Medal of Honor (Game Series)

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Medal of Honor
developer United StatesUnited States DreamWorks Interactive / EA Los Angeles / Danger Close
Publisher United StatesUnited States Electronic Arts
First title Medal of Honor (1999)
Last title Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012)
Platform (s) PlayStation , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation Portable , Xbox , Xbox 360 , GameCube , Wii , Windows , Mac OS , Game Boy Advance , mobile phone
Genre (s) Ego shooter

Medal of Honor is a series of video games set during World War II , with the exception of the most recent titles . The games belong to the genre of first-person shooters , in which the player slips into the role of an American soldier and fights the enemy, the Axis powers (only Germans, Italians and Japanese). In the multiplayer game , the players can also choose other nations (Germans, Russians, French, British, Italians, etc.).

The first two parts of the series were developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published from 1999 by Electronic Arts only for the PlayStation game console. Various successors and expansions for different platforms came out later.

In single player mode, the game follows a linear storyline that treats different locations and events of World War II, e.g. B. the landing of the Allies on D-Day or the submarine war . The game follows a narrative style that is based on popular war films of recent years, e.g. B. Saving Private Ryan ”, “ The Thin Line ” or “ Enemy at the Gates .

The game series places a relatively high value on historical accuracy and realism. The developers worked closely with the Society of the Congressional Medal of Honor . According to their own statement, the developers refuse to ever change the scene (another war) for their game series, since only in World War II the boundaries between "good" and "bad" are obvious and the justification for playing is given, but in other conflicts Not. Despite this statement, the game Medal of Honor from 2010 is set in Afghanistan and the newest part Medal of Honor: Warfighter is set worldwide and in the present.

The Medal of Honor series is one of the world's most successful video game series ever and was initially much critical acclaim. But the series increasingly lost market share to competitors such as Call of Duty from Activision and Battlefield from Electronic Arts .

Games

Logo 2004-2008

Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor is the first part of the series and was released in 1999 for the PlayStation . This game, which like its direct successor was developed by DreamWorks Interactive , was developed in close collaboration with Steven Spielberg . The game also received praise for its atmospheric music composed by Michael Giacchino . The plot of the game tells the story of the American Lieutenant James Patterson and his combat missions on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945. In addition to open battles, the game also offers undercover missions in which the player operates undercover in German uniform. In Germany the game was indexed by the BPjS , although it was already censored .

Medal of Honor: Underground

Medal of Honor: Underground is the direct successor to the debut Medal of Honor , released in 2000 . Like this, it was developed by DreamWorks Interactive . In the game you take on the role of the French Manon Batiste , a member of the French resistance. In addition to open fights, such as with the Resistance in France, they mainly play undercover missions (e.g. as a photographer) that lead Manon to North Africa, Greece, Italy and Germany. Like its predecessor, Underground was also indexed in Germany. Released for consoles only.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is the third game in the series. It was developed by 2015 Games and released for PC and Mac in spring 2002 . It is based on the Quake engine . The game follows Lt. Mike Powell of the United States Army Rangers from 1942 to 1945. The game begins with missions in North Africa and snowy Norway until you play Operation Overlord . The staging of many levels is based strongly on the film The Soldier James Ryan (e.g. the landing on Omaha Beach , a city in ruins with German snipers) and for the first time offers numerous cutscenes and checkpoints, but also the possibility of manual saving.

With Spearhead and Breakthrough , two expansions appeared in 2002 and 2003 . At Spearhead you slip into the role of Sgt. Jack Barnes of the 101st Airborne Division. The game starts with a parachute jump and the focus is on the end of the war, with opulent battles in the French hinterland, in the Ardennes and the destroyed Berlin. In the second expansion, Breakthrough , you play Sergeant John Baker of the 34th US Infantry Division and fight in North Africa and Italy ( Sicily , Monte Cassino ) from 1943 . In Breakthrough you fight for the first time in the series, in addition to German soldiers, also against Italian soldiers.

Medal of Honor: Frontline

Medal of Honor: Frontline is the first game in the series to be developed by Electronic Arts itself. It first appeared in spring 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and was implemented for the GameCube and Xbox after six months . Again you slip into the role of Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson and mainly play frontline missions, such as the landing on D-Day (which was almost identically taken over by Allied Assault ) or Operation Market Garden , which is based heavily on the film Soldier James Ryan and the series Band of Brothers orientate. Some scenes are also very clearly based on the film The Bridge of Arnhem . With the exception of a few missions, such as penetrating a German submarine shipyard, you are now traveling in larger groups for the first time. However, this does not have a great playful influence. In addition, for the first time in Frontline (except for grenades) you can carry out close-range attacks with all weapons.

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is the fifth game in the series. It was developed by EA Los Angeles and was released for PlayStation 2 , GameCube and Xbox at the end of 2003 . For the first time as a player, you don't fight against Germans. The game, which now deals with the Pacific War , now features the Japanese as the main enemy. It slips here as a player in the role of Corporal Joseph Griffin , who is on board the battleship USS California at Pearl Harbor is, when suddenly the Japanese attack begins. Further missions take the player to the Philippines, Guadalcanal , Singapore, Burma and a Japanese aircraft carrier. This game, which places great emphasis on telling the story of the main character, is heavily based on war films like Pearl Harbor , Torah! Torah! Torah! and The Bridge on the River Kwai (which is also in the game). There are numerous missions with jungle battles and one level deals with the search for gold from Yamashita Tomoyuki . Rising Sun is the only game in the series so far that has a 2 player mode. In this one, as player 2, you take on the role of Marine Private Geoff Stewart. The music for this game was composed for the first time by Christopher Lennertz.

Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault

Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault was published exclusively for Windows and, like the console game Rising Sun before, it deals with the Pacific War . This game, developed again by EA, is based on the Havok physics engine and was released on CD and DVD in late 2004. This game is about the marine private Tommy Conlin and covers the battles of Pearl Harbor , Makin Raid , Guadalcanal , and the battles on Tarawa from 1941 to 1943 . Unlike Rising Sun , Pacific Assault is more based on the films The Narrow Ridge and Pearl Harbor .

Medal of Honor: European Assault

With Medal of Honor: European Assault , the series returns from the Pacific to the battlefields of Europe. The game was developed by EA and was released in summer 2005 for the three consoles PlayStation 2 , GameCube and Xbox . The plot for it wrote the scriptwriter John Milius . The game was originally supposed to appear as Medal of Honor: Dogs of War , but then got a name change. Despite the title, European Assault does not play exclusively in Europe, but again in North Africa. You play four missions, divided into further levels, with the American Lt. William Holt plays. In addition to North Africa, where they support the British Desert Rats in Tunisia, they take part in the battles for the German submarine bunker in Saint-Nazaire (France), fight together with Soviets in Stalingrad ( Mamayev Hill ) and finally resist the German Ardennes offensive in Belgium. While you're still only playing an American, the shifting fronts on which you fight are a reaction to the success of the competitive Call of Duty franchise . For the first time, the game also offers content such as a bullet-time mode, officers as boss opponents and "power ups".

Medal of Honor: Vanguard

Medal of Honor: Vanguard was developed by Electronic Arts together with Budcat Creations and was released in spring 2007 for the PlayStation 2 and Wii . In the role of Corporal Frank Keegan , a member of the 82nd US Airborne Division , you fought against the Germans in Europe from 1943. Each mission begins with a parachute jump, where you can fly to the landing site yourself, which should bring several tactical options. The missions of the game deal with Operation Husky (Sicily), Operation Neptune (France), Operation Market Garden (Holland), and Operation Varsity (German Empire). This is the first game in the series that appeared on Nintendo's Wii, and the controls are considered well implemented.

Medal of Honor: Airborne

Medal of Honor: Airborne was developed by EA and was released in September 2007 for Xbox 360 and Windows . The release date for the PlayStation 3 was December 5, 2007. Medal of Honor: Airborne is thus the first game in the series, of which both a console and a PC version appeared. You slip into the role of Private First Class Boyd Travers , a paratrooper of the 82nd US Airborne Division and later the 17th US Airborne Division . The game takes place on the battlefields in Italy ( Operation Avalanche ) and the Western Front from 1943 . For the first time since Frontline , Michael Giacchino composed the music for the game. In addition to improved graphics, the biggest innovation is the ability to land anywhere on the map for the parachute jumps that initiate every mission. This offers various tactical possibilities (e.g. landing in a quiet area outside and proceeding slowly or intervening directly in the battle). In addition, all NS symbols such as swastikas or SS runes have been removed from MoH: Airborne in all European versions.

Medal of Honor: Heroes 2

At the same time, the game Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 was released for Wii and PSP at the end of 2007 . This game, which continues the exclusive PSP handheld predecessor, again offers a single player campaign in the classic series style, but also places great emphasis on various multiplayer modes. The game tells the story of Lieutenant John Berg during the Battle of Cherbourg . The game was specially adapted to the two systems and should use the respective advantages of these. However, since the USK refused to give an age rating, the Wii version was not published in Germany.

Medal of Honor

With “Medal of Honor” 2010 there was another part of the series, whereby the game plays in the present. Against the background of the Afghanistan conflict , the player takes on roles in four parties; in the AFO Wolfpack ( Delta Force ) as Deuce, in the AFO Neptune ( DEVGRU ) as Rabbit, in the 75th Ranger Regiment as Specialist Dante Adams and as gunner Cpt. Brad “Hawk” Hawkins in the 2nd Aviation Regiment's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter . The AFO (Advanced Force Operations) teams belong to the Joint Special Operations Command and are directly subordinate to the National Command Authority , i.e. the President of the United States of America. Its members are referred to as "Tier 1 Operator". The plot itself revolves around the conquest of the Shahi Kot Valley, which was also targeted by US forces during Operation Anaconda in March 2002.

Publisher and developer Electronic Arts describes Medal of Honor as a "new beginning". In addition, the developer DICE ( Battlefield series, Mirror's Edge ) worked on the game 's multiplayer mode. A multiplayer beta of the game started on June 21, 2010. The game was released on October 14, 2010 for Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 and Windows .

The German retail version of Medal of Honor has been adapted for the German market. In the USK-18 version there are no more ragdoll effects on corpses and the level of violence was reduced when it was hit on the head. The PEGI version from German-speaking countries is largely unabridged (in the enclosed new edition (only for PS3) of "Frontline", anti-constitutional symbols have been removed) and was also available in Germany. In December 2010 the version was indexed by the Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People on “List B” (since January 2012 “List A”) and is therefore subject to indexing restrictions in Germany.

The shooter received rather mediocre ratings from the trade press. GameStar only awarded a score of 68 out of a possible 100 points. The testers complained about a. the mixed graphics, the very short game time and the varied level design. Even PC games called the game only as a mediocre shooter , but missed a very positive rating of 78 points. The website cynamite.de rewarded the game with 8/10 points, but emphasizes that the title is no competition for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 . GamePro rates the console versions with 75% each. In the reviews were u. a. the unmistakable parallels to the successful shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , the weak AI and the plot criticized.

Shortly after the game was released, publisher Electronic Arts announced a free downloadable content expansion for the game, which was released on November 3rd.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter

At the end of February 2012, EA announced the successor Medal of Honor: Warfighter. The game was developed again by Danger Close and is based on the Frostbite 2 engine used by Battlefield 3 . In contrast to its predecessor, the single and multiplayer modes are specially developed by Danger Close. It was released on October 25, 2012.

After poor sales and the failure of the new edition, the publisher decided to stop developing the franchise in spring 2013. The technical support for Warfighters was stopped at the turn of the year 2012/2013. The significant financial failure also had an impact on EA's business operations. Ongoing costs such as marketing budgets have been reduced, employees have been laid off, and the focus has shifted to profitable products such as the FIFA and Need for Speed series .

Handheld versions

In addition to the sockets for stationary consoles and computers, some games for handheld consoles were also released . The first to appear at the end of 2002 was an implementation of the PlayStation game Medal of Honor: Underground for the Game Boy Advance (implemented by Rebellion ). The first person shooter, however, has to struggle with the hardware limitations. At the end of 2003 the next game for the GBA was released, Medal of Honor: Infiltrator . This time, however, as a third-person shooter in the role of Corporal Jake Murphy . In contrast to the first GBA Medal of Honor , Infiltrator received a lot of critical acclaim. At the end of 2006, Medal of Honor: Heroes, the first game in the series for the PlayStation Portable, was released again as a first-person shooter. You take control of three well-known characters in three campaigns, Jimmy Patterson ( Medal of Honor and Frontline ), John Baker ( Allied Assault: Breakthrough ) and William Holt ( European Assault ). This game allows wireless multiplayer duels for up to 32 players. There is also a final ending to the predecessor Rising Sun (which remained open) in this game . At the end of 2007, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 was a sequel to the last handheld title for the PlayStation Portable. This game, which was also released for Wii , once again offers a loosely connected storyline, but also places great emphasis on the multiplayer mode it contains.

Controversy

Because of its alleged glorification of violence and the realism of the scenes, Medal of Honor came under heavy criticism. The first two games in the series, Medal of Honor (1999) and Medal of Honor: Underground (2000, both PlayStation ), were therefore indexed by the BPjS in Germany ( Medal of Honor 2000, Underground 2002). Due to the scenario, the game features numerous swastikas , Victory Runes and other National Socialist symbols and posters that are now considered unconstitutional in Germany and have therefore been removed for the German versions in all games and partially replaced by iron crosses or bar crosses . In the first two games, the original Hitler salute was still used during the undercover missions, which was also removed for the German versions. Furthermore, in the original videos in the German version you never see Hitler or other rulers of the Third Reich and when Hitler is mentioned in the original, the censored version simply says "the Commander-in-Chief". In Germany, every game has a rating of Not suitable under 18 or not approved for young people (except for Infiltrator , which is approved for ages 12 and over).

The continuation of Medal of Honor in 2010 had already caused a scandal in advance. This enabled the player to slip into the role of the Taliban in multiplayer . The military in particular sharply criticized the manufacturer Electronic Arts. The German Armed Forces Association expressed outrage about the game and described the planned publication as "disgusting". The US military called for a boycott of the game; the UK Secretary of Defense called for the game to be banned. As a result of the reactions, the executive producer Greg Goodrich declared on October 1, 2010 in the developer blog that the faction to be played was renamed "Opposing Force". According to Goodrich, this was done out of “respect for men and women in military service”.

chronology

title platform Release date USA Release date Europe
Medal of Honor PlayStation November 11, 1999 November 1999
Medal of Honor: Underground PlayStation, Game Boy Advance October 27, 2000 (PS),
November 25, 2002 (GBA)
October 27, 2000
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Windows , OS X January 22, 2002 February 19, 2002
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead Windows, OS X November 12, 2002 December 6, 2002
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Breakthrough Windows, OS X September 22, 2003 September 26, 2003
Medal of Honor: Frontline GameCube , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 ,

Xbox

May 28, 2002 (PS2),
November 10, 2002 (GC, Xbox)

October 12, 2010 (PS3)

June 6, 2002 (PS2),
January 31, 2003 (GC, Xbox)

October 14, 2010 (PS3)

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox November 11, 2003 November 27, 2003
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator Game Boy Advance November 17, 2003 December 5, 2003
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault Windows November 2, 2004 (DVD),
November 9, 2004 (CD)
November 18, 2004
Medal of Honor: European Assault GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox June 6, 2005 June 16, 2005
Medal of Honor: Heroes PlayStation Portable October 23, 2006 November 24, 2006
Medal of Honor: Vanguard PlayStation 2, Wii March 26, 2007 March 30, 2007
Medal of Honor: Airborne Windows, PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 September 4, 2007 (PC, 360),
November 13, 2007 (PS3)
September 13, 2007 (PC, 360),
December 5, 2007 (PS3)
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 Wii, PlayStation Portable November 13, 2007 November 28, 2007
Medal of Honor Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 October 12, 2010 October 14, 2010 October
15, 2010 (UK)
Medal of Honor: Warfighter Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 October 23, 2012 October 25, 2012
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Oculus Rift 2020 2020

Other versions

Except for the GBA game Infiltrator , all games in the series are pure first-person shooters. In early 2001, however, the game Medal of Honor: Fighter Commander was presented, which should appear in 2002. This game was supposed to be a World War II flight simulation, but due to poor quality and the manufacturer's statement that the series wanted to focus on first-person shooters, development at Fighter Commander was stopped and the game never appeared.

After Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and its two supplements, Spearhead and Breakthrough , appeared in September 2003, the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Deluxe Edition , a collection of the main game and the expansion Spearhead, as well as the soundtrack (17 pieces of music) and five Desktop backgrounds. In March 2004, the Medal of Honor: War Chest was also published. Again you can find the main game and both expansions and 30 multiplayer cards. In Asia only, Medal of Honor: Crossfire was released in July 2003 , a box set with the game Allied Assault including Spearhead and an exclusive bonus CD with the soundtrack.

A limited Director's Edition of the PC game Pacific Assault was also released , which was only released in the USA and offers exclusive game content (e.g. additional weapons), galleries, historical backgrounds, interviews and a making-of. In March 2007 the Medal of Honor: Collection was published. This box set, which was only released for the PlayStation 2, contained the three console games Frontline , Rising Sun and European Assault . In December of the same year, a very similar box set called Medal of Honor: Complete Collection was released for the PlayStation 2 . This contained the same games as the previous box set plus the console game Vanguard.

In 2006 the mobile game Medal of Honor: Mobile , a 2D shoot'em up, was released.

In 2009, Medal of Honor - 10th Anniversary, a box set with Medal of Honor: Allied Assault with its two additions Spearhead and Breakthrough , as well as Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault and Medal of Honor: Airborne was released . This set also includes a soundtrack CD.

In addition to the standard version of Medal of Honor (2010), a limited and a tier 1 edition were also released. In the limited edition of Medal of Honor (2010) there was also a copy of the console game Frontline in the PlayStation 3 version .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. http://www.gamestar.de/news/pc/action/egoshooter/2311010/medal_of_honor.html
  2. Golem.de : Medal of Honor puts the Afghanistan scenario on risk
  3. Gamezone.de: Review ... The whole thing is based halfway on true events, with Operation Anaconda in March 2002 a total of 15 US soldiers died. ...
  4. http://www.tvgc.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=139:medal-of-honor-zensiert-in-deutschland&catid=3:newsflash&Itemid=85
  5. schnittberichte.com Indexings / Seizures December 2010 , accessed on January 2, 2011
  6. http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/medal-of-honor/wertung/44539.html
  7. onpsx.net : EA donates free DLC for Medal of Honor
  8. Computerbild.de: [1]
  9. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/185767/EA_struggles_to_keep_up_with_declining_console_game_sales.php
  10. 4Players.de: EA Less Sales, Less Loss , accessed on January 31, 2013
  11. PCGames.de: Criticism from the Bundeswehrverband on the Taliban scenario
  12. Focus.de: Bundeswehr finds first-person shooters disgusting
  13. http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/medal-of-honor/news/medal_of_honor,44539,2317249.html
  14. 4Players.de: No Taliban in multiplayer , accessed on October 1, 2010