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EA has finally brought its Medal of Honor series (already wildly popular on the PlayStation) to the PC. Set during World War II, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault chronicles the fictional exploits of Lt. Mike Powell as he battles his way from the shores of Africa to the shores of France to the heart of Nazi Germany. On the PSX, the Medal of Honor games were hailed as revolutionary, and though Allied Assault never quite merits that level of praise, it's still a great game.
At first glance, Allied Assault seems to have a lot in common with the World War II-themed Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but the similarities are strictly superficial. Allied Assault takes a more realistic approach to the action, both in the enemies that you face (there are no zombies or mutants) and in the mission structure. The game unfolds across six real-life theaters of war, and the 30 playable missions vary a lot in how they play out. Just like a character in a good army movie, you'll be sabotaging tanks, destroying submarines, and sending false communications. Nearly all your missions are very well designed, especially the mission where you land on Omaha Beach.
The D-day mission has received a lot of attention, and for good reason--once the door on your Higgins boat drops, all hell breaks loose. The men in front of you drop in a hail of bullets, a Higgins boat to your left is blown to bits, and machine gun fire rakes the water everywhere. Getting from the boat to the relative safety of the shingles is a truly harrowing experience, although parts of it borrow a little too much from Saving Private Ryan.
Since the game is set during WWII, you'll face a wide range of enemies, including tanks, machine gun nests, and even planes. The enemy AI is better than in Wolfenstein--enemies will duck for cover, lay down suppressing fire, and throw back grenades--but too often it's obvious that enemy actions are scripted. At times you can actually tell when you've triggered the next wave of enemy attacks: stay still and nothing happens; silently creep a foot forward and they all come rushing out. This kind of heavy-handed scripting is a throwback to the days of Doom, and more than a little bit of a disappointment.
Graphically, Allied Assault looks quite sharp. It uses the Quake III graphics engine and the character models, vehicles, and textures are well done, especially if you have a high-end video card. Unfortunately, there are some glitches, such as clipping and collision detection problems. It's not uncommon to see enemies walking halfway through a door or a wall. Also, in a (successful) effort to get a "T" rating, there is absolutely no blood or gore. When you a shoot a Nazi infantryman with your captured MG-42 machine gun, he simply falls down.
The weakest part of Allied Assault is its multiplayer component. There are four game types, all of which are exceptionally average, and none of them is as compelling as Wolfenstein's multiplayer. Still, it is undeniably fun to wage war in bombed-out French villages and other World War II battlefields. Allied Assault offers a fun single-player game and its D-day mission will go down as a classic gaming experience. --William Harms
Pros:
In Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, you play as Lieutenant Mike Powell, member of the famed 1st Ranger Battalion. Following your recruitment by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), you'll battle through more than 20 challenging levels based on historical military campaigns of World War II. Set during the most trying years of the war--1942 to 1945--Medal of Honor: Allied Assault imparts a sense of the courage it took to survive the landings at Normandy, the assault at Arzew, a rendezvous with the resistance outside the village of St. Lo, and the push through the heavily defended border of Germany to take the bridge at Remagen.
Staying true to the gameplay features that made Medal of Honor one of the most acclaimed bestselling games of 1999, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault builds on that success, adding new player weapons, interactive Allied vehicles such as Sherman tanks and M3 Half Tracks, smarter enemy AI, and artillery strike calls. Fully realized 3-D worlds utilize the powerful Quake III engine. The game also features an original orchestral score by Medal of Honor composer Michael Giacchino and sound effects from the award-winning Medal of Honor sound design team at EALA.
In Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, get access to more than 21 historically accurate World War II-era weapons, including Thompson submachine guns, Mark II frag grenades, .50-caliber mounted machine guns, flamethrowers, and "sticky bombs." Battle more than 18 enemy vehicles, including the Tiger Mark I heavy tank, Stuka dive-bombers, and V2 rockets, and encounter 22 different enemies, including Wehrmacht snipers, Kradschützen motorcycle troops, and Gestapo officers. Assault enemy units alone and as part of a crack military squad. Multiple online options including team combat and traditional last-man-standing modes. - Amazon.com Product Description
Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault puts you behind enemy lines in France, as you battle to end the Nazi invasion! - Product Description
