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Medal of Honor: Airborne Review for PlayStation 3

Medal of Honor: Airborne Review for PlayStation 3

Thanks to games such as Airborne, war is getting to be a lot more fun these days…

Medal of Honor: Airborne does the franchise proud. But don’t be fooled by the title, this game has little to do with the Air Force. It’s your standard, on-the-ground, WWII shooter, although you do start every mission getting ejected from a plane. The action is fun, well balanced, and realistic. Technically the game is very solid, but the weapons feel a bit skittish. It will take a bit of compromising to get them to perform the way you want, but that period of adjustment is relatively short.

Medal of Honor: Airborne screenshot

Each mission begins with you and your unit inside a plane ready to parachute into enemy territory. You’ll receive your briefing amidst the chaos of your unit as they talk, shout, laugh, and scream while taking on enemy fire. You’re always reminded of just how explosive of a situation you’re in. The scene can change at any time, which is illustrated to good effect with the dramatic cutscenes. A huge list of objectives will be thrown on your lap before you deplane, and I do mean huge. Each mission can take more than an hour to complete, and there is a lot to do in that time frame. Fortunately, you’ll be able to access the objectives on your radar.

What’s interesting is that you can actually choose where you will land, which can have a different effect on your mission. By manipulating the controls, you can get your parachute to land virtually anywhere on the map. Areas with green smoke are regarded as safe areas, and that’s where you’ll want to land. If you land elsewhere, you’re likely to find yourself overwhelmed by enemies. So you’ll learn to avoid that area at all cost on your next landing. Eventually you’ll have to make your way to that location on foot, but hopefully you’ll be better prepared to deal with the enemy on the ground.

Medal of Honor: Airborne screenshot

While in the air, you’re given a good look of your surroundings, and while it may be tempting to head for higher ground, it can also make you an easier target. Enemies will continue to respawn even as you pick them off from the air. You have to reach the ground and take care of them at that point, while attempting to advance. This ability to choose your drop off point adds some depth and freedom, but the game still progresses in a linear fashion, even though you can perform the objectives in different orders.

Missions range from capturing territories to detonating explosives. They progress nicely, and I might add, realistically. The changes are gradual. The enemies become more numerous and intelligent later in the level. The environments don’t change drastically. You’ll move from rubble-strewn urban areas to open fields and forest. It all seems natural, and even the linear nature of the gameplay seems like the only logical progression. The only real complaint is that the environments aren’t totally destructible. This can be especially disconcerting when an enemy is taking cover and all the firepower in the world won’t erode the little wall he’s hiding behind.

Medal of Honor: Airborne screenshot

Experience points are obtained by killing enemies and completing objectives. Weapons get upgraded through experience points, and you can actually notice the improvements immediately. Upgrades include larger magazine clips, stabilizers, better scopes, faster reloads, and extra attachments which turns one weapon into two. Some of the more powerful guns will actually display a realistic recoil. This looks and feels cool, although it makes the weapon more difficult to control. Grenades are always fun and useful, but they aren’t plentiful. You have to make sure your friendly A.I. doesn’t get in the way when you throw one, otherwise it will hit him in the back of the head and roll back into your midst. But even with all this firepower, you can’t blow up tanks. You can only stop them in their tracks by taking out the gunner.

As engaging as the enemy A.I. is, they aren’t as smart as all hell. For the most part, they do take cover and are careful to peak around corners and send a hail of bullets in your direction. But there are times when they will run at you through an open field, opting for a totally inappropriate melee attack instead of taking cover and trying to pick you and your men off from a safe distance. By the same token, the friendly A.I. will also run at them to engage in hand-to-hand combat. It’s something that you’ll just learn to ignore. Sometimes the friendly A.I. will actually get in your way and block your shots. That’s a little bit harder to ignore.

Medal of Honor: Airborne screenshot

An average gamer can blast through this in a couple of days. Fortunately, the faux open-ended gameplay will allow you to replay the single-player mission a couple more times. The ability to start your mission where you want and change the order of objectives gives you a sense of freedom. You may want to try different techniques to achieve the same objectives. And once you’ve exhausted the single-player mode, there is a multiplayer component that features Deathmatch and Capture the Flag-style modes. The multiplayer modes are fun, but they aren’t the reason to purchase this game. I did have a bit of trouble finding a game for the PS3 at times, although that may change after the holidays. While I did experience some slowdown online, it was momentary.

Medal of Honor: Airborne is a good-looking game, but it’s not amazing. It doesn’t push the next-next gen envelope. It looks like a good Xbox game. The character models are well animated and look great close up. From a distance, the characters can be difficult to discern. Things do tend to look a little frenetic and messy. The guns sound great. They are loud and aggressive. Crank it up.

Medal of Honor: Airborne is definitely worth a weekend rental. There are few games that you could tackle in such short time that are of comparable quality. I applaud the developers for not dragging the gameplay out. It’s as long as it needs to be, and even if that means a little on the short side, so be it. It just leaves me wanting more.

Features

  • Get ready to get airborne! Medal of Honor Airborne has gone gold. Medal of Honor Airborne is the most recent addition to the revered series that has topped 31 million copies sold worldwide.
  • PlayStation 3 gamers are able to jump into the largest Allied Airborne Operations of WWII and become the hero that suppresses the Axis powers throughout Europe.
  • Using an innovative approach to first-person shooter gaming, every level starts with the player’s ability to airdrop into combat from a C-47 airplane and choose where they land on the battlefield. The first step is everything and the player’s landing spot can change the course of battle.
  • Conflict on the ground offers strategic choice in vertical, open battle spaces with a wealth of attack routes and flanking opportunities.
  • Medal of Honor Airborne delivers an immersive experience of WWII which is complimented by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino who has scored the soundtrack. An esteemed composer for numerous film and TV projects such as “Lost”, “Alias,” M:i:III (2007), The Incredibles (2004), and most recently Ratatouille (2007), Giacchino has been repeatedly recognized for his contributions to theatrical composition and score.

  • Multiplayer modes extend replay value.

    RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.1 Graphics
    Gritty and realistic. Environments could be more destructible. 4.2 Control
    Weapons can be a little hard to handle. Recoil is powerful. 4.8 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
    Excellent sounding weapons. Huge, powerful, and loud. Inspires confidence. 3.4 Play Value
    Replay single-player missions with different strategies. Multiplayer component includes Deathmatch and Capture the Flag-style modes. 4.6 Overall Rating – Must Buy
    Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

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