Medal of Honor

(EA for PS3)
By Mike Delano

As Dante’s Inferno proved earlier in the year, unrepentant “borrowing” from existing blockbuster franchises isn’t necessarily a recipe for disaster, so long as it’s done skillfully. The God of War clone hardly equaled its source material, but it was nonetheless very entertaining, chiefly because of its tight, fast-paced combat. Likewise, Medal of Honor doesn’t have the chops to equal its frequently-alluded-to competitor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (and its sequel), but it’s satisfying in its own way. The single-player campaign slows down the pace and dials down the bombast in relation to most of the current crop of first-person shooters in favor of a more subdued approach. It’s far from uneventful, though, since the excellent sound design does a fantastic job of ratcheting up the tension, and the gorgeous, unpredictable mountain terrain of Afghanistan allows for some memorable battle scenarios. Both of these highlights carry over to multiplayer, which otherwise doesn’t have much personality to distinguish its curious mash up of Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. It’s bound to give you déjà vu, but hey, at least Medal of Honor conjures up memories of good games, and it’s likely to give you a few new experiences worth remembering, too.
(www.ea.com)