Medal of Honor

"A great war game with lots of detail"

Medal of Honor, by Dreamworks Interactive, is based on World War II. Your character, Jimmy Patterson, is a pilot and experience soldier. He was recruited into the OSS (the Office of Strategic Services) due to his display of skills during his last mission. There, he must complete missions and eventually defeat the German war machine.

The amount of detail in this game is EXCELLENT. Old military tricks work here too. For example, if there is an enemy around the corner, you can stand at a certain angle so that you can see him, but he can't see you. But that doesn't mean that the AI is dumb. No. Far from that. The German soldiers will respond to you according to what you're doing to them. If you throw a grenade at a passing soldier, he will most likely kick it away or even throw it BACK at you. The soldiers will also hide behind walls and under sandbag walls to avoid your fire.

The variety of weapons is also excellent. Guns ranging from the Colt45 to the Browning Automatic Rifle are available, as well as hand grenades and the 'Potato Masher'. Heck, you can even wield a BAZOOKA!! :) . Even if you run out of ammo, you can use the guns as melee weapons are give those Nazis a whack in the head! (or..the kneecaps :)

The missions vary greatly. There are some that require good sniping skills, others require fast reactions to enemy fire, and undercover missions. At the end of each mission, you are evaluated on your performance. Wiping out 95% of enemies in a level will give you a 'Good' rating, doing that and still having 75% health will give you the 'EXCELLENT' grade. Doing neither will land you an 'average'. You are also judged on your gunnery skills. The body parts you shot are summed up, and a grade is given, whether its ''Discount Barber'', ''Skull Monkey'' or ''Armslinger'', they're all funny.

And if you get bored of blowing German heads off, you can grab a friend and enjoy killin' each other in the Multiplayer mode. Depending on how far you are in the game, you can access more Multiplayer characters (like William Shakespeare...)

Graphics 9/10
The amount of detail given to the German outfits and guns is amazing. The special effects are also impressive.

Sound 10/10
And AWESOME orchestral soundtrack. The music suits each mission, and changes when needed. Very good work.

Lastability 9/10
A couple of the missions will make you repeat them over and over again, but not to the extent that it gets annoying (unless you count Germans blasting you with bazookas :)

Originality 10/10
Everything in this game is original, and what isn't is taken straight from the history books.

''No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it.''
-Winston Churchill

Rent or buy? If you like military/war games, or a first person shooter, you'll love this. Buy it...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/01, Updated 04/09/01