Medal of Honor single-player detailed

By Oli Welsh Published 16 August, 2010

"Authentic" three-part hunt for Al-Qaeda.

The latest episode of Gametrailers TV has an extensive video preview of the single-player campaign of EA's military shooter Medal of Honor, showing some early levels and cut-scenes.

In the show, executive producger Greg Goodrich revealed that the story had three parts and would be told from two perspectives, beginning with an Army AFO unit hunting an Al-Qaeda terrorist force in Afghanistan.

"We're still telling the soliders' story, doing it right and honouring a community of individuals as we've always done," Goodrich said. "It's inspired by real events, but it's a fictional story in an actual conflict."

The footage shown - boasting moody lighting and very smooth and convincing motion-captured animation - covered the AFO unit arriving under fire in a fleet of transport helicopters, and crossing mountainous terrain on ATV quad bikes which the player will control.

Two levels were shown in detail: one, Friends from Afar, casts you as an Army sniper picking off targets on a hillside, while another, Dorothy's a Bitch, features frenetic close-quarters squad combat on a mountainside at night-time.

Asked to compare the Medal of Honor campaign with that of the Call of Duty and Modern Warfare games, Goodrich said that EA's contender was going for a more "authentic", but not necessarily "realistic" tone.

"For us on Medal of Honor it's a little bit of a different tone. Our intent is different. It's authentic, it's plausible," he said.

"There's a difference between authenticity and realism. You can have authentic weapons and authentic sounds and locations and tactics... but sometimes realism goes out the door when you have three or four weapons droppped on your back and hundreds of rounds of ammuinition. We try to remain authentic."

Medal of Honor will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on 12th October in North America and 15th October in Europe. Our review will be published on 12th October.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Hypercube #1 2 years ago

    "one, Friends from Afar, casts youu as an Army sniper"

    Sticky 'u' key? ;)

  • JahB #2 2 years ago

    Authentic? As in you spend ages trying to find one guy, and in the end you don't?

  • Terribly_Mauled #3 2 years ago

    Footage is very impressive and looks more expansive than CoD

  • SAMagic #4 2 years ago

    I greatly look forward to my battle with mecha-Bin Laden in Al-Qaeda's mountain headquarters.

  • TeaFiend #5 2 years ago

    Durka durka Mohammed jihad?

  • ParanoidZombie #6 2 years ago

    "We're still telling the soliders' story, doing it right and honouring a community of individuals as we've always done," Goodrich said.

    Grrrrrr. I guess they'll give the money to the widows and orphans, then.

  • Fab4 #7 2 years ago

    Authentic, as in you get your CIA chums to fork out massive amounts of money to some dubious warlord for information, only to find out its months out of date. So you blow up whatever is there anyway. ;)

  • muscleblade #8 2 years ago

    "I can't play a game about a war that is still going on.
    It is very tacky. "

    Can you watch a movie like the oscar winning hurt locker about a war that is still going on or is it too tacky? I dont see the difference really.

  • kangarootoo #9 2 years ago

    "There's a difference between authenticity and realism"

    Dictionary says otherwise.

    Indeed, in his example about gun types, sounds and the amount of ammo you might carry, the two terms are interchangeable.

    So some aspects of the game are authentic, and other aspects aren't. That is fine, but please don't start freestyling with the meaning of words to suit your "yeah its a semi-realistic action game based on a current and ongoing conflict, but we still really care about those guys" sales pitch.

  • muscleblade #10 2 years ago

    @Earlbasset

    No need to worry. Its just a game. Right?

    Movies are more realistic than games so i think its a fair comparison even though you dont do the killing yourself in a film.



  • geeza2020 #11 2 years ago

    @muscleblade - you don't see the difference between a close up look at the people and their personalities and how they react to the conflict around them and in themselves (Hurt Locker) and a video game called Medal of Honor about US army troops blowing up a load of Al Quaeda terrorists in open conflict (even though we know that open conflict between the two will never happen, Al Quaeda arent that desperate to lose) which i doubt will have anything to do with how the fruitless and endless "mission to win hearts and minds" affects those involved on either side???

    Just me then :p

  • Slabbathepave #12 2 years ago

    This is all wrong

  • Jay-ITFC #13 2 years ago

    Controversial war or not, as a game the beta was rubbish.

  • CaptainQuint #14 2 years ago

    If Bin Laden is the last boss, I expect he'll have a really long energy bar and he'll be rock hard; that is until you learn his pattern.

  • schnide #15 2 years ago

    Shitstorm and Daily Mail headline waiting to happen.

  • Osahi #16 2 years ago

    "Shitstorm and Daily Mail headline waiting to happen. "

    Well, if game developpers should censor themselves because of what the daily mail would write, then the daily mail has won

  • Fab4 #17 2 years ago

    The Daily Mail always wins...it said so in The Daily Mail.

  • im863 #18 2 years ago

    I'm a bit suspicious of any games that are set in these ongoing conflicts. Movies too. Especially after those "war logs" were leaked. Its either completely tasteless, or reaks of propaganda. And anyway, isn't there like 5 of these every year now?

  • Shikasama #19 2 years ago

    To be fair the single player in Bad Company 2 was pretty pants so I've got no interest in this. Use all the arguments you like, at the very least its tasteless and I genuinely hope the game flops.Even if only for the reason that we don't need another fucking FPS.

    I am interested in reading the script though. The dialogue in BFBC2 was a constant stream of macho Ameicanisms. That'll be good to hear when you're blowing up red cross convoys, torturing brownies and 'friendly' firing on everything with a British flag.

  • muscleblade #20 2 years ago

    @eeza2020

    Of course i see the difference. I think both has the right to exist.

  • DT-525 #21 2 years ago

    It's a fucking game stop crying all of you. AM NOT GOING TO PLAY THIS BECAUSE ITS A WAR STILL GOING ON shut the fuck up.

  • icematt12 #22 2 years ago

    I watched the GT footage over the weekend, people were saying how this is the game MW2 should have been. I'm personally waiting a bit longer before saying that, but there's some good signs.

  • Deckard1 #23 2 years ago

    This is totally out of order, and insensiti...... woa did you see the way his head exploded off that sniper rifle!! /preorders

  • geeza2020 #24 2 years ago

    @muscleblade - ok, well i don't think this game has the right to exist, mainly becuase it is using current real life events to sell games. So you could say that EA are making money off the back of the war on terror in Afghanistan. Does that not seem morally dubious to you?

  • Soton4084 #25 2 years ago

    I was impressed with the gameplay footage. Too early to say for definate, but I have a feeling that I'll be buying this over COD: Black Ops.

  • muscleblade #26 2 years ago

    @geeza2020

    I see your point. This game is still fiction even though you are killing monsters that do exist. Killing jews as nazis in a ww2 game would have been a lot worse even though its not about current events.
    As long as your killing monsters and not sivilians i think its fine.

    The film studios make money from these kind of events all the time. If they can do it, game studios should also have the right to do it. Same kind of business after all.
    Edited by muscleblade at 16/08/10 @ 13:08

  • rojjer #27 2 years ago

    This game needs more Bobby! Gonna throw my money onto the COD: Black ops pile thanks.

  • ParanoidZombie #28 2 years ago

    @geeza: this game has the right to exist, and we have the right to hate it and be vocal about it. (democracy, freedom of speech and all)

    An "authentic" and "respectful" warfare videogame experience would be a very repetitive, scary and exhausting survival horror with an unsatisfying ending IMO. Only 15 years old kids think war is fun, and MOH is designed to appeal to them, despite the 18+ rating. That's what bothers me the most about this game TBH, amongst other things.
    Edited by ParanoidZombie at 16/08/10 @ 13:20

  • Iain815 #29 2 years ago

    Oh for christ sake, it's just a fucking game. Get over it.

  • Dolly #30 2 years ago

    but will there be zombies?!?

  • bodypopper #31 2 years ago

    There's a clear difference between a film which uses a current or recent conflict to make a point - The Green Zone for example - and a game which reduces send confilct to a playground fight with each side represented in CTF or whatver, trivialising the sad events we see on the news every day.


    Edited by bodypopper at 16/08/10 @ 14:00

  • muscleblade #32 2 years ago

    @bodypopper

    Have you played the game or read the article? This discussion is about the three part hunt for Al-Qaeda not about the fragfest that is the multiplayer.

  • evilrobot #33 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 22:12:53 08-05-2012

  • Golgo #34 2 years ago

    @Captain Quint: I agree, and maybe his weak point will be when he has to nip off for a quick drain-out on the dialysis machine, so you've got a 2/3 second window to strafe shoot him without fear of reprisal. Well authentic, that'd be.

  • bodypopper #35 2 years ago

    @muscleblade.
    I'm no Daily Mail reader but it's the multiplayer aspect that worries me - people getting off on being either side.
    As for hunting Al Queda? Fictional or not, if this was announced in 2002 it would have got plenty of heckles up for being exploitative or crass. Eight years later doesn't make it any more distasteful.
    At least Infinity Ward had the good sense to stay firmly in the realms of fiction.
    Edited by bodypopper at 16/08/10 @ 16:26

  • JensonJet #36 2 years ago

    For me all 'simulation' games based on actual wars are as tasteless or acceptable as each other. I understand why some people might be upset or think this is immoral, but I don't. No more than I find any game that's based on violence. For me there's a very clear distinction between real and virtual. I'm fortunate enough to never have lost family members or friends in a war or violent manner. If I had perhaps games based on the Afghanistan, Iraq or Second World Wars would be upsetting. And if I had known people who'd been shot, run-down or raped I might have found the GTA-style games poor taste too. The same may apply to movies or books, who also use violence to entertain. Violence is big business. I draw the line at the use of real peoples names and appearance however. But calling the enemy Al-Qaeda or Nazis is no more wrong than calling the good guys Americans or British. Some gamers may feel better or more morally correct if the baddies in a game don't directly reference the real name of the organisations that are currently in conflict with our troops. But for me that's slightly hypocritical. If you're genuinely upset or angered with this game referencing Al-Qaeda, then you have the option to avoid this game. To preach to others that it's wrong is as much a waste of time as it would be to tell a GTA player that they're disrespectful or evil. Sensible gamers play what they're happy with and avoid what they don't like.

  • patchbox360 #37 2 years ago

    Al-Qaeda is a myth

  • Deckard1 #38 2 years ago

    You're thinking of santa claus. I sometimes get mixed up what with the beards and stuff.

  • Mnia786 #39 2 years ago

    If this is a game about nations being lied to by their governments into going on a "war", this is about as realistic as it gets :D

  • Bluetooth #40 2 years ago

    Authentic = guns are going to jam all the time, sand will get into your mouth, you'll dehydrate and feel light headed, and your government hasn't provided you with the right body armour, guns with the wrong ammo and a Land Rover that needs new tyres.

    Authentic, woohoo

  • Distributor #41 2 years ago

    hmmmm. An FPS. Something new in store then surely :)

  • patchbox360 #42 2 years ago

    three part hunt on how to spent a trillion dollars fighting men for 10 years who ride donkeys for transport and whose most lethal weapon is an AK47.

  • makememoo #43 2 years ago

    Slack jawed gawkers buy mediocre FPS game because on the news it said it was outrageous, perpetuates 4 hour SP and mediocre MP @ £39.99. News at 10.
    Edited by makememoo at 17/08/10 @ 08:10

  • Acrid #44 2 years ago

    @parsnip

    Tell me more about this woman and her short skirt