Medal of Honor - Second Look Preview

When we first saw Medal of Honor earlier this year, EALA treated us to a stunning demonstration of its Tier 1 Operators - the elite servicemen at the heart of the game's story. But these Tier 1s aren't the limit to MoH's plot; they merely represent the 'Scalpel'. Confused? We were for a while but now it's all becoming abundantly clear. If these Tier 1 special operatives are the incisive knife of the US Army's presence in Afghanistan, then the US Army Rangers are the heavy duty firepower that's backing them up. That's why EALA is referring to the US Army Rangers under the codename 'Sledgehammer' in MoH, and the Tier 1 Operators as 'Scalpel'.

It's only fitting, then, that our second look at the game is from the 'Sledgehammer' perspective. In contrast to the start of the Tier 1 level we saw in March (which opens with your character lying prone with a goat in his face - seriously), this new Army Rangers level commences among a squad of soldiers riding in a Chinook helicopter. An answerphone message plays out in the background during this opening cut-scene; it's a message that your playable character must have left for his family before going out in the chopper. He tells his wife and daughter not to worry and that he's mostly just lazing around back at the base - all of the combat is going on far away from where he's stationed.

Of course, it's all lies to give his family a false sense of calm and relief. Instead, he's in a helicopter flying towards one of the deadliest combat zones in the world - what a trooper. Moments after the Chinook lands and its payload of soldiers spills out onto the desert, 'Sledgehammer's' differing approach to combat from 'Scalpel' becomes plainly evident. Moving up a hill through an Afghani village, 'Sledgehammer' demonstrates very little of the stealthy, highly orchestrated plans of attack favoured by 'Scalpel'. Instead, the Army Rangers are all about kicking down doors without a second thought and unloading full magazines into rooms without discretion. Replacing the Tier 1 Operator's silenced pistol and precision rifle is a machine gun/shotgun combo. The Rangers certainly do manage to 'bring the pain' and essentially act as the hardcore backbone to the Tier 1 Operators' elite methods.

After swiftly dealing with any insurgents in the vicinity of the village, 'Sledgehammer' moves further towards its primary objective: disabling a Dishka machine gun emplacement. Set atop the hill that our Rangers squad is gradually ascending, this Dishka gun has the high ground and is pinning us down under heavy fire. Our group captain formulates a plan that has our character providing covering fire for an NPC squad-mate as he assails the hill and drops a green flare by the Dishka gun (the US Air Force sign for 'drop the bombs here').

It's yet another set-piece that perfectly exemplifies the revamped Medal of Honor style. Instead of making your character the action hero who blasts through terrorists like GI Joe on amphetamines, EALA instead positions you in a believable role where you have to follow orders from superior officers and work amongst a team. While lesser FPS games might have you running up the hill to place that flare yourself, providing your own covering fire and knifing insurgents in the nads along the way, Medal of Honor simply asks you to perform a more realistic task among a group of soldiers that are all minding their own objectives and positions simultaneously. It's very much in the Modern Warfare vein and, somewhat counter-intuitively, it's actually a more immersive gameplay style than the 'one soldier beats all' method simply because it's a lot more fathomable.

Anyway, back to our demo: with the green flare lit, an F-15 promptly flies overhead and ignites the hilltop with its payload of 'freedom bombs'. Objective complete, the Rangers move on passed the demolished Dishka and into a valley. It's a more imposing position than before, with a constant threat of unseen attacks from insurgents across the valley ridges. An eerie quiet falls over the valley as the Rangers press on cautiously and, sure enough, within a few steps there are more enemies to deal with. Our squad dispatches them soon enough but, before they can regroup, rocket fire from the valley's edge splits up the group, sending some soldiers flying with the blast and others running for cover. Once our Ranger manages to move out of the open, he follows the rocket plume's trail to its source before executing the insurgent at the end of it.

Once again, calm is temporarily restored as our Ranger squad regroups. Then comes the familiar but somewhat out of place sound of a mobile phone ringing; and it's nearby too. The surrounding soldiers take a couple of moments to get their bearings and put two and two together: this is not one of their loved ones calling from home but a makeshift bomb instead. Before they're given time to react though, the incendiary device explodes and knocks out our Ranger in the process. It's here that EA chooses to bring the demo to a close. We couldn't help but notice the contrast between the phone call at the start of the level and the call that finishes it.

With this revamped take on the Medal of Honor series, it certainly looks as though EA has finally managed to develop some worthy single-player FPS competition for Activision's Call of Duty instalments of recent years. With Black Ops coming out this autumn, Medal of Honor certainly has its work cut out to eat into CoD's market share, but right now both projects are neck-and-neck in terms of sheer quality and high level production values.