Editorial Review

Medal of Honor: Frontline marks the debut of the Medal of Honor franchise on the PlayStation2. In Frontline, you go behind enemy lines as Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson. Your missions include the D-day assault on Omaha Beach, tracking your Nazi nemesis aboard a speeding armored train, the epic battle for control of the Nijmegen Bridge, a strategic choke point in the Allied drive into the heart of Nazi Germany, and a top-secret, high-risk mission to steal the Ho IX flying wing. The Ho IX is an experimental Nazi jetfighter so powerful it could turn the tide of World War II.

There are 20 levels of gameplay spread across six major missions, all based on real World War II events and all adding up to one complete and uninterrupted story line. Fully realized and highly-detailed 3-D environments include six times the number of nonplayer character animations as in the original Medal of Honor. The game includes detailed German, British, and American troops, as well as Dutch civilians, all with full facial expressions and lip synch. More than 20 authentic WWII weapons include the Colt .45, Springfield sniper rifle, Panzerschreck rocket launcher, MG42 mounted machine gun, and the Browning automatic rifle. Enemy vehicles include panzer and tiger tanks, trucks, motorcycles with sidecars, and armored railway scout cars. There are also player-driven motorized railcars, trains, and mine carts.

Editorial Review

EA has finally brought its Medal of Honor series (already wildly popularon the PlayStation) to the PC. Set during World War II, Medal of Honor:Allied Assault chronicles the fictional exploits of Lt. Mike Powell as hebattles his way from the shores of Africa to the shores of France to the heartof Nazi Germany. On the PSX, the Medal of Honor games were hailed asrevolutionary, and though Allied Assault never quite merits that level ofpraise, it's still a great game.

At first glance, Allied Assault seems to have a lot in common with theWorld War II-themed Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but the similaritiesare strictly superficial. Allied Assault takes a more realistic approachto the action, both in the enemies that you face (there are no zombies ormutants) and in the mission structure. The game unfolds across six real-lifetheaters 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 yourmissions are very well designed, especially the mission where you land on OmahaBeach.

The D-day mission has received a lot of attention, and for good reason--once thedoor on your Higgins boat drops, all hell breaks loose. The men in front of youdrop in a hail of bullets, a Higgins boat to your left is blown to bits, andmachine gun fire rakes the water everywhere. Getting from the boat to therelative safety of the shingles is a truly harrowing experience, although partsof 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 thanin Wolfenstein--enemies will duck for cover, lay down suppressing fire,and throw back grenades--but too often it's obvious that enemy actions arescripted. At times you can actually tell when you've triggered the next wave ofenemy attacks: stay still and nothing happens; silently creep a foot forward andthey all come rushing out. This kind of heavy-handed scripting is a throwback tothe days of Doom, and more than a little bit of a disappointment.

Graphically, Allied Assault looks quite sharp. It uses the QuakeIII graphics engine and the character models, vehicles, and textures arewell done, especially if you have a high-end video card. Unfortunately, thereare some glitches, such as clipping and collision detection problems. It's notuncommon 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, hesimply falls down.

The weakest part of Allied Assault is its multiplayer component. Thereare four game types, all of which are exceptionally average, and none of them isas compelling as Wolfenstein's multiplayer. Still, it is undeniably funto 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 willgo down as a classic gaming experience. --William Harms

Pros:

• D-day mission is incredible
• Lots of mission variety
• Nice graphics

• There are a few graphical glitches
• Heavily scripted AI
• Multiplayer is very average

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Asin: B00006F7RJ
Sales Rank: 2236
Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Action    3. Shooters (Shooter)    4. Military (Tactics)   

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Those looking for a Saving Private Ryaninteractive will be pleased with this effort from the games division of Hollywood'sDreamWorks studio. Polished with the grit of great WWII films, Medal of Honorshines brightly, despite the graphic limitations of the PlayStation.

As U.S. secret service officer James Patterson, you must embark on highly dangerousmissions, sometimes in the trenches, sometimes undercover, but always alone and alwayseliminating the German Nazi threat. The Nazis are equipped with the same weapons asyou, and they know how to use them. Throw a grenade and watch soldiers scatter, orbetter yet kick a steel pineapple back in their direction before it blows.

Missions are divided into challenging--but never frustrating--levels that includeinfiltrating a U-boat pen, destroying a war train while disguised as a German officer, orpowering through a group of nasty Gestapo in a quaint French town. A mixture of stealthfighting and action movie bravado, using each with prudence is essential for successfullycompleting levels.

This game is suspenseful, in the way that a good page-turner keeps you up at night.You'll be playing until the end of the level, but when that comes, the briefing for the nextlevel is just too enticing to stop. --Jeff Young

Pros:

• The best first-person shooter for the PlayStation
• An engaging plot, even for non-history buffs
• Outstanding music and sound design

• Graphics get blurry when close up
• Replayability is low except in multiplayer mode
• Occasional polygon dropout can enable player to see through some walls

Asin: B00006JZDV
Sales Rank: 701
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Gamecube (Game Cube, Game-cube)    3. Action    4. Adventure   

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Sales Rank: 4761
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure   

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Sales Rank: 3272
Subjects:  1. Computer Games    2. Macintosh (Machintosh)    3. Mac    4. Apple    5. Action   

Asin: B00006JC48
Sales Rank: 639
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Xbox (x box)    3. Microsoft    4. Action    5. Adventure