In a time where World War II games are a dime a dozen, developers are just recently beginning to tap into the Vietnam War as a venue for war games.  Titles like Battlefield: Vietnam, Conflict: Vietnam, Shellshock: Nam ’67 and more are hitting the market hoping to gain the same success that the WWII genre has enjoyed over the past few years.  Now, from Vivendi Universal comes Men of Valor, a Vietnam FPS with a bit more of a personal tone and storyline.  Developed by 2015, the folks behind Medal of Honor: Allied Assault on the PC, Men of Valor puts the player into the shoes of an American soldier as he deals with the trials and tribulations of the Vietnam conflict.  While the game does suffer from a few gameplay issues like poor graphics and AI problems, Men of Valor gives gamers a very personal storyline and a good representation of the Vietnam War.

Men of Valor puts you in the role of Dean Shepard, an African-American soldier from a small town thrown into the controversial war.  You’ll complete missions, interact with your fellow soldiers and feel the tragedy as some of them lose their lives.  The story pans out not only through the missions in the game, but also through the letters that Shepard writes home to this family in between missions.  Through the letters, we see Shepard’s fears and hopes come to life and really get to grasp a piece of who he is and how he feels, therein giving the player more of an attachment to Shepard and his platoon mates than a mere nameless/faceless soldier. 

Having been developed by 2015, Men of Valor feels a lot like the Medal of Honor games.  While the gameplay isn’t “you against the world” as it often is in the Medal of Honor games, the action still has that same kind of cinematic presentation to it.  Simple patrol missions go to hell in a hand basket relatively quickly, with enemies coming at you from every direction at a moment’s notice.  Your platoon will do a well enough job of handling themselves, but it ultimately falls on you to complete the real meaty tasks in the game, like dropping a smoke grenade on an enemy missile stockpile or taking out an enemy sniper.  If you get shot, it will be necessary to stop and bandage yourself up, lest you bleed to death and die.

However, the game does fall prey to a few problems.  First off, the AI is pretty dumb, making some very foolish mistakes.  On more than one occasion, I was able to walk right up to an enemy soldier and shoot them point blank as they just stood there, without registering my presence at all.  It would have been cool if the enemies employed some realistic guerilla warfare tactics, like “hit and run” or making intelligent use of their cover.  Unfortunately, the enemies simply run at you screaming and shooting without using their brains.

The game also feels very scripted, which was one of the downsides of the Medal of Honor games.  Enemies will always hit from the same locations at the same times, with no variation in their patterns.  This mixed with the poor AI can make the game not as fun or as realistic as it could be.

The aiming controls are also a bit of a downer, borrowing the manual aim from Medal of Honor: Frontline.  There really is no type of auto-aim in the game, meaning that in order to get a shot off, you have to stop, aim and fire.  You have the ability to lean around corners and fire, but that’s about it as far as mobility is concerned when it comes to shooting.  This limits the pace of the game and slows it down, especially in multiplayer.

The graphics end up being another sore spot overall.  The character models look pretty decent, but nowhere near what the Xbox is capable of.  The environments are also pretty drab and lack detail.  While the game does have some pretty impressive explosions and special effects, the framerates are pretty boggy and get choppy when the action is heavy onscreen.

The sound department fares much better.  The score is very cinematic, and sounds like it was pulled straight from a movie.  The voice acting is also extremely well done, with a great range of emotion and a well-written script throughout.  The gunfire, explosions and other sound effects are also great, sounding crisp and clear in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

Men of Valor is a good game, providing the gamer with a deep and engrossing storyline, a sympathetic character to play as, and some great missions.  Unfortunately, the game has too many issues (like poor AI, weak graphics and overly-scripted gameplay) to allow it to be the great Vietnam War game that it aspires to be. 

Gameplay: 7.5
Men of Valor has a real cinematic feel to it in terms of scope, with battles emerging out of everywhere and enemies striking from all directions.  However, the gameplay has some pretty nasty issues, like weak sauce AI, frustrating aiming controls and an overly scripted feel to the game.

Graphics: 7.5 
Although the game has some nice explosions and special effects and some decent character models, the overall graphical presentation is pretty sub par, and no indication of what the Xbox is truly capable of.  The environments are very drab and lack detail and the framerates can get pretty boggy.

Sound: 9.2
The sound in Men of Valor is very polished, with a sweeping musical score and crisp weapon and explosion sounds.  The voice acting is also another highlight, with a great script and an excellent sense of dialogue.

Difficulty: Medium  

Concept: 8.9 
Men of Valor has a great storyline, putting you in the shoes of an African American soldier as he deals with racism, forges bonds with other soldiers and experiences tragedy in the Vietnam War.  The story, as presented through in-game cutscenes and through Shepard’s letters home, is well crafted and engaging.                                                                                                                  

Multiplayer: 7.9 
The multiplayer elements are pretty good, with XBox Live support and the ability to go through the single-player campaign co-operatively.  However, the manual aim system can be problematic and slows the pace in a multiplayer game.

Overall: 7.9

Men of Valor is a good game that does a fine job of putting you in the shoes of an American soldier during the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War.  Unfortunately, the game suffers from too many gameplay issues to allow it to be a truly great game.