Medal of Honor Ps2 Funny Hats
Medal of Honor Frontline
Frontline's undeniable sense of authenticity and moving gameplay overcome its technical shortcomings.
Medal of Honor Frontline (MOHF) exceeds its technical abilities -- average control at best; 30, not 60 fps; and linear, been-there-done-that design -- through authenticity, atmosphere, and story-telling techniques. Having played both of the previous MOH titles on PlayStation, I can tell you the series won't move the first-person shooter genre forward. In fact, it doesn't even move the MOH series forward. But MOHF isn't so much a progression of form as it is clearly a move forward in style and presentation. Despite my best intentions to stay absolutely uninterested, or at least neutral, MOHF broke down my critical barriers with a sweeping score, fantastically imagined landscapes (many of which I distinctly remember from the movie Saving Private Ryan), and an unbeatable atmosphere that shook me.
Medal of Honor Frontline won't go down in history as the best FPS on the system, but EA's title should be remembered as the best re-creation of World War II in a videogame ever (alongside Medal of Honor Allied Assault), and one of the most genuinely emotionally powerful videogames I have played on PlayStation 2.
Presentation
"And when he gets to Heaven
To Saint Peter he will tell:
One more soldier reporting, Sir --
I've served my time in Hell."
These are the innocent yet telling words MOHF posts on a black screen before entering into the D-Day mission, Your Finest Hour. Their simplicity belie the game's sophisticated emotional deliverance, which as soon as it begins, you'll feel. It's an excellent level, one that is so filled with distracting fire, nearby explosions, and chaos, it's hard to stop and examine the handiwork. But play though it a few times as we I did and you'll see just how brilliant it is.
In the first realtime cutscene, you're placed the first-person perspective of Jimmy Patterson. At first you can only move his head around to see the environment around you, with feet stuck in place. You're truly a captive audience, passive to the events around you. In a matter of seconds, bullets fly from German towers, the sea smashes up against your boat, and before you know it, the nearest drop-ship is blown to bits, it knocks into your boat, pushing it off course. Quickly after, a bomb explodes your vessel, sending everyone overboard, and from underwater, you watch German bullets slaughter your squad. You are finally able to move and slosh toward the captain who gives you orders and the rest follows much like the first scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. That's just the beginning.
The level is always slightly different. Sometimes, you'll be instantly killed by thunderous bombs right on the beach, other times you'll watch as your squad members' hats fly off, while other times, it's amazing to just watch as the whole scene unravels around you.
Apparently, there was some internal discussion about whether to organize this level ("Your Finest Hour") at the beginning of Frontline, as it appears later in the game in Allied Assault, which helps to create a buildup of suspense and triumph. But the effect, I feel, is a success with it up front.
Beyond the excellent lead missions, MOHF continues to offer its superb presentation, both during the game and in the interface. During play, gamers are treated to a soaring soundtrack from composer Michael Giacchino and the NorthWest Symphonia, which infiltrates the aural experience, while the rest of the package -- environments, AI, and mission structure -- do the rest.
The landscapes are large and varied, and they're peppered with animated neutral AI, deadly German AI, and occasionally, friendly informants. There are several scripted scenes also worth mention, including the meeting at the Golden Lion and numerous scenarios of Nazi soldiers conversing. For fans of the series, the dialog and scripted scenes are consistently good, but there is nothing quite as funny as in MOHU, where in the Greek Museum, two Germans pose when you take a picture. Still, overall, everything looks and sounds better than the first two games, and the closeness to Saving Private Ryan adds a color and depth to the familiarity.
The interface is good if not entirely familiar. Anyone who has played the first two PS games will instantly recognize the menu system, including the old reels, projector, black and white FMV propaganda, and the in-between mission narrative. There's nothing new here, but it still looks great and works perfectly. Players can select old-school dual analog and shoulder controls from the first two games, or they can pick from a handful of other configurations, including a nice option for customize the controller for yourself. The mission objectives easily can be re-checked by pressing Start and helpful hints can be discerned by pressing Select. This last one is VERY helpful, as missions aren't always that clear.
Gameplay
Now here's where things get tricky. Always a fan of first-person shooters, especially single-player ones, I've loved every Metal of Honor game on PlayStation, despite their limitations. MOHF ups the levels of production on every front, easily succeeding the former PlayStation versions, and delivers an undeniable experience of being a World War II soldier.
While waiting to see if the game was still the linear, straightforward, mission-based game from the past, I experienced something interesting. As the day progressed and I moved through the 19 missions, a few of them just took me by storm. Landing in the Netherlands countryside in "Rough Landing," and fighting off Germans in and about the Dutch countryside was cool. I felt like I was there and doing something new in a game, even though I wasn't really.
In the Nijmegen Bridge and Arnhem Knights sections, I encountered unbelievably forthright and savage battle scenes that I felt deeply and genuinely. Being up on the heights of that Bridge felt right. Fighting through the Arnhem Knights section was saddening, brutal, and powerful. Eliminating the Panzer Tanks and destroying the Panzerschreck squad was exhilarating and meaningful. MOHF does such a startlingly powerful job of re-creating the treachery of World War II that it makes one feel as if they are truly experiencing World War II, a feat that few, if any games, have achieved before it. The game certainly has some incredible moments.
Having said all these things, several aspects of MOHF are underwhelming and, what's more, disappointing. Let's start with the issue that troubles PlayStation 2 FPSs most, which is the control. Without comparing MOHF to the PC version of MOH Allied Assault, let's compare MOHF to Red Faction, Half-Life, TimeSplitters, or for that matter, even Quake Revolution, which demonstrate the best FPS control on PS2. MOHF offers awkward, imprecise control that's frustrating and the reason for many of the continues I encountered while playing. The control, coincidentally, feels just like that in MOH and MOHU, two 32-bit PlayStation games. Why ddoesn't it feel better? Why don't the guns move smoothly and reponsively, without having to jerk them into position? When a game with such good presentation and realism plays well enough to deliver this good of an experience, it should certainly offer up better control than this.
Second, the level design in MOHF is the same exact level design found in the first two games of the series. It's linear: You receive your orders, you blast through a bunch of guys, and you meet the level end, after which a load screen and cut-scene ensue. Snore. With the intelligent advances in design offered by games such as Deus Ex or even No One Live Forever, for that matter, wherein players have choices in how they solve a mission, MOHF barely pays attention. Sure, there are the limited, occasional shortcuts in the outside environments, but basically this game isn't any better designed than the original Medal of Honor, which came out about three years ago. When will EA aim its console games for people over 12? Give us choices! Allow us to mess up, and for God's Sakes, take us off those linear rails! Do you know how many opportunities there are in MOHF to do this? Literally hundreds. In every level where there is a door, 99% of which are locked, EALA could have stuffed funny extras, a different passage, a different way to beat the level, or something else in there to create choice, and to permit the gamer to think about what's he or she is doing. MOHF is a strict, linear action game with a level design that is quickly becoming old, and it's exactly what I feared would happen.
On the other hand, the limited level design, however, does do an incredible job of re-creating several scenes from movies such as Saving Private Ryan and A Bridge Too Far with a cinematic touch. Like I was saying earlier, levels such as Your Finest Hour and Arnhem Knights create a sense of chaos and mayhem that are conveyed with unprecedented realism. And for the most part, these levels and a few others like them buoy MOHF's simplistic design with great affect. It's just that for fans of the series, of which I am one, there is an expectation of wanting more from the series.
Which brings up the decent, but not great, AI. The PS game MOHU introduced into the fray enemy traps, ambushes, and human-to-AI co-op levels. All of these have been brought back with good success in MOHF, but they're no better than the PlayStation game's AI, and we once again expect more from a PS2 game.
The Enemy AI is generally pretty easy to predict. It detects you, scrambles to hide or attack you, and reacts to you in a few other ways, but it's not "astounding enemy AI," as EA claims it is in press materials. It's more like "varied enemy animations." They hide around corners and wait carefully to make their moves; they pick up grenades and throw them back at you, and some hang back while others charge in for the kill. When you're posing in Germam clothing is when it's most fun to test the AI, but even then there's not much variation. It's familiar territory for most games and for this series, too.
The one thing I liked about the enemy AI, however, is its fierce and cutthroat nature. There are a lot of them and they're desperately trying to slaughter you. It's war out there, and you must survive to win. Oh yeah, and when you're up close, they're smack you with the butt of their gun or even throw a punch. Cool beans. There are even a few good cooperative AI missions, too.
I won't go into major rants about the framerate, but for a first-person shooter on a 128-bit system, this thing should be running at 60 fps, but that's not the case, and it would have helped greatly to speed things up.
What's better than the first two games is the amount of ground you cover. In the five different missions comprising 19 levels, players move from the beaches of Normandy (Omaha) to St. Mathieu, France, to the Netherland countryside into Emmerich, Germany and beyond. It covers more ground than either of the other two MOH games, and the environments are varied in design, color schemes and flow, and it's noticeable.
You're also given a bundle of weapons, ranging from simple handguns, to rocket launchers, all of which are authentic. The great things about the weapons is that they're slow to reload, so a new strategy for you is to learn when to re-load and when not to. The list of weapons includes the Colt .45, M1 Garand, Thompson SMG, Springfield Sniper Rifle, Mark II Grenades, MP-40, Steil Grenates, Silenced Pistol, STG-44, Shotgun, Gewehr 43, B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle), Walther P-38, Panzerschreck, and the Bazooka. Of all these, the Springfield Sniper Rifle is one of my favorites. It provides an awesome, awesome kickback and superb sound effect that re-creates the gun's feeling amazingly well.
There are other weapons in the game, but they fall into a slightly different category, mounted weapons. The mounted weapons, such as MG42 mounted machine gun, are an incredible load of fun. They never run out of ammo and they offer a satisfactory sense of elimination. Picking off sucker Nazis is only outdone by the Springfield Sniper Rifle. The shotgun, which is great close combat fun, is excellent during the mid- to later-levels.
Graphics
While MOHF looks good, it's far from winning any graphics awards. Essentially, MOHF looks like an enhanced, high resolution PlayStation game. It's got more polygons and better textures than before, but side-by-side with the scope of PS2 games available, they're average at best. Also, characters are still not that polished, smooth, nor exactly human-like. If you take a good look at some of your squad members, their necks goose forward and are terribly thin, creating a weird effect. Many of these guys look like they have heads far too small for their bodies.
The best visual aspects in MOHF are the levels themselves, not the character models or landscape textures. Some of the French and Dutch landscapes look excellent from afar. While up close, some of the building construction, such as dangling rebar or even the burning windmill, are moderately memorable, not striking. The up side to MOHF is that the artist Matt Hall, who hand painted all of the cut-scenes and various menu sections from the first two games, has returned with another superb set of visuals, adding character, personality and a human touch to MOHF's overall visual appeal.
Perhaps the best looking level is the first one ("Your Finest Hour"), since it creates such an impression. Again, it's not the actual graphics -- the textures or animation -- but the whole package that creates a look and feel that exceeds the particulars. In short, MOHF's graphics as individual parts are unimpressive; but as a whole they culminate in one fully impressive package.
Sound
For a game that isn't in Dolby 5.1, but rather Dolby Surround Sound, MOHF provides an amazing sense of sound, both in the effects department and in the score.
The original soundtrack is -- as all of the MOH soundtracks have been -- excellent, bordering on epic, and certainly moving. Why other design teams haven't been able to provide such dramatic music is beyond me (unless it's so expensive that no one else can afford it), but original, orchestral music sure makes a difference. The soaring score was created by composer Michael Giacchino (who worked on the scores for the first two games), and it was performed by the NorthWest Symphonia, which provides a beautiful choir (pun intended) of angelic voices to create this powerful musical feat.
The sound effects are superb. From the brilliant first level in which bombs land nearby to the sounds of whizzing bullets from all sides, to later levels in which the constant rattle of gunfire and deadly Nazi gunmen yelling at one another, the sound is such a phenomenal part of MOHF it would be an unspeakable act of inhumanity to remove one single note, or clank of metal on metal, from this game.
The returning voice of the narrator, Colonel Hargrove, which EA referred to as "Hollywood talent," is welcomed, and the various American, European and German voices all add depth and color to the game's enactment of World War II.
So, there it is, all 2,755 words of it. I liked it, but it's got problems. Medal of Honor Frontline isn't the best first-person shooter on the PlayStation 2, with games such as Half-Life and Red Faction and even in some ways Deus Ex standing ahead of it, but it's certainly one of the most memorable for a variety of reasons.
What's so amazing about the game is that despite its simplistic and seemingly rehashed level design (if you have played the previous two MOH games, you know what I mean), some chuggy levels with unappealing framerates and awkward, imprecise control, MOHF overcomes its weaknesses by delivering a unique and genuine gameplay experience unlike anything. Some of the levels are amazing, while others fall into step behind the last two iterations of the series.
MOHF doesn't offer as much as most other FPS games, either. It doesn't support two-player (which is probably all of the better, since the two-player mode from MOHU wasn't that stunning) or online multiplayer modes, and it doesn't support mouse and keyboard hookups either, although I wouldn't have used it anyway (unlike other critics, I like to struggle with my PS2 Dual Analog controller). But it does offer ho-hum secret stuff as rewards for receiving all gold medals.
What's also important about MOHF is that there are no games that bring this kind of World War II experience, emotion, and authenticity to PlayStation 2. The feelings this game provokes in me are unrivaled by any other game experiences. I feel that it's important to note that if you like this game even a little, you're going to fall in love with it.
great
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Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/03/medal-of-honor-frontline-2
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