Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for Windows

Ever since it appeared on the PS1 all those years ago, Medal of Honor has always been a favourite of mine. Although now a little dated in terms of graphics, nothing comes close to recapturing the sheer joy of rushing through Europe shooting everything that moves with vintage pistols and SMGs. The series entered the new generation of gaming with the outstanding Allied Assault. This game was groundbreaking, owing to the unique multiplayer system, and the superb allied attacks in the single player mode (remember Omaha Beach). With the success of this, EA decided to build on this, and released the expansion pack, Spearhead.


Seeing as this is just an expansion pack to Allied Assault, it again takes place during World War 2. You assume the role of Sergeant Jack Barnes, a paratrooper and soldier of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. Your first job is to parachute down into Occupied France on the D-Day landings, and from there you must battle your way through France, Bastogne and ultimately, the streets of Berlin.

Gameplay
The gameplay remains pretty much the same as in Allied Assault. The classic first person shooter look returns, which is good. The first game was successful because of the realistic look and feel it had, owing to the first person view. It really gives you the impression that you are there, and shows what it was like all those years ago, facing unspeakable dangers and intimidating Nazi armies.

There are a number of new weapons at your control to be found throughout the game. These weapons are the authentic weapons used by the Allies and Axis, and span across multiple countries. As usual, each has unique characteristics, so you can find yourself spoiled for choice when encountering a defenceless enemy. Grenades are there, including the smoke grenades, to obscure the enemies view. Simply chuck it into a cluster off unsuspecting guards, and finish them off easily with a few headshots. Pistols are back, deadly from close and long range, and convenient for quick eliminations. Rifles and machine guns are the top dogs in the artillery field. Use a rifle to dispatch someone 200 yards away, and the machine gun to wipe out fleets of approaching soldiers.

The amount of controllable artillery has increased, and so has the quality. The classic machine guns return, and with them come hefty grenade launchers, ideal for taking out planes and tanks.

The control system has not gone through any major changes either. It's the usual system – 'W' to move forward, 'S' to run back, 'A' to sidestep left, and 'D' to go right. The mouse is used to look around and change the way you face. Left click the mouse to shoot, and right click for a good old pistol whip (always a laugh). When you need to be disguised, 'Q' is the holster key. 'R' will reload your weapon, and the number keys allow you to quickly draw a specific weapon.

A nice feature is the return of the medal case. If you wish to get all the medals, and have a rather impressive medal case, it is necessary to find secret documents in heavily guarded or incredibly dangerous places. It is often very hard to figure out when these 'side missions' occur, because there is no note of it in the Mission Objectives area. It isn't compulsory to get these medals, but isn't the name 'MEDAL of Honor'? At least it adds a little replay value.

Spearhead also contains the classic team-based action that made Allied Assault so popular. In many cases it is necessary to guide your squad or captain to safety, and if they die, you fail. Of course, you find yourself alone, but there is a lot of team action in this game, but unfortunately, nothing like the D-Day landings from the first game.

There are only a few negatives with this game. Once again, the AI (artificial intelligence) of the enemies is incredibly low. I mean, if it was like this in real life, Germany would have lost in the first week of the war, it really is that bad. For example, you can run behind a guard on patrol, and they wont hear a thing. Or when you kill someone's captain and take their uniform and ID, they still can't tell the difference. You'd think they'd know what their captain looks like. Also, the game is quite short. I completed this in an eight hour run (three sittings) on the hard difficulty. You really need a longer game than this if it is to retain some replay value.

The feature that made the first game so popular was the phenomenal multiplayer mode, allowing you to play with others around the world, either in teams or in an epic 'free-for-all' gunfest. The same feature is back, with 12 fantastic maps, five gameplay modes, including an exciting Tug-of-War mode, in which you must attack or defend team spawn locations, relying heavily on teamwork and communication. To play multiplayer you need a DSL or cable or T1 or T3 line, but these come with most new computers anyway.

To get the most of the graphics and gameplay out of this game, it is necessary to have:

Windows 98 or above, 450 MHz Intel Pentium III or 500 AMD Athlon processor, 128 MB RAM, 1.2 GB free hard disk space, and a DirectX 8.0 compatible sound card.

Graphics
The graphics have been vastly improved on from the original. The scenery in the background and foreground are breathtaking, and the soldiers look as great as ever. Even the little details, such as your hand when you are holding a grenade, have been improved on to give it that real life feeling.

Sound
Not many games recapture the intensity of war like this. The random bombs going off, the screams for help, and the sound of artillery bouncing and ricocheting of walls is as real as anything's going to be. The creepy music when you're all alone in enemy territory, and the pulsating sound of victory at the end of a mission, blend in immaculately.

Overall
If you played Allied Assault and liked that, this will blow you away. Even if you haven't, or if you're new to this type of game, this will change your mind. It serves as not only a computer game, but as an action packed documentary, breathtakingly reliving one of the darkest periods of modern times.