Medal of Honor: Airborne update

[Loke]

There's no doubting the continuous popularity of the World War II first-person shooter, but you couldn't exactly say the genre has driven innovation in the last few years. The typical WWII game presents a linearly designed level that relies on you following a path from a start point to an end point, and it peppers that path with hand-placed enemies and scripted action sequences that rely on you to approach them from the front, just as the designers intended. That traditional sort of design is well and good, but Electronic Arts' LA studio has had enough. With Medal of Honor: Airborne--the latest entry in the long-running WWII franchise that arguably kicked off the genre--the developers intend to do away with that linear mission structure in favor of a more dynamic experience that will hopefully give diehard fans of the genre something new to think about.

The big difference between Airborne and past WWII games--especially those in the Medal of Honor series itself--is that the new game's missions don't have specific start and end points at all. If you looked at the levels in past MOH games as resembling a line, the ones in Airborne are more like a circle. But let's back up a bit. As the title implies, the new game places you in the role of a paratrooper who's part of the Allied airborne forces that dropped behind enemy lines, often in advance of the main, ground-based invasion force, throughout the European theater of the war. Every level will thus begin with you and a bunch of other paratroopers squeezed into a C-47, awaiting the inevitable drop that begins your mission.

[...]

EA played a demo for us set during the famed Operation Husky--in which the Allies led a very costly invasion of Sicily that took two years to prepare for--so we could see how all this is coming together. You won't be able to draw a weapon while you're dropping, so your attention will be focused entirely on where you're going to hit the dirt. It sounds like there will be some finesse involved in landing smoothly, because if you flare or cut your chute at the wrong time, you'll hit the ground too hard or you'll need extra time to get out of your gear. But if you perform a perfect landing, you'll have your weapon at the ready almost the instant your feet touch down. Some objectives will be set in stone, while others will be rolled out based on where you are and what you're doing in the level--but luckily, if you're killed before you complete any goals, you'll restart in the plane so you can try a different landing strategy the next time around.

Source.

Video interview (with gameplay footage) here.

 

[Aenama]

jeez... political correct BS

 

[Raziaar]

That doesn't even look like a WWII game. Those graphics they chose are a huge eyesore/distraction, at least to me.

 

[giant384]

That doesn't even look like a WWII game. Those graphics they chose are a huge eyesore/distraction, at least to me.

i agree it doesnt look like a ww2 game at all especially with those blinding lights.

 

[hungryduck]

meh...
Brothers in Arms 3 is going to be better

 

[Core407]

meh...
Brothers in Arms 3 is going to be better

Ain't nothing like the experience of invisible barriers and heavily scripted encounters.

 

[Loke]

New gameplay trailer out, shows plenty of action. Can be found here.
HD-version is only available for Insiders (low-version can still be downloaded for anyone though) but it should be available on Gametrailers soon.

Actually looks pretty good, graphically. Gameplay wise, I can't tell. It'll probably be the same as in the previous MoH games except that this a bit more free. Nice use of the Frontline music in the trailer too.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Ain't nothing like the experience of invisible barriers and heavily scripted encounters.

Sounds like another popular game this site is based on...

 

[Insano]

Sounds like another popular game this site is based on...

Did HL2 have invisible barriers?

 

[Shamrock]

It reminds me of some cheesy, shitty Hollywood movie.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Did HL2 have invisible barriers?

It sure as hell had a lot of scripted events.

 

[AmishSlayer]

If they pull off what they're talking about it'd definitely be the best WW2 fps out there.

 

[VictimOfScience]

I have a really good feeling about MoH:A, and this update that I read a little while ago sounds pretty darn good, but until we see a finished version, there's no way to be sure how much better than BiA this will be. :E

 

[Zephos]

Actually looks pretty good, graphically. Gameplay wise, I can't tell. It'll probably be the same as in the previous MoH games except that this a bit more free. Nice use of the Frontline music in the trailer too.

Yeah, if there is one thing about the MoH series that you can't fault, it's definitely the music.

 

[Drackard]

Never been dissapointed by a CoD or MoH game yet, looking forward to this still

 

[Steel.Inferno]

Those pics honestly look rather bad...

 

[Loke]

"New" HD teaser up on Gametrailers here, unfortunately it's not the video found on IGN but rather a shorter version of it.

 

[Bad^Hat]

This is being recieved with a huge, resounding "meh" for me. Actually sounds similar in design to a game I've been wanting to be made for awhile, but I have very little faith they'll pull it off to be anything like I'd imagined

Besides which, it's gotten to the point where I just can't get excited about another WWII title...

 

[knut]

i agree it doesnt look like a ww2 game at all especially with those blinding lights.

They are spotlights, used for anti-air defences. Nothing wrong with them and I think they look quite cool.

 

[Loke]

I'm actually a bit more hyped now that we've seen ingame footage.

Though I remember, a few months before E3 2006, that Patrick Gilmore, Executive Producer, EA, said that "We're going to blow you away at E3!"... um, so a pre-rendered trailer is something that's supposed to "blow" us away? :hmph:

 

[Moto]

They got the Thompson wrong again. That isn't an M1 Thompson, its a Model 1928 used by the Navy, Marines, and Mafia. I can never understand why they get that wrong, it's annoying. It was right in Allied Assault but I think that's it. Probably because 2015 did AA.