Medal of
Honor: European Assault is an interesting game. It lies somewhere between
Frontline and Rising Sun, having moments of unbelievable excitement, and
moments where the experience isn’t quite right. This isn’t the Frontline
killer we’ve been waiting for, or the game that’ll put Medal of Honor back on
top as the premier war/combat game. It is, however, the closest thing we’ll
get to a Frontline sequel, and is one of the best excuses to stay indoors
during the hot summer months.
Starring a
fictitious soldier with very bad voice-acting skills, European Assault takes
gamers to – where else? – Europe. The story sequences are pretty useless and
can be skipped at any time. I liked how they had [a real?] veteran speak about
his experience in the war, but once it switched over to his young counterpart
(the voice actor), I lost all interest.
Never fear,
gamers. European Assault may be disguised by a story but in reality the game
was made for one purpose: to enable us to kick some major military butt. We do
that with authentic weapons, clever bomb deployment, and a great
duck-and-cover aiming system. As Tony the tiger might say, "These are
mechanics Medal of Honor fans have grown to love. They’re grrrrrrrrrrreat!"
One new
feature is there to be explored: Adrenaline Mode. Fill the Adrenaline meter
not by firing your weapon, but by successfully hitting your target when the
trigger is pulled. Unleashing the full power of Adrenaline means brief
invincibility! Ammo does not deplete during this time, so you can pass through
dangerous areas, take down a few enemies and not think twice about it. On the
downside Adrenaline Mode does slow the game down to create the intense effect
of a war movie. (Additionally, there are moments when the action slows down
and the sound becomes muffled. This occurs if you stand too close to a bomb
before it goes off, or if you’re near a vehicle when it explodes.)
It may seem
like there’s a lot of diversions, but European Assault is primarily about
killing the enemy, and that’s where you’ll derive the most fun. I had a blast
running through corridors, exploring new territory, which leads to bonus
objectives. One of my favorite things to do when moving through a tight area
was to throw a grenade ahead of me. I’d inch forward before the explosion,
then after the grenade went off I’d move in for the kill, shooting any enemy
that remained.
This
backfired 70% of the time. Medal of Honor’s enemies are no longer considered
the most intelligent adversaries in a console game, but they’re far from
stupid. If a grenade is thrown and they think they have time to pick it up
before it explodes, watch out! They’ll grab it, throw it your way, and wait
(with guns ready) to see what you’re going to do about it.
That’s why I
like to throw three grenades at a time. It’s costlier. Grenades don’t grow on
trees, and finding them isn’t always easy (though sometimes it is). But if you
throw three, one will be picked up. One might be out of range. And the other –
it’s practically guaranteed to hit.
If you think that’s
bad, wait till you see what happens when the clock strikes 12.
This is the
best of what the game has to offer. When you think it’s getting easy, when you
think you’ve got it beat, more enemies start to appear. They get faster,
increasingly better weaponry, and find the most inconspicuous places to hide.
Most
challenging of all are the super soldiers. They’re so strong they get a life
meter! Gunning them down isn’t always difficult. If they see you coming,
however, or if their comrades are watching, you’re doomed. Super soldiers are
equipped with machineguns and other weapons that aim to please the user, not
the recipient. It’s next to impossible to deal with that kind of pain plus the
gunfire of four or five stragglers at the same time.
Numerous
soldiers have been ordered to give you a hand during these tough times. A few
of them will even travel through the game with you, but like you they have
limited health and will be killed if you don’t protect and heal them whenever
necessary. Only eight health packs can be stored at a time, so it’s not a bad
idea to pass them out to your fellow troops every now and then.
The
worst part of waking up is fire in your cup.
If there is
any aspect where the game really falls short it’s the overall feel of the
gameplay. It isn’t quite at the level where you expect it to be. The controls
are good, not great. The combat is exciting, not mind-blowing. The sound
effects are intense but not any more intense than Frontline and Call of Duty.
It’s like every necessary component is there … they just haven’t been
screwed in right.
These flaws
are not so huge that you should say farewell to the Medal of Honor series.
Just beware of the content before you give up $50 for it. European Assault is
a fun, thrilling shooter that rarely has a boring moment.
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Gameplay: 8.3
Carnage, carnage,
carnage. That’s what you get when you open the box. Medal of Honor: European
Assault may not be the most challenging game in the series, but it’s certainly
the most brutal. The early levels are reminiscent of Frontline in that there
are times when you have to search for someone to shoot. That’s annoying until
you reach the missions where opposing forces are everywhere in sight. Kill
them and more will rush in. The irony is that now you almost wish you could go
back to the days when you had to search for enemies.
Graphics: 7.0
Is it me or does
Frontline look more realistic? I think it appears to be that way because our
expectations were at a different level back then. Graphics suffer from
depreciation. Off the lot the car is shiny and new; years later the color
fades and the paint chips. Visually, European Assault is the car you bought
several years ago. It’d be considered a graphically impressive game … if this
was 2001.
Sound: 6.9
If this was my
first Medal of Honor I’d be bursting with praise. It’s got emotion, and it
sounds like deep war music that’s appropriate to the scenarios. For most
people (including myself) this will be the fourth or fifth Medal of Honor.
These new, less original themes cannot compare to Frontline’s unforgettable
soundtrack.
Difficulty: Medium
EA could promote
this game like a kids’ cereal: “Same crunchy taste, now with MORE soldiers!”
Concept: 7.0
Steps ahead of
Rising Sun but not as articulate as Frontline, European Assault is, creatively
speaking, another version of the same game. Don’t expect much innovation from
this series till it makes its PlayStation 3 debut (whenever that is).
Multiplayer: 7.9
No online
features means limited fun for multiplayer enthusiasts. It does have a fairly
expansive four-player split-screen mode though, and it is definitely worth
checking out.
Overall: 8.0
An honorable end
to the current generation of Medal of Honor games. Most of European Assault’s
flaws are fought and defeated by the constant flow of bullets being shot at
your head. That kind of thing tends to cause memory loss, or at the very least
it makes you forget about little things like “the music isn’t as good” or “the
graphics are dated.”
