Previews: Medal of Honor: Airborne (PC)
| Publisher: Electronic Arts | Developer: TBA |
| Genre: Shooter | Release Date: August 28, 2007 |
| ESRB: Rating Pending |  More Info on this Game |
By Bryn Williams | We get a chance to play the multiplayer portion for the first time।
We've just spent the last three hours or so entrenched in some pretty hectic World War II airborne deathmatching at EA's Los Angeles studio. Medal of Honor: Airborne appears to be very completion, as the 360 and PC builds of the game that we played didn't exhibit any signs of being a work still in progress. A handful of gaming press folks took up arms as the Axis and Allied forces, facing off against each in teams of six on six. The results were impressive enough, but is there room in the market for yet another WWII-based first-person shooter? Maybe so...
This latest entry into EA's esteemed franchise is no slouch in terms of added gameplay, visual appearance and aural capabilities. The overriding premise of the game is that this time your taking on the role of either the ground-based Axis forces or the highly-skilled parachutist Allied airborne troopers. This is the first time we've been privy to the game's multiplayer action, so it was interesting to see how the new parachute mechanics really affect the flow of battle in your classic deathmatch scenarios.
While the PC build had the edge over the 360 version in terms of framerate and control sensitivity, everything else appeared to be pretty much equal। As the player, you'll have access to an array of WWII weaponry including grenades, pistols, submachine guns, rifles and even the dreaded Panzershreck rocket launcher. Basic movement, aiming and ducking is performed as in the previous games, but there are also a few moves at your disposal too.
You are now able to sprint rapidly, which allows you to move from cover to cover in a much more affective manner. If you're playing as the airborne Allied troops, then of course, you're able to parachute your way down from the skies onto the battlefield. In fact, you're able to land pretty much anywhere you want on the map thanks to the excellent steering mechanics. As an added bonus, and for those with skill, you can even get an insta-kill on a poor inspecting enemy by landing on top of them and booting them in the face with your heavy duty army shoes.
This wide-open approach literally allows you to coordinate some well-planned landings on the battlefield, but it also adds a new sense of danger to the traditional FPS deathmatch game too. You're going to have to be able to defend yourself from a 360 degree area around you, as the game will not be spawning and respawning your character in set points. This gives the multiplayer a new angle and requires some thought as to where you want to drop into the action. At first, this can seem a little overwhelming, but in time, you'll learn to 'chute into tactically sound positions such as rooftops where even an extra weapon or some ammo might be found.
MoH:A also changes things up in as much as the players can now fight against each other in a vertical scenario instead of just a ground-based affair। Climbing up ladders and such allows you access to a whole network of building tops, church steeples and other vantage points where both sides can now go at each other. It's commonplace to be slugging it out on the ground level and to have other crazy fire-fights occurring a good 20 feet in the air. This gives the players more flexibility in the environments and better allows the parachute mechanic to extend the life of the maps.
There are three specific multiplayer modes in MoH:A which are straight-up team deathmatch; team deathmatch airborne and finally objective airborne. The latter will see you and your teammates trying to capture and hold down three neutral flags which are spread out across the various war torn maps. A point is scored each time all three are fully in your side's possession, which is further governed by a regular match timer. Defending or assaulting these key points proves to lead to some pretty fearsome gun slinging.
EA has also implemented a nice weapons upgrade system whereby the players can get further usage from their guns, grenades and melee attacks. For example, a regular Garand rifle's upgrade allows the owner to jam special rifle-propelled grenades into the muzzle and bust out an impromptu lobshot weapon. A basic melee gun-butt swipe attack is replaced with a much more deadly knife swipe attack, and the infamous Thompson machine gun becomes the proud owner of a larger capacity ammunition magazine.
These upgrades can be used more easily in player matches versus ranked online matches, where you must earn the right to use them. Player matches see a kind of simple experience point system implemented whereby the more a weapon is used to deal damage, the quicker it will become eligible for the all-important upgrade. There's a good selection of Axis and Allied weapons -- all of which are naturally authentic -- and the addition of the upgrade system helps keep things fresh.
A decent number of maps; somewhere in the region of 10 or so, see many of the more famous airborne campaigns from history make an appearance. There's no question that EA has been doing its research to make the appearance of the environments as appealing and realistic as possible.
One complaint that can be leveled at the game currently is that when you shots connect with an enemy there's no real sense of how much damage you're dishing out. This stems from large on-screen reticules to the kickback of most of the weapons, and until you actually see your target fall over, it's a little bit tough to know if you're aim is spot-on. This is less of a worry when using the excellent Springfield sniper rifle and scope, but compared to other WWII shooters, and shooters in general, MoH:A feels a little lightweight in terms of a reaction from the target.
On the whole, the high production values and the core gameplay remains solid at this point, and what is on seems to be a fine entry into the franchise. Do gamers really need yet another WWII shooter? MoH:A will hopefully bring enough new elements to the table to make it stand out from the crowd, and while we're expecting the single-player to be less adventurous than the multiplayer offering, the package as whole certainly has appeal. We'll be eager to check out the final product when it ships later this month.
Game Information