Medal of Honor (2010)

Medal of Honor
Studio	Danger Close (single player) DICE (multiplayer)
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent- lichung	October 12, 2010 October 14, 2010 October 15, 2010
platform	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Windows
Game engine	Unreal Engine 3 (single player) Frostbite engine (multiplayer)
genre	Ego shooter
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Keyboard and mouse (PC), gamepad , (Xbox 360, PS3)
system advantages preconditions	Processor: Pentium D 3.0 GHz, Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz or Athlon X2 2.0 GHz RAM: 2 GB Graphics card: GeForce 7800 GT, ATI X1900 or better
medium	Blu-ray Disc , DVD-ROM , download
language	German
Age rating	USK PEGI
information	The European version is indexed on " List A " by the BPjM .

Medal of Honor is a first person shooter from the series of the same name , developed by Danger Close and Digital Illusions CE . The computer game was released on October 14, 2010 in Europe. The game takes place during the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan , making it the first Medal of Honor that, at the time of publication, deals with a current conflict and not one from the past. The European version with PEGI age rating was indexed in January 2012 by the Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People from “ List B ” to “List A”.

Gameplay

The gameplay was reproduced as authentically as possible, and EA recruited consultants from the US armed forces. The typical mission objectives are comparable to reality, such as clearing terrorist hideouts, rescuing hostages and undercover operations. The game covers the events during Operation Anaconda and the capture of the Shahi Kot Valley, which was targeted by US forces in March 2002. Electronic Arts also addresses the Tier 1 status of the US special forces of the Joint Special Operations Command . In their operations, these are directly subordinate to the National Command Authority , i.e. the President of the United States of America.

campaign

The game begins with the invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon . The player slips into the roles of Deuce in the AFO Wolfpack of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne) (Delta Force), as a Rabbit in the AFO Neptune of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), as Specialist Dante Adams in the 75th Ranger Regiment and Cpt. Brad "Hawk" Hawkins in the 2nd Aviation Regiment's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter . The campaign is divided into a prologue and two acts. The individual missions are linked to intermediate videos in which the action is further advanced. In particular, several months are skipped between the capture of the military airfield and the further action.

action

During the first days of the fighting, an AFO (Advanced Force Operations) team from DEVGRU with the callsign 'Neptune' and members Mother, Voodoo, Preacher and Rabbit is sent out to meet an Afghan informant named Tariq in Gardez , there has information on high value targets (HVT) and enemy positions. Being ambushed by the Taliban, Neptune manages to reach Tariq and escape with him. Grateful for his rescue, Tariq says that there are 500 to 1000 al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in the Shahi Kot valley. In the further course, Neptune is used in the conquest of a former Soviet air force base, which is then expanded into the advanced deployment base Bagram Airfield . In a video conference, the commanding officer on site Colonel Drucker and his superior General Flagg disagree about the further deployment strategy. Concerned about the existence of high-value targets and their flight to Pakistan, Flagg decides within 24 hours, contrary to Drucker's warnings that there are far more than the suspected 350 enemy fighters in the target area, the 10th US Mountain Division , the 187th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and the Army Rangers in the valley.

The second AFO team with the callsign "Wolfpack", consisting of the soldiers Panther, Vegas, Dusty and Deuce is meanwhile on the way to the observation point (OP) Clementine in the mountains of the Arma Mountains. Entrusted with the target reconnaissance, combat and fire support Wolf Pack decides to destroy two enemy positions and mark a truck convoy to it later using Reaper 31, an AC-130U - Gunship by close air support to destroy. At the same time, Neptune is en route to OP Dorothy, destroying an anti-aircraft gun, the Wolfpack-marked convoy, and enemy posts. Enraged by the slow progress of the operation, Flagg Reaper 31 orders an unknown convoy to be fired at during another video conference. The unmarked vehicles turn out to be the Afghan National Army's Task Force Rebel . Despite this incident, Flagg insists on the use of the rangers.

When the rangers arrive in the Shahi Kot Valley, they come under heavy fire from enemy machine gun positions. A CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter is shot down. A squad consisting of Sergeant Patterson, Specialist Dante Adams, Corporal Hernandez and forward air controller (Enlisted Terminal Attack Controller - ETAC) Air Force Tech Sergeant Ybarra is sent to flank the enemy and destroy the enemy position with the help of close air support. Cut off from their old landing zone, they are ambushed on their way to the new landing zone. Outnumbered and on the verge of being overrun by the enemy, two AH-64 Apache appear for air support. These patrols then fly to destroy enemy mortar positions. The AFO Wolfpack on the opposite mountain slope of the Takur Ghar on the OP Clementine is looking for dispersed al-Qaeda units and encounters foreign Chechen fighters. The sniper team Dusty and Deuce give Neptune fire protection when they, followed by a few hundred opponents, have to retreat over the Takur Ghar. Once at the pick-up zone, however, only Mother and Rabbit manage to board the helicopter before it is hit and has to turn away with serious damage. Before that, Voodoo and Preacher manage to escape on the ground with the help of the rear MG. A rescue operation is rejected by the command staff.

Knowing how to defy an order, Mother and Rabbit decide not to leave their comrades to fend for themselves. However, if you try to set it down again in another position, the Chinook comes under fire, is hit and falls. Mother and Rabbit, who were previously able to jump off, are hunted by Chechens and captured by them after jumping off a cliff. Back at Bagram Air Base, Drucker plans a rescue mission that General Flagg does not want to authorize. Printers quick decides on it without orders Eingreifverband (Quick Reaction Force) consisting of the rangers to send up the mountain.

During the approach, however, this helicopter also comes under fire and is shot down. Three rangers and the right door runner are killed, other rangers are wounded. After securing the crash zone, Adams and Patterson find the missing Voodoo and Preacher. With the help of a remote-controlled Predator drone , they manage to overcome the enemy's fortified positions and find Mother and Rabbit. Rabbit, who was shot while trying to escape and who suffered further injuries from the fall, is dying. Back at the crash zone, the soldiers tried several times by radio to reach a casualty evacuation (CASEVAC). However, this is repeatedly denied with the information that the helicopters of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) come from Kandahar . Just before the helicopters land, Rabbit dies of his injuries. The plot ends with all crash zones on the mountain being shot at by an air raid after all survivors and dead have been flown out.

Missions

mission	area	Unit / play environment
Prologue, 6 months before day 1
Advance command	Gardez , Paktia Province , Afghanistan	AFO Neptune, urban area
Greetings from Bagram	11 km southeast of Charikar in Parwan Province	AFO Neptune, military airfield
day 1
Wolf pack	Shahi Kot Valley, Menjawar, Paktia Province	AFO Wolfpack, high mountains
Damn Dorothy	Shahi Kot Valley, Arma Mountains, Paktia Province	AFO Neptune, high mountains
The lion's den	Shahi Kot Valley, Paktia Province	75th Ranger Regiment, high mountains
Gunfighter	Shahi Kot Valley, Paktia Province	AH-64D Apache, high mountains
Friends from afar	Shahi Kot Valley, Takur Ghar	AFO Wolfpack, high mountains
Betray	Shahi Kot Valley, Takur Ghar	AFO Neptune, high mountains
day 2
Neptune's nets	Shahi Kot Valley, Takur Ghar	AFO Neptune, high mountains
Rescued rescuers	Shahi Kot Valley, Takur Ghar	75th Ranger Regiment, high mountains

Multiplayer

The multiplayer mode of Medal of Honor was developed by DICE . The plot forms the conflict between two different groups, on the one hand the coalition and on the other hand the opposing forces. The Coalition uses American equipment like the M16A4 , while the Opposing Forces uses Taliban weapons like the AK-47 .

There are always three selectable classes available for your own character: Special Ops, Sniper and Rifleman. While playing, the player receives experience points, which are required to advance a level and thus unlock new weapons or weapon improvements for the individual classes. If a player goes up a level in a class and unlocks a weapon, it is unlocked for both groups, i. that is, it is also available if you are playing in the other group with the same class. However, the weapons are again in the style of the respective group.

If the player eliminates many opponents without dying himself (killstreak), he receives offensive support such as a rocket or mortar attack or defensive support such as ammunition.

German version

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 degree of violence has been reduced when it comes to head hits. The PEGI version from German-speaking countries is largely unabridged, but in Germany is subject to the indexing restrictions of the BPJM. The game on list A is classified as harmful to minors.

Controversy

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

Ratings

The shooter received rather mediocre ratings from the trade press. The Gamestar awarded a rating of 68%. The testers criticized the mixed graphics, the very short game time and the low-variety level design. The PC Games also called the game a mediocre shooter , but gave it a 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, the unmistakable parallels to the successful shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , the weak AI and the story were criticized.

Patrick Soderlund from Electronic Arts told Eurogamer.net that the quality target had been missed. He said “I can [...] say that the game did not meet our quality expectations. To be successful in this genre, you have to have a game that is really, really strong. ”At the same time, he noted that the testers would have been overly critical of the game.

Web links

• Official website (multilingual)
• Medal of Honor at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ schnittberichte.com Medal of Honor database entry on cutting reports , accessed on April 10, 2012.
2. ↑ 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. ...
3. ↑ Sebastian Thöing: Criticism from the Bundeswehrverband on the Taliban scenario . In: PC Games . August 23, 2010.
4. ↑ Bundeswehr finds first-person shooter disgusting . In: Focus . August 22, 2010.
5. ^ Frank Maier: Medal of Honor - German armed forces appalled, Great Britain for prohibition . In: GameStar . August 23, 2010.
6. ↑ 4Players.de: No Taliban in multiplayer , accessed on October 1, 2010
7. ↑ "Dull Modern Warfare Copy."
8. ↑ 4Player.de quality target missed News from November 2, 2010; Retrieved December 3, 2010