Possibly the best in the franchise.
Sometimes I give a game another try later and find that if I just give it a chance I DO end up liking it. Such was the case with Airborne. It is possibly my favorite of the franchise (MOH:AA may edge it out). I played through the game now 2 or 3 times on baby mode - which some seasoned veterans would frown upon - but being a run-n-gun guy through and through (plus couple that with some beers) and it became more fun than frustration, at least for the most part.
Some tips to improve your game experience and enjoyment:
- Yes, there is bad hit detection. That works both ways however, as if YOU can take numerous bullets before you die, why can't the enemy ?
- Make sure you peek over cover as you are crouched, vs. standing up.
- Know how to hold your breath when sniping (not well documented).
- You HAVE to advance as the enemy will just re-spawn if you do not. Your squad will often be ordered to fall back when the odds are slipping out of your favor. Don't - keep plugging away if you can.
- There is no point in providing cover fire when called for by your team. (I've played many WWII shooters, and the only one that treats cover fire authentically by the AI is 'Brothers in Arms').
- Ignore the game when it tells you to be on the lookout for secret items. There is only one in the whole game, it's far from a secret, and the result is completely negligible. This appears to be a development idea that was never fleshed out.
- Replay ability is high in my opinion due to the non-linear maps, the special parachute drop locations you can discover, and the difficulty levels.
The fire fights can be intense and fun.
Two cons I have to note:
- On install you may get a failure due to the Ageia PhysX engine already being installed on your system. Just uninstall that from Add / Remove Programs and run the install again.
- There is no Save Game feature, it's all checkpoint based. I could not locate a cheat to get around that.
Overall, Airborne has its flaws, but don't hesitate to pick it up from the bargain bin or better yet grab the MOH 10th Anniversary Box Set. MOH:Airborne can literally be a "blast".