Medal of Honor Hands-On Preview

Medal of Honor is set for release this October on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, but will it be able to steal the crown from the Call of Duty franchise? This week, I took a trip to a secret location in the heart of London for a hands-on with the game and also for a special announcement.

The event was held was in the basement of an old building, dressed up in a military theme. Along with various fellow video game journalists, we were ushered down an extremely dark staircase and into a holding area which felt like some form of military dungeon. After a short while, we were moved into a large room, full of chairs and an extremely incredible gaming set-up, ready to showcase the opening mission of the game.

After watching the event’s host take us through the level – with the impressive sound booming all around us – my first impressions were ones of awe. Graphically it looked very crisp and detailed, but what struck a chord with me the most was the game’s audio which really set the scene of perhaps what it feels like to be part of a military exercise.

Then came the special announcement and was duly followed by a very special guest indeed. It was revealed that ex-SAS soldier-turned-novelist Chris Ryan has penned a book, exclusive to HMV, which will serve as a prequel to the game’s story. If you are unaware of Chris Ryan then here’s a short recap: he was a member of the ill-fated Bravo Two Zero patrol during the first Gulf War, and when the patrol became comprised, Chris Ryan made SAS history by making the “longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier” – covering over 300km on foot, over a seven day period and behind enemy lines, surviving only on a handful of biscuits and drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste. He subsequently wrote numerous survival and fiction books, including the Alpha Force and Code Red series, as well as starring in such TV shows as How Not To Die, Ultimate Force and Elite World Cops.

We were then treated to an appearance of the true military hero himself, who  proceeded to tell us a little about the book and his thoughts about the game itself. Ryan told us that the book features all the characters, locations and weapons that feature in the Medal of Honor game, and that the book will give you all the background story and personalities of the main characters and will set the scene before you play the single-player campaign. He went on to tell us that the game is very accurate in terms of how real Tier-1 soldiers act and operate within conflict situations. He seemed very impressed with the realism on top of how the game looked and played.

Following the news of the book, the event’s host booted up another level for us to view. This was a break away from the Tier-1 FPS levels and placed you inside an Apache Helicopter. The main goal of this level was to take out enemy mortar points with deadly effect and also to annihilate RPG-toting militant soldiers. This ten minute demo (of what is actually a thirty minute mission) is what really got my attention as it looked fantastic and the communication between the various operatives sounded very authentic, setting the scene admirably.

Once the demo and talk was over, we were invited to make our way into the next room where it was a mass of screens and PS3 controllers, allowing us to play each other in a sample one of the many Medal of Honor multiplayer offerings. The mode that was on offer was a Defend the Base game, which hardened players of the FPS genre will be used to. I don’t profess to be the greatest or most experienced FPS gamer, but even I managed multiple head shot kills and some extremely sneaky knife attacks (or an axe if you’re a member of the enemy team). What I found was that it felt more gung-ho as opposed to stealth tactics when it came to the combat, but there were also a one or two good spots for the sniper fans out there.

The Apache Helicopter mission that was shown to us earlier was also available to play and I was extremely eager to get my hands on it, to see if it played as good as it looked and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. This part of the game was extremely engaging, with my eyes flicking all over the screen searching for any enemy movements and once again, the audio really submerged me into the gameplay. I played the full mission which took around half an hour to complete, and the fact that I wanted to play the whole level again is a testament to how incredibly it played – unfortunately, time wouldn’t permit that!

Overall, Medal of Honor is looking like it’s going to be a hit for EA and DICE. The inclusion of elements such as the Apache mission, that break away from the typical combat, offer something fresh and exciting to immerse the player – which is what has been lacking from many FPS titles in recent years. The big question remains to be seen though. Will it turn the heads of the Call of Duty fanboys? Possibly, but it’s still too early to know for sure. One thing is certain: for fans of FPS titles, you’re certainly spoilt for choice as we enter the final few months of the year.

Time to dust off your night vision goggles and get your Ghillie suit dry-cleaned!