Medal of Honor: European Assault

"It's no longer a one-man war!"

That's right! In the latest release of the Medal of Honor series, EA fixed the biggest problem in Frontline and Rising Sun! European Assault impresses all gamers with the new addition of a squad! This proves that no one man can win a war and makes up for the embarrassing Rising Sun.

Story:

You are an American intelligence officer named William Holt. The OSS will send you on various missions that will take you through St. Nazaire, North Africa, Russia, and the Battle of the Bulge. The main story line may be difficult to follow at times, but basically you are chasing down this bad guy named Von Schrader and trying to stop his nefarious plots. The story is not too bad, but it's the game play that really matters.

Gameplay:

The gameplay here outshines Rising Sun by 10-fold. The addition of a squad makes it so that you are never alone. Sometimes, you will have to find the soldiers before they become part of your team. Other times, they are with you from the start to end of a mission. They are never a burden. They are healed to 100% by just one medi-kit. They will cover your back while you are manning the machine gun. They are totally invaluable and sometimes are critical in order to complete a mission. However, they can be stupid sometimes, like getting run over by tanks and standing right in the open to get gunned down. If you move too fast, you may get separated from your team, but they will always find their way back to you. This is the reason I bought this game in the first place.

This game features an awesome system of ducking and taking cover. There will be many objects in each environment to hide behind. You can then take a peek and take cheap shots at the enemy. In previous games, you could just storm an entire army and escape without suffering much damage. The developers teaches us that that tactic is the quickest way to die. Taking things fast is never good in this game.

Each mission has many parts. Usually, there is a primary objective that you must complete to pass the mission. There are secondary objects which are purely optional, kind of like a bounty. These secondary missions could be something like killing an officer, retrieving some document, or blowing up some tanks.

The environmental layout is no longer linear style. In previous games, traveling a level in a linear fashion was the only way to succeed, but now, you can visit any place you want and accomplish missions in any order you want. This new freedom isn't as complicated as it seems, so any player can get comfortable immediately.

The computer AI isn't stupid either. They won't charge at you in sheer numbers anymore. They will hide behind walls, take cover, and even make use of grenades. The men you fight with are also smart as well, so there is no unfair advantage, besides the fact that the enemy far outnumbers you.

There is also a new feature called the “Adrenaline”. You build up this meter by killing enemies, scoring headshots, healing squad members, etc. Then you can unleash it to gain temporary invincibility, infinite ammo, and slowing down time. The developers put in this feature to give players a taste of what soldiers felt in real life as the adrenaline kicks in. This feature is infinitely useful when faced against an entire army.

There are several methods of healing as well. When you kill enemies, sometimes they will drop health pick-ups, which are represented as a red cross. You can find med-kits in the environment, which you pick up and can use anytime. There is also something called a “revive”. If you complete a bonus mission, you will be rewarded with one of these. A revive will save you when you run out of health, giving you half health back and restoring you so you can return to combat. It does take some time to revive, so your squad makes could be running into trouble as you are reviving. Keeping squad members alive can earn you bonus items upon completion of a mission.

What is probably the biggest flaw in this game is the lack of a co-op mode, so don't expect it. However, the multiplayer maps are pretty decent, but it's not really fun unless you gather 4 people.

Sound:

The sound is just like you would expect on a battlefield. The explosions, the screams of dying men, and the bullets whistling by are all there. It's like you actually handling a gun, because the act of shooting and reloading is so perfectly designed.

The character voices are done very well, but at this point in video game technology, that should be expected. The mission briefings and battlefield sounds are nicely done.

The music is very inspiring and totally revamped compared to the other two MoH games. You can tell just by the menu theme music, which perfectly captures the sorrow of the destructive WWII.

My favorite music was actually on the battlefield. In one of the mission, there will be a chorus singing in the background, giving the impression of angels on the battlefield. I replayed that mission over and over again just to relive that feeling.

The gap between European Assault and Rising Sun is just too, too great.

Graphics:

At the beginning of each country you will visit, there will be a historical cutscene that gives a fantastic overview of the missions in that area. The game shows you real clips of what happened in WWII and captures the hell of war.

The in-game graphics are pretty good compared to Rising Sun. The faces of people are still kinda blurry, but it is still convincing enough. Each mission has a variety of objects used for cover, like boxes, trees, and buildings that add more realism to the game. The most impressive part is the terrain. Though I'd have to admit the rivers don't look too good, the dismal state of the cities and the ruins of buildings look very impressive, nothing you have ever seen before in a MoH game. The terrain even changes when there is an explosion!

The weapons are also very notable. The developers obviously did their research, because the weapons are totally accurate, up to the smallest detail.

The enemy soldiers are very well-designed. The way they move around is very lifelike, and their helmets even pop off when you get in a head-shot! The enemy officers are very grand in their uniforms and adds a touch of superiority to the feeling of the game.

Play time:

None of the missions are short and easy. Often times, you will be faced with machine gun nests and waves of enemies. This game also features “side quests” in each mission. The difficulty of the mission is finding them all and completing them. These side quests are purely optional, but completing them can offer you bonus items. In order to obtain a gold medal for each mission, you have to complete every quest in the mission. Play time is very long, which is good since there are only 11 missions.

Replayability:

There is a strong feeling of replayability. With the freedom to return to any mission and tear up some more Germans, why wouldn't there be? Sometimes, you will have to replay a mission to find the missing side quest. This is the best historical shooter out there, so it's your best option when you're in the mood for battle.

There is a huge gap between difficulty levels. There are 4 in all, Recruit, Normal, Hard, and Hero. If you are struggling on Recruit mode, then you will have having so much more trouble on Normal mode. Imagine the challenge of Hero mode! This is the game for the people who play for challenge and have nostalgia for WWII.

Rent or Buy:

There is no discrepancy here, definitely buy this game. If you like fighting in wars, then there is no point in renting, because you'll never want to part with it. This game is worth every penny. You can play this game with 3 other friends in the multiplayer mode. Sadly enough, there is no co-op mode in European Assault, which even Rising Sun had. Still, this game is too good to pass up even for a mild FPS fan.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/06, Updated 04/05/07