Medal of Honor Allied Assault: Spearhead

"A great expansion to the best shooter of 2002"

When Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was released in January of 2002, it was an immediate favorite. Impressive graphics, amazing sound design, and just overall immersiveness made it quite an experience. EA knew people wanted more, and in the fall of '02, the expansion pack, Spearhead, was released. While the single player campaign's a bit on the short side, and the multiplayer isn't improved THAT much, it's one of the best expansion packs to come out in the past few years, and is definitely worth the 30 dollar price tag if you enjoyed Allied Assault.

Graphics: 8/10

When Allied Assault first game out, it was an impressive looking game. Not ground breaking, but nice to look at. Spearhead's uses the same graphical engine, and thus it's a bit dated now. Occasional blurry textures reflect that. The weapons and character models still look great; however, the new weapons don't look quite as polished as the originals. There are some incredible looking scenes, though. The opening sequence is one of the finest ever seen in a FPS. Framerate is usually consistent; even when there's a lot of fighting going on around you, it's generally stable. With a Geforce 2, you can expect a little stuttering here and there, but with anything higher, you'll be alright.

Sound: 10/10

Sound has always been one of the best aspects of the MOH series, and Spearhead definitely continues that tradition. From the planes buzzing overhead to the artillery fire in the distance, to the sounds of the gunfire right in front of you, Spearhead's sound design is simply spectacular. That being said, there are some occasional glitches. Most notable is when you're firing some of the new weapons, the sound of the gun sometimes doesn't play. There's just a flare, smoke, and a grunt if you hit the enemy. Not a major problem, but it never happened in Allied Assault.

One real drawback to Spearhead is the voice acting. Gary Oldman voices Jack Barnes in the little cinemas between missions, and he recites real WW2 poetry each time you complete a level, but this is the only high point. In game voicing is simply horrible; the kind you make a face at. Not a terrible drawback, but again, it's something that didn't carry over well from Allied Assault.

The game's music is fantastic, fitting the WW2 theme of the game perfectly. The good ol' Medal of Honor theme song appears a few times throughout the game. Altogether, sound is great.

Gameplay: 10/10

If you liked Allied Assault's gameplay, you're gonna love Spearhead. It tends to focus more on the best aspects of its parent game, like squad based combat, epic battles sequences, and tank driving. Unfortunately, each of those great aspects represents a level, meaning there are only 3 missions. The first has you parachuting in on D-Day and getting together with some British soldiers to take out some artillery. The squad based combat continues into the second mission, then it becomes one huge battle, in the Battle of the Bulge. The final mission has you soling it through Berlin, and eventually getting into a tank and ending the game in a fantastic clash between Russian and German forces. Then you're left wanting more. Of course, there's the developers ace in the hole; multiple difficulties. While Hard isn't nearly as difficult as it was in Allied Assault (which could be compared to Halo Legendary difficulty), it gives you a good fight, and you'll no doubt be playing through the game again and again.

Multiplayer has been seriously upgraded, but not overhauled. Some new maps, weapon sets and a Tug of War match round out the package. Tug of War is sort of like a King of the Hill with multiple hills and a destructable spawn point. These matches are similar to Battlefield 1942, but on a much smaller scale. Overall, if you liked the multiplayer before, you're gonna love what Spearhead has to offer.

In the end, Spearhead satisfies. It all comes down whether or not it's worth the 30 dollars. If you loved Allied Assault, you'll love Spearhead. If not, you won't find anything new here.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/03, Updated 01/24/03