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Medal of Honor (MOH) is a WWII first person shooter. You are a secret service agent who is sent to do an array of tough missions for the Allied Forces. MOH is definitely one of those games that grows on you: the beginning levels can be slightly monotonous, but as the mission difficulty increases the game becomes an absolute dream to play.

MOH manages to combine decent graphics, ambient sounds, excellent AI and some neat weapons to create an top-notch atmosphere that few games of its time can rival. At times, it is let down a little by the overly dark levels, sometime monotonous "find the exit" missions and occasionally unfair AI.

Graphics

Here are some additional screenshots. You can tell from these shots that a good proportion of the game is spent in the dark! This is made worse by the fact that MSIE displays pictures darker than they should be displayed. Try saving the screenshots and looking at them in another image program.

This has to be one of my main problems with the game: it is just way too dark! I've tried adjusting my monitor settings a little bit, but that just messes up the other games (I will admit that I found playing MOH on other sets worked betterc). Especially in the initial levels, I often found myself pausing the game so I could see what was in front of me (the pause screen brightens everything up). This got really annoying, because I'd miss vital things just because I couldn't see them.

Granted, the darkness did add to the overall atmosphere and if all the lights were turned off in the room, the game was much more enjoyable, but a gamma correction option would be really been appreciated. Also, the situation did improve in the latter levels of the game, but I still missed passageways and other things due to the dark.

Gameplay

The second mission of the game has you infiltrating a German railway base, posing as a German officer. So you don't go around shooting everything, instead you have to pick off your targets carefully with your silenced pistol, making sure that nobody sees you doing it, otherwise alarms will be set off and all hell will break loose.

A bit later on you get your hands on a sniper rifle and then you can really have fun! The sniper rifle lets you zoom in and pick out your targets before they ever knew you were there. Also unlike most games, MOH requires you to precisely take out your targets. If you shoot them in the arm, they'll reel in pain but they won't die. Shoot them in the leg and they'll drop to their knees. Shoot too high, their helmet will fly off. A one-shot kill really does require you to be precise.

As morbid as it may sound, it is this sort of precision that makes the game a lot more fun. Rounding a corner and seeing a soldier makes you aim before you shoot. The analog control makes aiming easy once you've had some practice. It is cool popping a soldier on the helmet, having him stagger backwards then shoot him again in the head and watch him fly backward. Like I said, it is very morbid...but fun!

The variety of levels also helps with gameplay. Walking down a relatively narrow canyon makes you an easy target, making you constantly seek shelter as you slowly sneak forward. When you're in factories, you can target explosive cartons and canisters to take out multiple enemies. Being couped up in a claustrophobic U-Boat means you're very careful when turning those tight corners.

The atmosphere is further augmented by the excellent ambient sounds (echoing shouting Germans, mechanical factory noise, birds etc) and also the decent Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence

Different soldiers behave differently according to the various weapons they possess, but each one exhibits a decent amount of intelligence. For example, enemies equipped with rifles will often drop the floor and take their shots from low-down making them harder to hit when from afar (and not immediately equipped with the sniper rifle). Additionally, when they are on the ground, they'll often roll in and out of cover making them even harder to hit.

Even your standard foot soldiers can occasionally give you a run for your money, especially when there is more than one. It is toward the end of the game that the AI really shines through, though. The soldiers will run for cover, then peak out around the corners, lobbing grenades or taking quick pot shots at you.

Combine this will the additional accuracy you must shoot the enemies with, and you can have a lot of fun! For example, I was being attacked by 3 guards, one at close distance and the other two at medium distance. I had been caught offguard, so I knew I didn't have time to properly aim at the guy close to me. So I shot him quickly in the knee, and he dropped to the floor. That gave me enough time to aim and pick off the guys at medium distance before they became a real threat. Then I'd wanted to shoot the guy I'd knee-capped before he popped another shot at me. But he'd dragged himself away, so I went after him and walked straight into another couple of guards who finished me off. While I'm sure the AI didn't have a huge part in that scenario, it does show how some effective modelled combined with relatively good AI can lead to some excellent gameplay.

The AI did show occasional signs of madness: enemies running aimlessly back and forth without much purpose, not firing at all when at close range and a few other things. The other thing that I found was that the AI unfairly took advantage of some things. If you were close, the enemies would see you, no matter how well hidden you were. It seems that if you are in range you are discovered, making the whole stealth thing a little pointless at times. On top of that, they took advantage of the dark themselves. Well, not really but they can "see" you from far away when you have no idea where they're coming from. I also had a couple of situations where I was shot through rocks and walls when I thought I was safe.

Aside from those small quirks, the AI in Medal of Honor is definitely some of the best available on the PlayStation platform. I tip my hat to the guys at Dreamworks Interactive...

Conclusion

	8.4
	Platform: PlayStation Liked: Great atmosphere, decent AI, good gameplay balance. Disliked: Too dark, unfair AI at times, a few realism quirks. .: Buy at Amazon.com :. .: Buy at Amazon.co.uk :.