team play was limited to fire mindlessly into crowds of people. There was little to no skill involved. There were never any single players that consistently had high frag counts. In fact, each time it drastically changed.
The only good point of the multiplayer was the team-mission mode. This allowed you to team up and complete missions together. This was fun, and since you only had to deal with the Nazi Borg, it bumped up the replay level a bit. Next to the team-mission play, the only other fun level was the Omaha Beach level.
Over and out
Maybe I was spoiled by spending the last two months glued to Ghost Recon, or maybe it was the exploitation of the Quake III engine. Whatever it was, MOH:AA just didn't feel right to me. The porting of a console-based game to the PC just didn't flow right.
It is obvious that this would have fared much better on a console than the PC. I am awed by the rave reviews it was given by multiple sources. I truly believe there is a huge difference between console gamers and PC gamers. While, since I'm a gaming aficionado extraordinaire, I can rationally review both; it seems to me that other have the wool pulled over their eyes and not seeing where this game really should be.
I will acknowledge that the graphics are well done, and the audio is superior to most; however the game plays like a mediocre console game that doesn't have the glamour of other FPS. I believe EA tried too hard to take the skill and realism of a war simulation like Rogue Spear and combine it with the blow-em-up action of a Serious Sam. The end result is a mediocre title, with a great storyline but weak gameplay.
My final recommendation is to avoid a purchase. I believe there is a demo that includes a single player and a multiplayer level. This would be a good chance to experience the game for yourself without shelling out the 50 clams on a half-baked title.
