Medal of Honor European Assault

“There’s nothing good about war but there’s good in why we fight wars.”

These are the words we hear in the beginning of Medal of Honor: European Assault before we are tossed into the brink of madness that is World War II during the Allied assault into the then-German occupied territories. We have been to hell and back before in other Medal of Honor games on the Xbox but while those were good experiences European Assault is a step in the right direction for the series.

You assume the role of Lieutenant William Holt, an American officer working under the OSS along with British and then-Russian field agents. It is as Holt that you take part in important operations such as raids and intelligence gathering that lead up to some historical battles such as the Battle of the Bulge. We first see Holt in March of 1942 during the Allied raid on an important port in St. Nazaire in France. We come to see, through the eyes of Lt. Holt, the start of a lengthy campaign that will take him to North Africa and even as far as Russia.

The opening sequence in St. Nazaire serves not only as an introduction to the enemies and mission structure, but also the gameplay style and the size of the playing environment. Unlike past Medal of Honor games where you were restricted from certain areas, this one certainly leaves room to explore off the beaten path, so to speak. Of course the path always tends to lead to the objective at hand but at least now there’s enough space to walk in completely different directions. This means more areas to explore within an environment and more things to see so now the game doesn’t feel like its pushing you along a specific path to complete the main objective.

The mission objectives themselves even point in different directions, allowing you to pursue an objective in the opposite direction and then head back to the main mission objective. You can earn a gold medal for completing all the required, secondary and bonus objectives in each mission. So aside from attempting to uncover the plans for a prototype tank (main objective), you also have to grab important documents (secondary objectives) and eliminate a high-ranking Nazi officer (bonus objectives). Each mission structure seems to play the same way but that’s not bad considering its fun to assassinate officers like Horst Brenner, and there are instances in the game where the secondary objectives change to something dramatic such as taking out an enemy tank.

Yet, what stands out from Medal of Honor Frontline or Rising Sun is that the gameplay style is refreshingly dissimilar and things that seemed just Ok in the past games have been reworked to feel great in the game. As a result there’s better aiming, there’s a crouch that will allow you to go flat on your stomach and there’s a lean-and-shoot that doesn’t expose your entire body. What this amounts to is a game with a steady pace even with wild firefights going on around you. This doesn’t mean the game is not linear, it still somewhat hints that there’s a main objective to complete but you don’t feel like the game is pushing you. And while the game does not offer spontaneous and wonderfully surprising moments like Brothers In Arms (there’s a moment where you have to move forward or that reinforcement of enemies that was radioed in a few seconds ago will not show up) there are good scripted bits.

New to the series is an Adrenalin meter that fills up with each enemy you kill out in the field. Once filled you can press the black button (on its default setting) and time slows down and you become invincible, your bullets cause extra damage and your ammo supply is unlimited. Of course, this doesn’t last very long but it does make for some really Rambo-like moments where you can charge into the fray with guns blazing and no worries of getting killed. In the likely event that you are shot dead out in the field, you can get automatically revived. Scattered throughout the field are Revive icons that are sort of like extra lives. What this does is revive you soon after you are struck dead so it feels as though you were just knocked down rather than killed.

Unlike the other games in the series, this is not a completely solitary affair. Holt is also in command of three fellow officers that can be directed to certain spots you indicate with the click of the left analog stick. While the commands are limited to just positioning, they’re helpful enough to shoot enemies down and that is a good thing considering the enemy AI is smarter and better at finding cover. On the other hand, the actual positioning doesn’t often cover the area you indicated and you are now looking out for the health of your men as well as your own. You can heal fellow squad mates but this isn’t as easy as it sounds because they tend to move around like hyperactive children in a playground. Often times you’ll have to order them to stay put in one area to heal them.

A multiplayer option is back but there is no Xbox Live support for online play. The game doesn’t even support System Link so you are forced to play an up-to-four-players multiplayer mode using a single Xbox. Thankfully -at least - there are a nice number of multiplayer modes. There’s the essentials like Death Match and Team Death Match but there are also mission objective-based multiplayer modes such as Face to Face (where you have to plant a bomb in the enemy’s base) or Survival (capture a flag and run with it as long as you can). With a total of nine multiplayer game modes it sort of makes up for the lack of online play ... but not by very much.

Graphically, European Assault isn’t the prettiest Xbox shooter in town and that’s quite a shame considering there are various unique locales and environments filled with a lot to see. While there are areas where things can look rather plainly (like a good majority of the North Africa missions) there are places (like Russia) that look rather impressive. Sadly even the faces seem pretty generic. The visual effects are great and they do drive home the impression that you’re in the thick of battle. In the Battle of the Bulge, for instance, mortar fire and explosions toss enemies like rag dolls.

What does bring the war to life is the game’s sound that is so incredibly detailed that if you were to play it loud it would - no doubt about it - scare your neighbors or at least fool them into thinking you’re watching a movie with an abundance of action sequences. Those who are familiar with the Medal of Honor series already know that the sound and its score are the game’s most powerful features. It manages to bring us a beautiful score that - accompanied with the good voice acting and sound effects - make this a wonderfully cinematic experience.

Medal of Honor: European Assault is not a major turning point in the series but its changes make this the start of something amazing and it certainly is an experience that shouldn’t be missed. If you’re a first-person shooter fan, this is a game you will want to buy. If this is your first Medal of Honor game then you are starting off at a good point in the series.

Gameplay: 8.2
Mission-wise there is a lot to do and there are even mini-bosses you must eliminate during each mission. The game also feels much better now that there’s different crouching positions, a squad you can use to help you and the new Adrenalin meter. In short, this is the way we love our Medal of Honor games ... nicely paced, challenging and plenty to do.

Graphics: 7.0
Sadly European Assault is a plain-looking game with little personality in terms of character models and some areas within the environment. From afar everything looks pretty good and the locales are neatly detailed but they lack polish. Explosions, on the other hand, look great.

Sound: 9.2
Once again we are treated with an audible feast that should be played with the volume up or, if you have a great sound system hooked up, play this one with true surround sound. The sound effects are heavily detailed, the voice acting is wonderful and the score is just plain gorgeous.

Difficulty: Medium
The enemy AI seems a lot smarter than those found in the tame experience that was Rising Sun and that’s a good thing for those looking for a real challenge. Enemies will duck for cover, move to better positions and attempt to replace a downed gunner. The mission objects are also a bit harder to complete but this is what makes the action all the more dramatic. You’ll be thankful for the Revive feature, trust me.

Concept: 8.0
EA Games certainly knows how to make a presentable historical war shooter and once again we’re treated with actual war footage and a story that’s emotionally gripping. While the game is still a bit linear, the environments are huge and allow the freedom to explore. The squad management is a great touch; although experienced gamers will wish there were more specific commands to issue their squad mates.

Multiplayer: 7.9
Unfortunately this one doesn’t support Xbox Live multiplayer fun ... a feature that would have been excellent seeing as the multiplayer modes are plentiful and actually pretty fun. Still, up to four friends can battle it out split-screen style in a free-for-all deathmatch or objective-based team missions.

Overall: 8.3
Surpassing the last Medal of Honor game, European Assault is a much welcomed addition and a step up for a series that is starting to show its true colors. With its wide open spaces fit for exploration and wonderfully action-packed mission scenarios, this is a first-rate game for fans of first-person shooters set during WWII.