Xbox 360, PS3, PC; �49.99; cert: 18+; Danger Close & DICE/EA
There's nothing like a bit of controversy to drum up interest in a shoot-em-up. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had it with its brutal Moscow airport massacre level and Medal of Honor was set to top this with the possibility of being able to "be" the Taliban. That isn't going to happen now (although you can be sure a modder somewhere is working on it), so we can judge it purely on its merits as a game.
MoH still starts with the USP of being the most current real-world setting of any FPS, and throwing you straight into the streets of Kabul does add a palpable tension to the opening level. To its credit, MoH plays everything ? even when laying down covering fire from an Apache gunship ? for realism rather than Bond-like spectacle. However, within minutes you can't help wondering "what's new?" and the answer is ? not a lot. Even the convincing bilingual radio backchat can't conceal that we're in bog standard territory here, with most of the FPS cliches ready and willing for deployment. A variety of different characters to play, from navy Seals, to army rangers to the much-vaunted Tier 1 undercover operatives? Check. A plot that depicts various well-laid plans (some stealthy, some all-out chaos) turning to crap? Check. And, of course, the obligatory reliance on semi-darkness to ramp up difficulty and tension.
You could also level some niggles at the gameplay. Enemies may be in plentiful supply but the AI tends to have them bobbing up and down rather than making the same intelligent use of cover as your squad members. Combat generally feels great, thanks to a good supply of hefty weapons, although melee combat is decidedly limp. Despite this, and a few gameplay glitches that will surely be quickly patched, the short, nine-level, single-player campaign is still packed with blistering firefights. And then there's the multiplayer side with Battlefield 2 developer, DICE, delivering a beautifully balanced experience, despite once again being surprisingly slim on both innovation and scale. Featuring only eight maps, four multiplayer modes (Team Assault, Sector Control, Objective Raid and Combat Mission) and three classes (Rifleman, Special Ops or Sniper), MoH packs less variety than you might expect, even once you start unlocking weapon upgrades through levelling up. That said, the action does feel very different to CoD's tighter, more frantic skirmishes ? rewarding experience and teamwork over individual heroics ? something DICE will hopefully nurture and build on once the servers start filling up.
If you're looking for a straight comparison with the next CoD (Black Ops) you'll have to wait another few weeks. Like this year's Strictly/The X Factor tussle, clever scheduling ensures the two games won't be directly competing for chart position, which perhaps is just as well for EA. MoH is certainly better for its shift from WW2 to modern warfare, but veterans who recall the salad days of the series may be expecting more.
Reviewed on an Xbox 360
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