The Medal of Honor event was held in Marines Memorial Club and EA had setup sixteen PS3s for multiplayer and another three for the campaign mode. The campaign mode was especially interesting to me because so many single player campaign first-person shooters fall short due to more attention to multiplayer modes. Let’s take a look at the campaign/single player mode first.
Single-Player Mode
The Ranger Drop
EA was showing off three scenarios/missions in the campaign. The first sequence I played takes place in Afghanistan. You play an Army Ranger, on board a helo with several other Rangers. The graphical detail hit me right away — the eyes, the stubble beards, the worn faces, just every facial detail that you would expect to see was beautifully rendered. Compared to what I saw at E3, and the more recent multiplayer beta, what I saw yesterday was notably vastly improved.
Not to be outdone, the booming audio of the helo blades and the radio chatter between crew members was also immersive and impactful.
Moments later, the helicopter lands on the desert sand. The Rangers deploy, and once again I was very impressed with the visual detail. Imagine the swirling sand in the air, obscuring your view, very cool. Other helicopters are inbound, but an enemy RPG knocks it out of the sky, and then the fight is on. You and your Ranger buddies take cover and the firefight begins. You’re encouraged to take cover, flank, and play smart, rather than go John Rambo and charge at the insurgents. While you can try to go solo, you won’t get the same experience as working alongside your fellow Rangers. They will actively talk, issuing commands that have you taking the charge, going into cover, and a variety of other activities.
After dispatching several insurgents, my Ranger squad moved through the mountainous terrain and a few villages. The route was rife with skilled Taliban fighters whose AI impressed with how they took cover and remained largely unpredictable. Even better, my squadmates were also sharp and they could handle themselves. On more than one occasion I took a moment to sit back and watch how my AI ‘mates performed from cover. They not only engaged the enemy but were effective in doing so. All too often you see AI that forces you to do /everything/, but these Rangers proved more than capable.
Something else I thought was cool in this mission was the ability to get ammo from your squad. They won’t always give you ammo though — they may not have enough or they will flat out tell you that you’re already packing plenty — but it’s a nice mechanic as opposed to just having ammo clips lying around. Of course, if you pick up Taliban weapons, your squadmates aren’t likely to have compatible ammo, so you have to decide whether or not give up your original loadout or take that AK-47 (and others as well). You’re able to carry up to four weapons at a time, including a 9mm sidearm, two rifles, and a knife.
Apache
The second mission I played put me in the seat of an Apache helicopter. This is similar to the AC-130 gunship sequence in CoD MW. You’re role here is gunner — you won’t be flying the Apache at all. The mission has you searching the Afghan hillsides for Taliban. The pilot will make multiple passes over insurgents to ensure that you can eliminate them all with either your cannon or Hellfire missiles.
Some parts of this mission had the pilot hovering, giving you a chance to zoom in on some enemies way out in the distance. You know that black and white footage you see sometimes on the news? That’s mirrored here, and you get the same cool effect here when you fire your arms on unsuspecting Taliban (who happened to be firing mortars).
This particular sequence was fun, but shallow at the same time. I felt unstoppable in the Apache, which probably isn’t too uncommon for an actual skilled Apache assault team, but nevertheless.
Sniper
The third and final single player scenario I played was the role of a sniper. I enjoy playing the sniper and it was something I did both at E3 and in the multiplayer beta. I’m pleased to say that this latest experience as the sniper is actually much improved from the E3 and beta experiences I had mainly due to the fact that I could actually hit the target I was aiming for. I had all sorts of issues with doing this at E3 and on the multiplayer beta.
The mission put myself and one other soldier together on a mountain. We were tasked with clearing off the Taliban on an adjacent mountain. Special optics made locating the Taliban easy. Accurate shooting requires controlled breathing; players have to press L1 to steady their breathe before pulling the trigger.
A second way to locate enemies is to watch for a bright reflection of their scope lens in the bright Afghan sun. Once you see the that, zoom in and take’em out.
This mission had a neat scripted event about halfway through in which you and your spotter get, well, spotted. This means you have to get up and get the hell out of dodge, but you encounter many enemies along the way. So suddenly you go from sniping to firefight, and then back again.
For more information on the single player campaign mode, click on the picture below of Executive Producer Greg Goodrich (he’s a super nice guy, with a big bushy beard).
Multiplayer
For anyone that played the beta, you know that it (naturally) had lots of room to improve. You know, it was clunky, there were firing issues, accuracy issues, crashing issues, all sorts of things in need of fixing. Well, nevermind all that — EA and DICE have had several months to improve things and they sure have.
The awesome visual experience of the single player mode carries into multiplayer. You really feel like you’re in a warzone. Take the Kabal stage for example; all sorts of dirt, dents, dust, details, and other ‘d’ words. Seriously though, the environments are highly detailed and ‘active’ — the atmosphere is as chaotic as it is beautiful.
Another improvement I noticed at the event was how the maps felt larger; I didn’t feel as boxed in anymore. The maps are very large and inviting for large groups of players. I played the beta map, although an improved version, and another map. The mountainous area is neat because it’s snow covered, and the area with two villages was cool, too. I like having the option to either take up position in the village or set up shop on a bridge.
So I experienced two maps and three modes, there are of course more of each. The modes I played were:
– Objective Raid: This was available for play at E3, but it certainly wasn’t as refined as it was at this event. Basically, the sides are split in two: Defend and Attack. One side must defend a location, while the other side attempts a raid. It’s like playing a half-game of capture the flag, but what’s brilliant about this is what type of strategy you can plan to pull either off. This particular game encourages, if not demands, cohesion and communication between teammates.
– Sector Control: For me, and this might be way off base, this seemed like a more capture the flag scenario. Patrick Liu, multiplayer producer on the DICE team (you’ll see his interview below this — very soon) has a different perspective on how this goes. It’s fun and furious and a welcome addition I think.
– Combat Mission: This was interesting. The combat mission was a multiplayer game that contained objectives. It played like a regular single-player mission with the exception that you get a story set up that requires certain objectives to be achieved before you can conclude the overall mission. I didn’t get a chance to actually play this, but from what I saw it was pretty intense.
I’d also point out that the multiplayer HUD had been overhauled completely since the release of the beta version in the early part of the summer. Expect more details about how your team is doing, a clearer radar, and some other info to keep you informed on your progress and position.
This is something you’ll get from the Patrick Liu video (located below), but there are rewards in place for achievements on the multiplayer side of things. For example, if you continually have a high kill/death ratio, you eventually will obtain an expert badge. The badges are likely going to be used like Perks in CoD, but I don’t have confirmation of this yet. In addition, there is a leveling system, too.
My multiplayer experiences at this event were clearly above and beyond what I experienced at E3 and in the beta.
For more information about the multiplayer mode for Medal of Honor click on the picture below for a full interview with multiplayer Producer at DICE, Patrick Liu.
(click for interview)
Patrick Liu, Multiplayer Producer at DICE for Medal of Honor
Overall Impressions
To sum up, Activision should be worried about this game. I really enjoyed what little of the campaign I was able to play, and the multiplayer by DICE is definitely on track as well. This idea of one developer doing single player and another developer doing the multiplayer is the best way to combat either mode feeling tacked on or rushed. As it stands right now, Medal of Honor appears to be offering AAA experiences on both sides of the game.
Check out our other coverage of the event, including videos and interviews, and be sure to check out our full review in October!
