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[this is essentially a review, but 4000 characters wasn't anywhere near enough for me to look at some of the "cinematic" elements of the game that make it so damn great]
The waves crash against the side of your twenty-man vessel as the distant beach draws nearer and nearer. Bombing raids continue as allied jets screech past over-head, attempting to aid your conquest by taking out as many of the heavily artillery guns as possible. Instructions are screamed from your commander, last minute motivation to prepare you for the biggest task of your life. A comrade finds the tension of the imminent invasion too much to bare, and subsequently wrenches his guts out in front of you. Suddenly, the boat’s loading door is dropped as it crashes onto the shore. The world of pain and suffering that has been a distant vision until now, has suddenly become VERY real.
Everybody dives straight into the sea, as a barrage of bullets swarm the beach. YOU’RE the target, and if you don’t think quickly, YOU’RE one of the hundreds whose life will be lost in an instant. Comrades are gunned down all around you, and those who don’t die instantly will likely fall to the ground and drown in the sea, a painful, undignified way to die fighting for your county.
No matter what is going on around you, time seems to move slow enough for you to take in every little ghastly detail of the horrendous acts that are going on all around you, stretching up the far reaches of the beach. The instructions from your commander are now little more than a distant memory, as survival becomes very much human instinct as opposed to a strategically planned course of action.
Saving Private Ryan. One of the greatest films ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime narrative as you’re ever going to find.
Medal of Honour Frontline. One of the greatest games ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime game as you’re ever going to find.
The whole introductory sequence described above will be familiar to anyone whose watched Saving Private Ryan, but also to anyone whose had the pleasure of playing Medal of Honour Frontline already. You can’t help but become instantly immersed in this fantastic game. If you enjoyed the film, you’ll ADORE this game. As good as Spielberg made SPR (Saving Private Ryan), and as attached as it was possible to become with the characters involved, it was simply a film. MOHF (Medal of Honour Frontline) takes it that one step further. You're actually involved. Physically involved with the characters all around you, and of course, controlling the fate of the protagonist, Jimmy Patterson.
It would be wrong to say that MOHF is simply a game adaptation of SPR, but there are obvious similarities.
However, beyond this entire opening sequence, MOHF takes off in it’s own direction, tackling the wartime story in a completely different way. This is NOT SPR the game, but it DOES incorporate some of the best bits from the film, most notably the entire opening beach sequence which may as well have been directly lifted from the film. MOHF, essentially, takes the best bits from many of the best war-films ever made, and puts them together in a superbly realistic and complete game unlike any other game has ever done.
There’s almost a complete lack of a learning curve (don’t take this too literally because the levels obviously do become progressively harder) due to the fact that your given no time to find your feet. In an instant, your thrown onto the shore of the aforementioned beach, with bombs exploding all around you, up and down the beach. Thousands of bullets fly past taking down your fellow allied forces, and in the slight silence between each bomb explosion, screams of pain echo in an eerily realistic manner. This is war, and you’ve had no training levels prior to this dastardly tough opening area.
It’s this entire first level that sets you up for the rest of the game, and the quick start into the action helps draw you in immediately. There is an element of instinctive reactions, and for possibly the first time in ages, you WILL find yourself ducking behind the not nearly adequate barriers that are scattered around the beach to avoid the relentless fire. Anything from normal difficulty upwards WILL see you KIA (Killed In Action) if you try and go in “James Bond – style”. The action is fast, furious, and mind-bogglingly intense, yet still you’ll find yourself mentally challenged as you search for a route into the fortress, trying to plan ahead for your assault.
If you’ve played either of the previous Medal of Honour games before you’ll feel right at home, although even the most hardened of MOH experts may find it slightly different adapting to the more frantic style of play.
Frontline takes you through 15 missions of varying objectives and difficulty, and your nerve is tested in a variety of ways. As well as carrying a fake passport to pose as a German officer, your tasks include the usual infiltration, destruction, and investigation, and there’s enough variety to test various methods of play. Stealth DOES come into it, yet at the same time there are sections where your best method of attack is to plough through the enemy guards that storm whichever area your infiltrating. Just as in the previous MOH games, your task is made all the more interesting by the selection of weaponry at your disposal, giving your vast options for your method of assault. All manner of pistols and automatic’s are available for selection, and you’ll need to use your ammo sparingly in some instances. With this selection of “toys” for use though, comes a more advanced Artificial Intelligence system than has been previously seen.
Enemies scarper if they are losing a battle with you, and often return with a truck-load of friends to try and put a dent in your assault plans. It’s in instances like this that you’ll find YOURSELF turning and running for cover, to re-assess the situation and try and mount a serious attack. There’s a fair bit of strategy involved if your attempting to play the game without dying (as opposed to running through all area’s care-free of whether or not you die), yet the pace remains fast and furious for a fair part of the game leaving you to think on your feet, on in this case, in the midst of a large-scale gun battle.
It’s all beautifully detailed throughout, and the graphics really are next generation quality. The PS2 may still yet only be used to half of it’s potential, but this looks superb even at this level. One of the best early examples of the attention to detail comes when your given objectives by your commander. The facial animation is very good, and it’s nice to see him look around at the carnage as he continues to instruct you.
Graphic-wise, it’s without doubt the best shooter on the Playstation2, and the same goes for the realism factor. Nothing else compares to it, with TimeSplitters going for the OTT quick-fire explosive action, Red Faction tackling futuristic out of this world battles, and Agent Under Fire typically unrealistic and easy.
MOHF tackles the first-person-shooter genre fantastically well, and does so in an historically accurate way. It’s actually quite educational, and the numerous movies that intercut the different missions a very nice addition to the development of the story… YOUR story.
In MOHF you’ll find a very cinematic gaming experience, not too dissimilar to the likes of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Silent Hill 2, games which could very easily be translated to the big-screen with their fantastically in-depth and sometimes quite emotionally touching storylines. MOHF is of course the reverse of these games. It HAS been done on the big screen, only now, you get to control the action as opposed to watch it unfold in front of you.
Your unlikely to find a better game available on any console right now, and this is one that has really set the benchmark for future PS2 shooters.
If you’re a fan of war movies, first-person-shooters, or consider the likes of Saving Private Ryan to be the holy grail of the film-world, MOHF really is worth purchasing, with it’s value far exceeding the measly £40/45 price tag. HOWEVER, the game is equally worth purchasing for ALL gamers, because it manages to pull off something that has become more and more popular in recent years.
Sure, it looks and sounds great, but more importantly it feels great, and plays like a dream. It's got the hallmarks of a great hollywood film, and manages to translate that into an engrossing and rewarding game.
THAT is what makes a classic game, and THAT is where developers are beginning to look to for future projects. Good games go beyond the aesthetic level, right down to the twists and turns of a storyline, and this sets MOHF in the MGS2 league (only not quite as confusing and obscure!) along with a personal favourite Silent Hill 2, and other "plot-driven-masterpieces".
The waves crash against the side of your twenty-man vessel as the distant beach draws nearer and nearer. Bombing raids continue as allied jets screech past over-head, attempting to aid your conquest by taking out as many of the heavily artillery guns as possible. Instructions are screamed from your commander, last minute motivation to prepare you for the biggest task of your life. A comrade finds the tension of the imminent invasion too much to bare, and subsequently wrenches his guts out in front of you. Suddenly, the boat’s loading door is dropped as it crashes onto the shore. The world of pain and suffering that has been a distant vision until now, has suddenly become VERY real.
Everybody dives straight into the sea, as a barrage of bullets swarm the beach. YOU’RE the target, and if you don’t think quickly, YOU’RE one of the hundreds whose life will be lost in an instant. Comrades are gunned down all around you, and those who don’t die instantly will likely fall to the ground and drown in the sea, a painful, undignified way to die fighting for your county.
No matter what is going on around you, time seems to move slow enough for you to take in every little ghastly detail of the horrendous acts that are going on all around you, stretching up the far reaches of the beach. The instructions from your commander are now little more than a distant memory, as survival becomes very much human instinct as opposed to a strategically planned course of action.
Saving Private Ryan. One of the greatest films ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime narrative as you’re ever going to find.
Medal of Honour Frontline. One of the greatest games ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime game as you’re ever going to find.
The whole introductory sequence described above will be familiar to anyone whose watched Saving Private Ryan, but also to anyone whose had the pleasure of playing Medal of Honour Frontline already. You can’t help but become instantly immersed in this fantastic game. If you enjoyed the film, you’ll ADORE this game. As good as Spielberg made SPR (Saving Private Ryan), and as attached as it was possible to become with the characters involved, it was simply a film. MOHF (Medal of Honour Frontline) takes it that one step further. You're actually involved. Physically involved with the characters all around you, and of course, controlling the fate of the protagonist, Jimmy Patterson.
It would be wrong to say that MOHF is simply a game adaptation of SPR, but there are obvious similarities.
However, beyond this entire opening sequence, MOHF takes off in it’s own direction, tackling the wartime story in a completely different way. This is NOT SPR the game, but it DOES incorporate some of the best bits from the film, most notably the entire opening beach sequence which may as well have been directly lifted from the film. MOHF, essentially, takes the best bits from many of the best war-films ever made, and puts them together in a superbly realistic and complete game unlike any other game has ever done.
There’s almost a complete lack of a learning curve (don’t take this too literally because the levels obviously do become progressively harder) due to the fact that your given no time to find your feet. In an instant, your thrown onto the shore of the aforementioned beach, with bombs exploding all around you, up and down the beach. Thousands of bullets fly past taking down your fellow allied forces, and in the slight silence between each bomb explosion, screams of pain echo in an eerily realistic manner. This is war, and you’ve had no training levels prior to this dastardly tough opening area.
It’s this entire first level that sets you up for the rest of the game, and the quick start into the action helps draw you in immediately. There is an element of instinctive reactions, and for possibly the first time in ages, you WILL find yourself ducking behind the not nearly adequate barriers that are scattered around the beach to avoid the relentless fire. Anything from normal difficulty upwards WILL see you KIA (Killed In Action) if you try and go in “James Bond – style”. The action is fast, furious, and mind-bogglingly intense, yet still you’ll find yourself mentally challenged as you search for a route into the fortress, trying to plan ahead for your assault.
If you’ve played either of the previous Medal of Honour games before you’ll feel right at home, although even the most hardened of MOH experts may find it slightly different adapting to the more frantic style of play.
Frontline takes you through 15 missions of varying objectives and difficulty, and your nerve is tested in a variety of ways. As well as carrying a fake passport to pose as a German officer, your tasks include the usual infiltration, destruction, and investigation, and there’s enough variety to test various methods of play. Stealth DOES come into it, yet at the same time there are sections where your best method of attack is to plough through the enemy guards that storm whichever area your infiltrating. Just as in the previous MOH games, your task is made all the more interesting by the selection of weaponry at your disposal, giving your vast options for your method of assault. All manner of pistols and automatic’s are available for selection, and you’ll need to use your ammo sparingly in some instances. With this selection of “toys” for use though, comes a more advanced Artificial Intelligence system than has been previously seen.
Enemies scarper if they are losing a battle with you, and often return with a truck-load of friends to try and put a dent in your assault plans. It’s in instances like this that you’ll find YOURSELF turning and running for cover, to re-assess the situation and try and mount a serious attack. There’s a fair bit of strategy involved if your attempting to play the game without dying (as opposed to running through all area’s care-free of whether or not you die), yet the pace remains fast and furious for a fair part of the game leaving you to think on your feet, on in this case, in the midst of a large-scale gun battle.
It’s all beautifully detailed throughout, and the graphics really are next generation quality. The PS2 may still yet only be used to half of it’s potential, but this looks superb even at this level. One of the best early examples of the attention to detail comes when your given objectives by your commander. The facial animation is very good, and it’s nice to see him look around at the carnage as he continues to instruct you.
Graphic-wise, it’s without doubt the best shooter on the Playstation2, and the same goes for the realism factor. Nothing else compares to it, with TimeSplitters going for the OTT quick-fire explosive action, Red Faction tackling futuristic out of this world battles, and Agent Under Fire typically unrealistic and easy.
MOHF tackles the first-person-shooter genre fantastically well, and does so in an historically accurate way. It’s actually quite educational, and the numerous movies that intercut the different missions a very nice addition to the development of the story… YOUR story.
In MOHF you’ll find a very cinematic gaming experience, not too dissimilar to the likes of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Silent Hill 2, games which could very easily be translated to the big-screen with their fantastically in-depth and sometimes quite emotionally touching storylines. MOHF is of course the reverse of these games. It HAS been done on the big screen, only now, you get to control the action as opposed to watch it unfold in front of you.
Your unlikely to find a better game available on any console right now, and this is one that has really set the benchmark for future PS2 shooters.
If you’re a fan of war movies, first-person-shooters, or consider the likes of Saving Private Ryan to be the holy grail of the film-world, MOHF really is worth purchasing, with it’s value far exceeding the measly £40/45 price tag. HOWEVER, the game is equally worth purchasing for ALL gamers, because it manages to pull off something that has become more and more popular in recent years.
Sure, it looks and sounds great, but more importantly it feels great, and plays like a dream. It's got the hallmarks of a great hollywood film, and manages to translate that into an engrossing and rewarding game.
THAT is what makes a classic game, and THAT is where developers are beginning to look to for future projects. Good games go beyond the aesthetic level, right down to the twists and turns of a storyline, and this sets MOHF in the MGS2 league (only not quite as confusing and obscure!) along with a personal favourite Silent Hill 2, and other "plot-driven-masterpieces".
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[this is essentially a review, but 4000 characters wasn't anywhere near enough for me to look at some of the "cinematic" elements of the game that make it so damn great]
The waves crash against the side of your twenty-man vessel as the distant beach draws nearer and nearer. Bombing raids continue as allied jets screech past over-head, attempting to aid your conquest by taking out as many of the heavily artillery guns as possible. Instructions are screamed from your commander, last minute motivation to prepare you for the biggest task of your life. A comrade finds the tension of the imminent invasion too much to bare, and subsequently wrenches his guts out in front of you. Suddenly, the boat’s loading door is dropped as it crashes onto the shore. The world of pain and suffering that has been a distant vision until now, has suddenly become VERY real.
Everybody dives straight into the sea, as a barrage of bullets swarm the beach. YOU’RE the target, and if you don’t think quickly, YOU’RE one of the hundreds whose life will be lost in an instant. Comrades are gunned down all around you, and those who don’t die instantly will likely fall to the ground and drown in the sea, a painful, undignified way to die fighting for your county.
No matter what is going on around you, time seems to move slow enough for you to take in every little ghastly detail of the horrendous acts that are going on all around you, stretching up the far reaches of the beach. The instructions from your commander are now little more than a distant memory, as survival becomes very much human instinct as opposed to a strategically planned course of action.
Saving Private Ryan. One of the greatest films ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime narrative as you’re ever going to find.
Medal of Honour Frontline. One of the greatest games ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime game as you’re ever going to find.
The whole introductory sequence described above will be familiar to anyone whose watched Saving Private Ryan, but also to anyone whose had the pleasure of playing Medal of Honour Frontline already. You can’t help but become instantly immersed in this fantastic game. If you enjoyed the film, you’ll ADORE this game. As good as Spielberg made SPR (Saving Private Ryan), and as attached as it was possible to become with the characters involved, it was simply a film. MOHF (Medal of Honour Frontline) takes it that one step further. You're actually involved. Physically involved with the characters all around you, and of course, controlling the fate of the protagonist, Jimmy Patterson.
It would be wrong to say that MOHF is simply a game adaptation of SPR, but there are obvious similarities.
However, beyond this entire opening sequence, MOHF takes off in it’s own direction, tackling the wartime story in a completely different way. This is NOT SPR the game, but it DOES incorporate some of the best bits from the film, most notably the entire opening beach sequence which may as well have been directly lifted from the film. MOHF, essentially, takes the best bits from many of the best war-films ever made, and puts them together in a superbly realistic and complete game unlike any other game has ever done.
There’s almost a complete lack of a learning curve (don’t take this too literally because the levels obviously do become progressively harder) due to the fact that your given no time to find your feet. In an instant, your thrown onto the shore of the aforementioned beach, with bombs exploding all around you, up and down the beach. Thousands of bullets fly past taking down your fellow allied forces, and in the slight silence between each bomb explosion, screams of pain echo in an eerily realistic manner. This is war, and you’ve had no training levels prior to this dastardly tough opening area.
It’s this entire first level that sets you up for the rest of the game, and the quick start into the action helps draw you in immediately. There is an element of instinctive reactions, and for possibly the first time in ages, you WILL find yourself ducking behind the not nearly adequate barriers that are scattered around the beach to avoid the relentless fire. Anything from normal difficulty upwards WILL see you KIA (Killed In Action) if you try and go in “James Bond – style”. The action is fast, furious, and mind-bogglingly intense, yet still you’ll find yourself mentally challenged as you search for a route into the fortress, trying to plan ahead for your assault.
If you’ve played either of the previous Medal of Honour games before you’ll feel right at home, although even the most hardened of MOH experts may find it slightly different adapting to the more frantic style of play.
Frontline takes you through 15 missions of varying objectives and difficulty, and your nerve is tested in a variety of ways. As well as carrying a fake passport to pose as a German officer, your tasks include the usual infiltration, destruction, and investigation, and there’s enough variety to test various methods of play. Stealth DOES come into it, yet at the same time there are sections where your best method of attack is to plough through the enemy guards that storm whichever area your infiltrating. Just as in the previous MOH games, your task is made all the more interesting by the selection of weaponry at your disposal, giving your vast options for your method of assault. All manner of pistols and automatic’s are available for selection, and you’ll need to use your ammo sparingly in some instances. With this selection of “toys” for use though, comes a more advanced Artificial Intelligence system than has been previously seen.
Enemies scarper if they are losing a battle with you, and often return with a truck-load of friends to try and put a dent in your assault plans. It’s in instances like this that you’ll find YOURSELF turning and running for cover, to re-assess the situation and try and mount a serious attack. There’s a fair bit of strategy involved if your attempting to play the game without dying (as opposed to running through all area’s care-free of whether or not you die), yet the pace remains fast and furious for a fair part of the game leaving you to think on your feet, on in this case, in the midst of a large-scale gun battle.
It’s all beautifully detailed throughout, and the graphics really are next generation quality. The PS2 may still yet only be used to half of it’s potential, but this looks superb even at this level. One of the best early examples of the attention to detail comes when your given objectives by your commander. The facial animation is very good, and it’s nice to see him look around at the carnage as he continues to instruct you.
Graphic-wise, it’s without doubt the best shooter on the Playstation2, and the same goes for the realism factor. Nothing else compares to it, with TimeSplitters going for the OTT quick-fire explosive action, Red Faction tackling futuristic out of this world battles, and Agent Under Fire typically unrealistic and easy.
MOHF tackles the first-person-shooter genre fantastically well, and does so in an historically accurate way. It’s actually quite educational, and the numerous movies that intercut the different missions a very nice addition to the development of the story… YOUR story.
In MOHF you’ll find a very cinematic gaming experience, not too dissimilar to the likes of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Silent Hill 2, games which could very easily be translated to the big-screen with their fantastically in-depth and sometimes quite emotionally touching storylines. MOHF is of course the reverse of these games. It HAS been done on the big screen, only now, you get to control the action as opposed to watch it unfold in front of you.
Your unlikely to find a better game available on any console right now, and this is one that has really set the benchmark for future PS2 shooters.
If you’re a fan of war movies, first-person-shooters, or consider the likes of Saving Private Ryan to be the holy grail of the film-world, MOHF really is worth purchasing, with it’s value far exceeding the measly £40/45 price tag. HOWEVER, the game is equally worth purchasing for ALL gamers, because it manages to pull off something that has become more and more popular in recent years.
Sure, it looks and sounds great, but more importantly it feels great, and plays like a dream. It's got the hallmarks of a great hollywood film, and manages to translate that into an engrossing and rewarding game.
THAT is what makes a classic game, and THAT is where developers are beginning to look to for future projects. Good games go beyond the aesthetic level, right down to the twists and turns of a storyline, and this sets MOHF in the MGS2 league (only not quite as confusing and obscure!) along with a personal favourite Silent Hill 2, and other "plot-driven-masterpieces".
The waves crash against the side of your twenty-man vessel as the distant beach draws nearer and nearer. Bombing raids continue as allied jets screech past over-head, attempting to aid your conquest by taking out as many of the heavily artillery guns as possible. Instructions are screamed from your commander, last minute motivation to prepare you for the biggest task of your life. A comrade finds the tension of the imminent invasion too much to bare, and subsequently wrenches his guts out in front of you. Suddenly, the boat’s loading door is dropped as it crashes onto the shore. The world of pain and suffering that has been a distant vision until now, has suddenly become VERY real.
Everybody dives straight into the sea, as a barrage of bullets swarm the beach. YOU’RE the target, and if you don’t think quickly, YOU’RE one of the hundreds whose life will be lost in an instant. Comrades are gunned down all around you, and those who don’t die instantly will likely fall to the ground and drown in the sea, a painful, undignified way to die fighting for your county.
No matter what is going on around you, time seems to move slow enough for you to take in every little ghastly detail of the horrendous acts that are going on all around you, stretching up the far reaches of the beach. The instructions from your commander are now little more than a distant memory, as survival becomes very much human instinct as opposed to a strategically planned course of action.
Saving Private Ryan. One of the greatest films ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime narrative as you’re ever going to find.
Medal of Honour Frontline. One of the greatest games ever made, and arguably, as damned near perfect as a wartime game as you’re ever going to find.
The whole introductory sequence described above will be familiar to anyone whose watched Saving Private Ryan, but also to anyone whose had the pleasure of playing Medal of Honour Frontline already. You can’t help but become instantly immersed in this fantastic game. If you enjoyed the film, you’ll ADORE this game. As good as Spielberg made SPR (Saving Private Ryan), and as attached as it was possible to become with the characters involved, it was simply a film. MOHF (Medal of Honour Frontline) takes it that one step further. You're actually involved. Physically involved with the characters all around you, and of course, controlling the fate of the protagonist, Jimmy Patterson.
It would be wrong to say that MOHF is simply a game adaptation of SPR, but there are obvious similarities.
However, beyond this entire opening sequence, MOHF takes off in it’s own direction, tackling the wartime story in a completely different way. This is NOT SPR the game, but it DOES incorporate some of the best bits from the film, most notably the entire opening beach sequence which may as well have been directly lifted from the film. MOHF, essentially, takes the best bits from many of the best war-films ever made, and puts them together in a superbly realistic and complete game unlike any other game has ever done.
There’s almost a complete lack of a learning curve (don’t take this too literally because the levels obviously do become progressively harder) due to the fact that your given no time to find your feet. In an instant, your thrown onto the shore of the aforementioned beach, with bombs exploding all around you, up and down the beach. Thousands of bullets fly past taking down your fellow allied forces, and in the slight silence between each bomb explosion, screams of pain echo in an eerily realistic manner. This is war, and you’ve had no training levels prior to this dastardly tough opening area.
It’s this entire first level that sets you up for the rest of the game, and the quick start into the action helps draw you in immediately. There is an element of instinctive reactions, and for possibly the first time in ages, you WILL find yourself ducking behind the not nearly adequate barriers that are scattered around the beach to avoid the relentless fire. Anything from normal difficulty upwards WILL see you KIA (Killed In Action) if you try and go in “James Bond – style”. The action is fast, furious, and mind-bogglingly intense, yet still you’ll find yourself mentally challenged as you search for a route into the fortress, trying to plan ahead for your assault.
If you’ve played either of the previous Medal of Honour games before you’ll feel right at home, although even the most hardened of MOH experts may find it slightly different adapting to the more frantic style of play.
Frontline takes you through 15 missions of varying objectives and difficulty, and your nerve is tested in a variety of ways. As well as carrying a fake passport to pose as a German officer, your tasks include the usual infiltration, destruction, and investigation, and there’s enough variety to test various methods of play. Stealth DOES come into it, yet at the same time there are sections where your best method of attack is to plough through the enemy guards that storm whichever area your infiltrating. Just as in the previous MOH games, your task is made all the more interesting by the selection of weaponry at your disposal, giving your vast options for your method of assault. All manner of pistols and automatic’s are available for selection, and you’ll need to use your ammo sparingly in some instances. With this selection of “toys” for use though, comes a more advanced Artificial Intelligence system than has been previously seen.
Enemies scarper if they are losing a battle with you, and often return with a truck-load of friends to try and put a dent in your assault plans. It’s in instances like this that you’ll find YOURSELF turning and running for cover, to re-assess the situation and try and mount a serious attack. There’s a fair bit of strategy involved if your attempting to play the game without dying (as opposed to running through all area’s care-free of whether or not you die), yet the pace remains fast and furious for a fair part of the game leaving you to think on your feet, on in this case, in the midst of a large-scale gun battle.
It’s all beautifully detailed throughout, and the graphics really are next generation quality. The PS2 may still yet only be used to half of it’s potential, but this looks superb even at this level. One of the best early examples of the attention to detail comes when your given objectives by your commander. The facial animation is very good, and it’s nice to see him look around at the carnage as he continues to instruct you.
Graphic-wise, it’s without doubt the best shooter on the Playstation2, and the same goes for the realism factor. Nothing else compares to it, with TimeSplitters going for the OTT quick-fire explosive action, Red Faction tackling futuristic out of this world battles, and Agent Under Fire typically unrealistic and easy.
MOHF tackles the first-person-shooter genre fantastically well, and does so in an historically accurate way. It’s actually quite educational, and the numerous movies that intercut the different missions a very nice addition to the development of the story… YOUR story.
In MOHF you’ll find a very cinematic gaming experience, not too dissimilar to the likes of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Silent Hill 2, games which could very easily be translated to the big-screen with their fantastically in-depth and sometimes quite emotionally touching storylines. MOHF is of course the reverse of these games. It HAS been done on the big screen, only now, you get to control the action as opposed to watch it unfold in front of you.
Your unlikely to find a better game available on any console right now, and this is one that has really set the benchmark for future PS2 shooters.
If you’re a fan of war movies, first-person-shooters, or consider the likes of Saving Private Ryan to be the holy grail of the film-world, MOHF really is worth purchasing, with it’s value far exceeding the measly £40/45 price tag. HOWEVER, the game is equally worth purchasing for ALL gamers, because it manages to pull off something that has become more and more popular in recent years.
Sure, it looks and sounds great, but more importantly it feels great, and plays like a dream. It's got the hallmarks of a great hollywood film, and manages to translate that into an engrossing and rewarding game.
THAT is what makes a classic game, and THAT is where developers are beginning to look to for future projects. Good games go beyond the aesthetic level, right down to the twists and turns of a storyline, and this sets MOHF in the MGS2 league (only not quite as confusing and obscure!) along with a personal favourite Silent Hill 2, and other "plot-driven-masterpieces".