Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is the latest game from the critically-acclaimed Medal of Honor franchise that’s been delivering World War II first-person shooter games since 1999.
This new game was designed completely from the ground up for the Wii (a separate version of the same game was made for the PSP).
System: Wii, PSP
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Release dates: November 13th 2007 (USA), February 7th 2008 (AUS has no online multiplayer), February 8th 2008 (EURO)
Players: single player, 2-32 online multiplayer
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Origin: Canada
It’s June 6th, 1944, and the war is in your hands. Step into the boots of OSS Operative John Berg and infiltrate Normandy from behind enemy lines to undermine the Nazi regime. On both the Wii and PSP systems, choose to tackle all-new missions in traditional single player campaign or engage in massive, 32-player online, continuous-joining multiplayer battles where you can jump into the battle at any time. The Wii game also features full support of the Wii Zapper controller add-on, allowing for a more immersive WWII action.
In addition to a full-fledged single player campaign, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 also features an all-new Arcade mode designed specifically for the Wii that simplifies gameplay for players of all skills levels for easy pick-up-and-play action. This mode plays like an old-school rail shooter — the Wii moves you around, while you do your part — taking enemies out and achieving objectives.
Watch the Medal of Honor Heroes 2 launch trailer.
While there are no local split-screen or arcade multiplayer modes available, there are three different online multiplayer modes available in the game.
Deathmatch: The typical first person shooter multiplayer deathmatch mode. All players are on their own and must kill or frag as many players as possible while also attempting to have as little deaths as possible. The player with the highest score at the end of the round wins. The score is equal to the player’s total kills minus their total deaths. After each death, the player will spawn at different spawn points on the map
Team DeathMatch: Is similar to the deathmatch mode except there are two teams against each other. Each player belongs to a team and attempts to kill or frag members of the opposite team. At the end of the round, the team with the highest score wins. The team’s score is determined by the number of enemy players the team kills.
Infiltration: Also known as capture the flag, this mode involves two teams facing each other. The objective is to steal the opposing team’s flag as often as possible. At the end of the round, the team with the highest number of successful captures is the winner.
Watch a Medal of Honor Heroes 2 multiplayer gameplay video.
So what are the main features of Medal of Honor Heroes 2?
* Become Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson – star of Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor – Frontline – in an untold chapter of his time in Holland as part of Operation Market Garden.
* Play as Sergeant John Baker, from Medal of Honor Allied Assault Breakthrough, and sabotage German defenses on the Italian coastline, to help the invasion forces crack Hitler’s iron hold on Europe.
* Return to the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge to complete unfinished business for the OSS, as Lieutenant William Holt from Medal of Honor European Assault.
* Go online for wargaming with up to 32 players in multiplayer combat.
* Quickplay missions allow players to jump right into the action or to create customized mission scenarios for added re-playability.
Watch the Medal of Honor Heroes 2 Wii controls demo.
Now let’s see how much fun Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is on a scale from 1 to 10?
FUN FACTOR – 7.5
World War II games are filled with cliches nowadays, the Medal of Honor series has also kept repeating its formulaic scripted events that turn the single player modes into a glorified shooting gallery. Boring level design, the dodgy graphics still need some work but run at a solid 60 frames per second, there are ill-placed and limited restart points, and the terrible A.I. from both friends and foes cause them to not attack when they are staring eachother in the face or when standing further apart still manage to miss each shot. It doesn’t sound so great, I know, but there are two points that redeem this FPS game!
1. Controls. Next to Metroid Prime 3, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 probably has one of the best control schemes in a console FPS so far. The Wii controls are swift to respond to your every move and if you see fit to crank up the sensitivity settings you’ll be blown away by the accuracy you can aim and shoot at enemies with.
2. Online multiplayer. It has fantastic customization leading into smooth online matches that create a fun and fulfilling experience. It’ll keep you busy for a long time after the single player campaign since it’s the only multiplayer on the disc with up to 32-players fighting it out online-only at the same time! And best of all, NO FRIEND CODES REQUIRED!!
Graphics – 6.0
Looks like a stereotypical bland World War II game. The animations and graphics details are blurry with bad textures and enemies that vanish into thin air as they are killed, it’s really not pushing any boundaries, it actually sets graphics back a generation. But it does make sure the entire game runs at a consistent 60 frames per second at all times, even during the busy 32-player online battles.
Audio – 7.0
Your standard orchestral music fare, which sounds good in surround sound. Sound effects like voice morphing and ear ringing effects after an explosion are great and the weapons fire is suitably effective. There’s lots of voice over chatter mingled in with the game as you’d expect in a war zone.
Ingenuity – 9.0
The Wii’s motion-sensing controls are fast and accurate almost all of the time, but when you enter the scope sights the controls revert to “default”. So while most of the weapons control like a dream, sniping is awful since you end up pointing and dragging the screen a little by losing your bearings. But it’s made up the second you grab a rocket launcher, to use it you hold your Wii Remote up to your shoulder as-if you’re really launching a rocket and fire as you hear the Wii Remote speakers launch the rocket and the controller starts rumbling, it’s highly immersive and great fun. It even works with the Wii Zapper.
Replay Value – 8.0
I can’t recommend it for its single player campaign experience, although there’s some fun to be had in the casual-friendly Arcade mode. But the skill-based and very hectic online multiplayer battles are great fun if you have a Wi-Fi connection.