Medal of Honor for ps2

May 03, 2002 - A newfound cheerleader for the Medal of Honor series, I was pretty excited when I learned that I'd be the first to check out our office playable of EA's newest installment, Frontline. An entirely new game from the ground up (with the exception of a particularly famous beach mission)the first PlayStation 2 offering has a lot to live up to. Luckily for us, if the final product is anywhere near the level of quality that we've played with so far, the gaming world is in for a serious wartime treat.

While the missions were removed from their proper order in the version we toyed with, grasping the game's general premise was pretty clear: survive. Thrown into multiple scenarios based on popular situations throughout World War II, your faceless soldier is asked to do everything from stealth-killing a gaggle of Nazis and sabotaging an enemy compound, to running through blockades Rambo-style and storming the beach at Normandy. Deep, involving, and detailed even in its demo form; Frontline had me intrigued from the beginning.

Equally impressive is the presentation. Always a standout in earlier games in the series, the PlayStation 2 revision has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Easily on the same level as Steven Spielberg's brilliant war epic, Saving Private Ryan, trotting through the trenches in Frontline is like participating in the Academy Award winning movie. Authentic weaponry, clothing styles, slang, and even hairdos are practically littered across your campaign, with dead-on recreations of popular locations just as they appeared nearly 60 years ago.

And it all looks marvelous. Large, heavily textured and well-drawn character models highlight a real estate right out of the history books. Hats are blown off, limbs severed, and bodies fly through the air with Hollywood pizzazz. Constant camera shaking, excellent particle effects (dirt, shrapnel, you name it), and bomb-damaged terrain only enhance the already convincing World War II atmosphere.

Accompanying the splendid visuals is an amazingly composed soundtrack played through the bumper and transition screens (with thanks to MOH and Alias alumni Michael Giacchino), and sound effects that feel like they were recorded live on the battlefield. An ear-opening experience in stereo to be sure, the real magic comes when you listen to the fantastic audibles in Surround sound. With every voice, bullet whisk, and explosion springing to life in all fathomable directions, there hasn't been a wartime recreation this realistic since... well, since Medal of Honor hit the PC.

Control-wise there's a bit of a learning curve, but nothing that MOH fans or Red Faction geeks haven't gotten used to before. Jumping, strafing, crouching, and shooting is a synch with the only real snag coming by way of hitting your target. Extra sensitive when it comes to aiming at your opponent, utilizing the crosshair option is a necessity if you want to survive. Even then, blasting a guy accurately without missing the mark will take some serious skill, regardless if you use the classic configuration or an all-new Halo-like "sharpshooter" scheme.

Near finished that it may be, there were sill a couple of minor gripes we had with the collision detection and frame rate. A little light on the chop in the outdoor missions, your POV chugs along at what appears to be 20 FPS. Improved once inside, the animation jumps up to a solid 30 with little to zero noticeable problems. Unfortunately, we didn't notice a drop or rise in the frame rate outdoors despite a low or high number of models in the field. In simplified terms, it stayed choppy no matter how many guys were on the screen. Our guess is, that the highly detailed obstacles and structures are sucking the life out of the Emotion Engine.

And then you have the strange "backwards ladder-floating" that seems to rear it's ugly head if you turn right before climbing or descending a ladder. Somehow faced with the scenery opposite your rung pillars, you appear to levitate to and from in an unexplainable collision mini-glitch. Other objects, like defensive spikes or guns can sometimes catch your character as well. Hanging the poor bastard out to dry in a hail of machine gun fury. Thankfully there's still a month left before press time, which gives us hope that our little nitpicks can be fixed.

On track to become the definitive voice in console-based World War II simulations, Medal of Honor: Frontline has excited the office like few before it. Hectic, crazy, and realistic, Dreamworks Interactive finds itself only steps away from true perfection. Slated for release on American shelves on D-Day, June 6th, we hold our breaths in baited anticipation.


From Ign.com damn the game looks incredible especially since I am a fan of the first (hated the 2nd)

Frontline was fun... but,yes, MoH on the ps2 = pwnage.

btw is the grafic here same as pc or is pc better?

I personally think the graphic on PS2 is better.