The Story

A while ago WWII games were few and far between, now they are much more common. The number of excellent WWII games has stayed pretty much the same, but the number of good ones has increased slightly, and of course the number of bad ones (*cough* Beachhead *cough*) are a dime a dozen. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (MOHAA) ranks among the good ones. It won’t blow you away with realism or tactical depth, but it is a well-constructed and fun game to play.

The Graphics

While MOHAA uses the Quake III engine, the emphasis is not on creating eye candy. This is not to say that the graphics aren’t impressive, they definitely are, but the focus is more on creating realistic environments over lens flairs and particle effects. Every level is immaculately detailed and laid out. The settings never seem out-of-place or slapped together. The levels are designed so well that there’s never really a time where you’ll look at something and think, “What the heck is that, and why is it there?” Excellent all around.

The Gameplay

In most FPSs there is/are usually levels that stick out as being particularly good, levels that you would want to replay, or use if you’re trying to sell a friend on the game. The first three-quarters of MOHAA is almost entirely composed of these kind of levels. One of the most notably levels (although not my favorite) is the Omaha Beach level. If you haven’t heard this before (which would make you the exception) it recreates the scene from Saving Private Ryan (which, in turn, recreated it from history - but that’s another story). If you’ve ever watched the movie and thought, “I wish FPSs were like this,” then here is your answer. If you never did think that, but still love a really good FPS, then this is also your answer.

On another issue: this is not Quake. This is not supposed to be Quake. Too many people get caught up in the hype that, “if it uses the Quake engine, then it must be like Quake.” Not so. The no-blood thing didn’t bother me, and certainly didn’t have anything to do with the gameplay. Enemies react in such a way that blood didn’t seem to be a necessity. It’s about the gameplay, not gibs and gore. If every game was a Quake clone, I think it would make for a fairly boring time in the world of games. Plus, walking around during WWII with a BFG and a rail gun would only be fun for so long.

Some have complained about MOHAA being linear. Yes, it is. But then again, what FPS isn’t? Half-Life (the obligatory yardstick for measuring FPSs), certainly was. MOHAA is neither a tactical simulation (Rouge Spear), nor is it an RPG hybrid (Deus EX). It’s a straight-up FPS: go from point A to point B, and pretty much kill everything between them. Yes, major strides have been since the days of Wolfenstein, but the basic formula is still the same.

The Sound

Sound in MOHAA is, quite simply, amazing. Without a doubt, the best sounding game I’ve played. Every sound has been captured perfectly, from the “tink” of shell casings hitting the ground, to the “thunk” of a bullet hitting wood, to the dirt-spewing explosions. There’s really not much more to say about it. It’s outstanding. The music is just as well done, but not quite as noticeable. It will most likely play in the background without you even noticing it. Once you do notice it, you will no doubt be impressed. I only wish the soundtrack was included with the game (or at least in the .pak file).

The Problems

Now, we all know nothing is perfect, and MOHAA is no exception. Thankfully, most of the problems wait until later in the game to become apparent. One of the most annoying problems would be that enemies seem to know that you are coming even before you do and will be able to spot you long before you spot them (or are even able to). This occurs mostly in the “sniper” levels, where you need to scout out ahead and take out all the snipers before they kill your party members. Thanks to the enemy’s inhuman accuracy you’ll most likely die, and reload, until you’ve figure out where everyone is. Also it appears as if the Germans created a full-auto sniper rifle, since they can fire twice as fast as you can. This doesn’t make for a very fun experience, but there are only a few levels like this, and they are towards the end. Another problem would be your teammates. For the most part they are just glorified bullet-sponges. Yes, they will help you out once in a while, but more often than not (and usually when you are required to keep them alive) they’ll stand in once place with a target pasted to their forehead. The last problem is spawning. I have seen enemies drop right out of the sky (and no, they weren’t paratroopers). Although this didn’t happen often, most times they appeared when I wasn’t looking, it is annoying since the game is supposed to be loosely based on real-life.

The End
Overall, a fun WII experience without all the annoying waypoint configuring and command issuing of other WWII based games.

Recommended: Yes