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Harrison
20th November 2007, 17:16
I hate having to spell Honour as Honor, but that's the US based game title so it has to be.

Are there any fans of the Medal of Honor series here?

I've always quite liked the series, which has always delivered quite a fun War based First Person Shooter experience, that is never so serious to make things hard and so the game always remains enjoyable. If there is one element that has always been a slight limitation of the previous games in the series, it has been their linear nature.

I've been playing Airborne quite a bit so thought i would share my thoughts regarding the game.

The linear nature of these games has finally been changed (slightly) with airborne. Instead of having to basically follow a predefined path through each level you are now free to explore and complete each level in whatever order you like, and from whatever direction you wish. Each level is now basically a sandbox which you can explore and move around doing whatever you like. Although you do still have your mission objectives that need to be completed.

The biggest new addition to Airborne has to be the reason behind the name. You now play as a member of a US parachute regiment, and start each level from the air, jumping from a plane. This doesn't initially seem like an innovation or improvement, instead just something tacked on to the start of each mission, but it does offer useful tactics within each level.

When you jump from the plane you can see the whole mission level laid out below you and can direct your decent so that you land pretty much anywhere you like within the level. The easiest option is to aim for the green flares burning on the ground as these are the points held by your allies so you will be safer landing here, but equally you will probably find yourself pinned down with others fighting the enemy before you can advance. An alternative approach is to aim for a location within or behind enemy lines so you can clear out the enemy bunkers or places they are holding from behind to allow your allies through.

Therefore the airborne parachute element does add quite a big new element to the game. Also if you are killed you often find yourself re-spawning in the air, so can aim for a spot to land more tactical to the location you were last killed. A word of warning through. The game works on save points, so if you die you will need to redo everything beyond the last save point, so enemies you just killed may be alive again, so when working out where to come in to land take this into account.

During each mission your minimap/compass shows all possible objectives on the map. This allows you to pick which you want to try and accomplish so you don't have to complete each area in a set order, which is nice.

But the game is still scripted and after completing certain objectives on a map the level will progress, with you then moving forward to further objectives, normally working alongside computer controlled allies. This works well, because at the start of missions in the more open areas of the maps you find allies dotted throughout the maps fighting the enemy and you can move around supporting and fighting alongside any of them, but as the levels reach choke points it gives the feeling that everyone has reached this point, fighting forward, and are now working together to move forward again.

The weapon system has also been altered slightly from previous MOH games. Before each mission you can select the weapons you wish to begin with, and can take 2 main rifle/machine gun style weapons and a side arm with you. And then during a mission you gain bonuses for using a certain weapon more, being more accurate, stringing together kills, getting head shots etc... These give you bonuses in the form of weapons upgrades that speed up loading time, accuracy etc... This element of the game is therefore more arcade and less realistic, but it is a game and adds an extra element of fun to the game and rewards good weapon/shooting skill.

These bonuses are not carried forward throughout the game though and only remain active during the current mission, so once you start the next you are back to the basics.

So far I've been really enjoying the game. I always like WWII style FPS games. It still doesn't come close to my favourite, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but if you also like WWII style shooters you will enjoy this game.

One element you don't always get in these games, which is present here, is the enemies shooting in their own languages. When you are fighting the Italians or Germans you hear then shouting and talking in German or Italian, which always adds a bit more atmosphere.

For this style of game, as an action first person shooter I would give it 8/10. But if you prefer a more realistic serious WWII experience you could maybe knock one or two points off the score.

Sharingan
20th November 2007, 18:15
I borrowed the Medal of Honour collection (which contains the original game + two expansions) from my brother quite some time ago, and played through them. Fun game, some nice set pieces, quite atmospheric.

I like WWII as a setting too, not because I like war, but because it gives me an excuse to blow up some stinkin' nazis! :yesyes:

If I ever get upgrades for my PC, Airborne will likely be in the bargain bin by then, so I might try it a few years down the road.

By the way, are there any FPS based in a WWI setting? That could be even better. Think Wings, but on the ground.

Harrison
20th November 2007, 22:32
Have you played Return to Castle Wolfenstein? That is still one of my favourite WWII style FPS games and it is now a few years old so will run on quite old hardware. It run fine on a Pentium 3 with a Matrox G400 graphics card for example, but obviously newer hardware makes it look even better at higher resolutions. RTCW has some of the best levels and set pieces of any such game, plus the genetic experiments of the Nazis and a great multiplayer mode too that contains some great gameplay and maps that are not the same as the single player ones.

As for WWI, there are some RTS games set in WWI, but I'm not sure there have been ant FPS set in the time period. There have also been a few other WWI flight Sim type games, but none have been any good. I agree it would make a change and bring new elements to the gameplay as the weaponry and atmosphere would be completely different.

Submeg
20th November 2007, 22:43
Here here! Looking for a remake of wings....hello Cinemaware!!!! Geez :( Forget Robin Hood...

Sharingan
21st November 2007, 17:48
Only played a demo version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. For some reason, I thought it was quite scary!

So, no WWI shooters to date? Strange. I'd think some developer would've jumped on the opportunity. After all, World War I is hardly less interesting of an era compared to WWII. In fact, I've always been more intrigued by the Great War - it might not have been as big in scale as WWII, but it sure did have a lasting impact on mankind, and the world as a whole.

Buleste
21st November 2007, 18:09
Although WWI is certainly neglected even though it is more interesting there will never be anything other than flight sims about WWI as there were less weapons, Less reason to hate the enemy and most soldiers were basically cannon fodder. Lets face it most of the missions would be go over the top, cross no mans land, enter enemy trench and capture it, all without being butchered by machine guns, caught on barbed wire and butchered by machine guns, avoiding shelling and gas attacks. Mind you if you combined it with a sports element for the running it could be interesting. Sort of a MoH and Wii sports hybrid.

Harrison
21st November 2007, 18:16
There you go; idea sorted! Now to convince Nintendo that a game about death and destruction should be released on their system. Good luck!

Sharingan
21st November 2007, 18:22
Waggling the joystick to get your character to run would certainly bring back memories of the old days!