The
last entry of the Medal of Honor series on the Game Boy Advance was a port of
the PS One title Underground. The game attempted to bring the same style of 3D
FPS gameplay to the GBA, but failed to create an engaging experience due to
horrible graphics and control issues. However, the next Medal of Honor entry,
Infiltrator, starts from scratch and changes the perspective to a 2D top-down
view. It also manages to provide an excellent blend of atmosphere and exciting
gameplay to become one of the best action titles on the Game Boy Advance.
Forget about last year’s lousy Underground port, Medal of Honor has finally hit
the GBA in style.
Infiltrator pits you as Corporal Jake Murphy, a soldier thrown smack dab in the
middle of WWII. As Murphy, you’ll charge through the game’s 15 stages which
range from many different fronts of the war, from North Africa to Russia.
Between the missions, FMVs (that’s right, on the GBA) will show you a little bit
of a lead up to your next mission and a mission screen will show you your
objectives.
The
majority of the gameplay is played from a top-down view, similar to games like
Commando. You run your character around the screen shooting Nazis and ducking
behind cover whenever needed. Much of the same kinds of tools are at your
disposal as were in the console and PC games. You can use stationary guns like
MG42s, you can explode barrels to take out crowds of enemies, throw grenades,
ride in tanks and use a variety of authentic weapons from the series, like
Thompson sub-machine guns and M1 Garands. The weapons are divided into kits, of
which you may hold one at a time. The kits each contain a primary weapon (a
rifle or a sub-machine gun are examples) and a secondary (grenades or a
bazooka). The kits are balanced so that the weapons will offset each other.
For example, the Thompson SMG comes with a set of ten grenades, while the
Browning Rifle, a superior weapon in terms of stopping power, only comes with
five and the Colt 45 pistol, the weakest weapon, comes with a bazooka, the most
powerful.
The
other sections of the gameplay are turret gun missions that occur in a first
person rail mode. You move the targeting reticule over enemies and items and
shoot away. These missions are kind of fun at first, but they can get quite
redundant and don’t really compare to the rest of the game.
The
best thing about this game is the presentation. The game doesn’t look like
Medal of Honor, but it certainly feels like Medal of Honor, even though the
perspective has been radically changed. There is a surprising amount of depth
and variety in the missions. Some missions are stealth-based and play like
Medal Gear (old Medal Gear, not Solid). These missions are quite difficult and
demand quite a bit of patience and strategy. The action missions, on the other
hand, are somewhat the opposite, requiring a fair amount of reflex. The sheer
amount of activity on the screen in the action levels is extremely impressive,
easily rivaling the series’ console efforts. Planes will roar over head
dropping bombs, barrels will explode and shoot into the air, and hordes of
enemies will come out of the wood work to take you out.
The
graphics in Infiltrator are great, bringing to mind graphically excellent 2D
action games like Medal Slug. As I stated earlier, the sheer amount of things
happening at once is extremely impressive, and will certainly immerse you into
the action. The character sprites look great, with a kind of cartoony quality
instead of forced realism that many titles try but fall way too short on. The
environments are huge and colorful, with plenty of diversity to keep things
interesting.
The
sound is excellent, some of the best I’ve heard on the GBA ever. The music
sounds great, just shy of the same level as the console games. The sound
effects are also lifted very well from the series, complete with voices in both
English and German. Also, the gun sounds are fantastic, also taken from the
console games, and rife with little details that make all the difference. You
can’t help but feel impressed when you expel your M1 Garand clip with its
trademark “ping” as the empty clip shoots out of the rifle.
Medal
of Honor: Infiltrator is a great action game for the Game Boy Advance that
actually manages to do something that the latest console offering failed to do:
it revitalizes the gameplay formula to create a unique experience while keeping
the things that make the series so great. A must-buy for any Medal of Honor fan
with a GBA.
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Gameplay: 9.0
While the first-person perspective has been shucked (thankfully) for a top-down
2D view of the action, the game still feels a lot like Medal of Honor and does a
fine job of immersing the player into the war. The stealth missions are a nice
change of pace from the constant action. The turret missions, while a bit
redundant after too long, are also pretty fun.
Graphics: 9.2
The
game’s graphical presentation is great, bringing to mind games like Metal Slug.
The characters are cartoony without being too kiddie, and the environments are
very detailed and colorful.
Sound: 9.5
Fantastic, some of the best I’ve heard on a GBA. The music has been nicely
replicated from other entries in the series, and the sound effects are excellent
and filled with all the details of the console games. There’s even some voice
acting in both English and German, which sound great.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 9.0
Infiltrator provides a whole new perspective for the series, literally. The
top-down view works a lot better than the FPS view of Underground, and also
manages to retain true to the atmosphere of the series.
Multiplayer: 9.0
The game
features a few two-player modes that range from co-op to deathmatch.
Overall: 9.0
Infiltrator
manages to do what Rising Sun couldn’t: it innovates the series and moves it
along in a new gameplay direction while maintaining the sense of atmosphere that
made the Medal of Honor series so fun to play. Recommended for any Medal of
Honor (or action fan, for that matter) with a GBA.
