Medal of Honor: Allied Assault PC Review

There are so many first person shooters on the market nowadays, some are battling for the realistic FPS fans and some are battling for the fantasy FPS fans. MOHAA is one of those which is in for the realistic side. Set in the late years of World War II, you play as Lt Mike Powell, an OSS officer. As Mike, you go into enemy strongholds and do impossible missions, usually outnumbered 20 to 1. The story is simple, play your way through to the end of WW2, but the reality of the game itself is something different.

As I started up this game (which takes over 1.2GB of your hard disk, which is a lot for me and my small 8GB disk) and got through the introduction (which was nicely animated) I got to the main menu. Now… Medal of Honor menus are all the same and all as bad as each other. There are no titles describing each option – you have to find them. After finally slapping myself in the face as I found out that the NEW GAME option was the map (of course) I started my adventure. From the start I could see that this was a great game, the Quake engine does wonders for this game. In the truck driving into a Nazi stronghold I casually watched the other one behind. Then all hell breaks loose as the Nazi guard rejects our pass and I find myself out the backside of this truck and popping baddies left, right and centre with my beautifully crafted M1 Garand. I have a nice bit of enjoyment blowing up barrels and seeing enemies run, but that’s just my… “different” disposition.

After rattling my way through the first two missions (which span about 12 levels) a briefing screen appears, I’m on my way to Omaha Beach! I await for this great gaming moment with anxiety, and as my Higgins edges closer to the shore and the barricades fade into view, the guys in the Higgins next to me casually blow up. Then the ramp goes down and all hell breaks loose… again. I’m frantically running to and from barricades and explosions to get up the beach. When I get to a communications person I am strangely reminded of Saving Private Ryan, but what the heck – its a great movie, and this is a great game. When I finally reach the shingle at the top of the beach I look behind me, dead bodies and craters everywhere, even if it is a game I can’t help but feel sorry for the people who were there when it actually happened. The level ended after I cleared the machine gun emplacements, thank goodness.

MOHAA is a very well put together game, placing you in the heart of WW2. It takes you away from your desk and into the 1940s. The graphics are top notch and the music and sounds are crisp and clear. This is a game not to be missed.

Summary:

Graphics
A bit outdated for today, but they do the job.

Gameplay
Sometimes you wonder, ‘why am I here’.

Sound
It even has the ‘ping’ sound from the M1 Garand when it runs out of ammo!

Lifespan
This game will never tire anyone, until the millionth time.

Overall
Top notch action from top notch creators. A must play.

9 out of 10