Danger Close did an amazing job with 2010's Medal of Honor, can they do it again for Medal Of Honor: Warfighter?
GRAPHICS
Now when it comes to shooters, graphics is always a touchy subject. Some prefer the stylistic design of the Call Of Duty franchise, or others the sharp edgy look of the Battlefield franchise and so on. Too each his own I say. Medal Of Honor: Warfighter features a look similar to the Battlefield franchise. The game appears to have a filter system that changes the color scheme depending on the surroundings. The animation in this game could use some work though. More often then not, my weapon stayed static on screen when I was reloading that resulted in me not knowing when i was ready fire again because the animation never cued. The environment are well portrayed on the other hand depicting what you would think that part of the world would look like in the middle of a war zone. Sometimes though you would find that the game couldn't keep up with your or something, and you would catch parts of the game still loading, missing or low res textures. Hopefully they patch this up soon enough.
GAMEPLAY
The mechanics of the game are like any other standard FPS. You point and shoot people. But the game does try to make its own unique entries like Breaching Options. This allows you to select the way you would like to proceed into a room. Some of the breaches include sawed off shotgun breach, plate charge breach and the old fashion kick the door down. You unlock more methods as you progress through the game. The only thing that disappointed me about this new feature was that no matter what you used on the door or wall, the result was always the same. There is no advantage of using one style over another, so boils down to what looks prettier to you.
One huge addition in this title was the Racing Segments. I have to say i was not looking forward to playing this part of the game but it turned out to be one of the best part. The racing segments are extremely fast paced and fun to play. From tearing through a crowded market to slamming you opponent into a wall to escape, the developers did a good job on this part. And to add even more to the experience is the soundtrack during the chases. Composed by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and Ramin Djawadi, (famous for composing the soundtrack for the Ironman movies) the music really puts you in the heat of the chase. As you get closer to your target the music intensifies, if you're losing the subject it plays some string that make you tense and cringe at the screen. Definitely one of the most memorable moments of the game.
The Multiplayer in this game is alright. It try's to mimic the fast paced action of the Call Of Duty franchise and the Realism and destructibility of the Battlefield franchise, that meshes well enough. They also introduce a new Buddy System that actually performed better than it sounded when announced. At the beginning of each match online, you are paired with a playing on your team and designated fire team buddy's. Your buddy can heal you quickly and give you ammo if your running low. Your buddy is also always visible to you on the map and in game. This new system promotes teammates sticking together and coordinating instead of running and gunning.
The game does a very good job at the class system. You got your standard Assault class, Heavy Gunner class and Sniper class. Some classes that might be new to others are the Demolition class that is good with you guessed it explosives, and the Point Man class that specializes with mobility and quick reactions. There' s also the Spec Ops class the specializes in close range combat and some cool gadgets.
The gun upgrade system is a bit tricky to use and its very easy to get lost on the multiplayer menu. But you can really customize your weapon this time around. From different stocks, to ammo type, muzzle accessories, scopes, under barrel and more. But on the down side is that the weapons repeat themselves sometimes for most factions, they just have different attachments on them.
STORY
The game takes place sometime directly after the actions of 2010's Medal Of Honor. It starts you off playing with some familiar characters in search of an arms dealer but things go south when you discover they're carrying much more firepower than anticipated. You and your Tier 1 friends are tasked with finding out who's at the responsible end of this. But a fairly large part of the story is told through the eyes of the families, of these soldiers your playing, and really gives you what we could think is an idea of what its like living in there circumstances. It tries and does a good job of showing you what things are like for the men behind the rifle.
OVERALL
I really wanted this game to do really well but animation glitches and sound glitches along with a short 5 hour campaign took a lot away from this game. I do not regret buying this game at all, I had a lot of fun with it but i recommend it only for the hardcore military buffs out there that need a new shooter.
7.0 OUT OF 10