ONE OF THE PS2'S FINEST MOMENTS (Medal of Honor: Frontline (PS2))

Member Name: jamestla

Product:	Medal of Honor: Frontline (PS2)
Date:	30/01/05 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Graphics Exquisite, Sound Amazing, Very Authentic, Longevity

Disadvantages: Very Slight Slowdown, No Two Player Mode

Having always been interested in history, I was very excited when Medal of Honour was announced for the PS1, that game was brilliant if let down by the slightly poor graphics. Never the less when I got my PS2 I waited with anticipation for the next installment.

As soon as Medal Of Honour Frontline was released in Mid 2002 I was straight to the shop to buy it shelling out £45 in the process. Here is my view on this ace game.

Essentially this game is a first person shooter in the same vein as doom and quake etc but your aim is to win the war.

As soon as you turn on your PS2 you realise you are playing an extremely good title. The menu is very clear and gives you several different options, where you can either play the game go to the war room or make changes to the default controls. There are several different control methods available including sharp shooter etc. Although the default controls take a little time to master, in my opinion it is definitely best to stick with them.
These are known as classical Medal of Honour and use the shoulder buttons for shooting and aiming and the analogue stick for moving around.

Graphically this game is exceptional showing incredible detail and really showing off the capabilities of the PS2. You can even see water bubbles and the Nazi soldiers puffing on a cigarette.

On Medal Of Honour Frontline you have three difficulty settings these vary from where your a skilled marksman and you heal very easily to a mode similar to Goldeneyes Golden gun mode where if your shot once it's all over. In my opinion the best level to start on is the normal setting which though challenging is manageable with practice.

On Starting the game you are advised of your campaign which starts off on the beach of D day. The first level comes straight out of the famous world war 2 film Saving Private Ryan, this immediately immerses you into the thick of the action.

On the first level you start off on board a ship trying to get to D Day beach. The sounds of bombs and gunfire is immediately audible from the boat, suddenly the doors of the boat open and you have to find your way to the beach, at this point many of your fellow soldiers are killed but you make it to dry land safely where your first task is to find the chief of your regiment. After this task has been completed you then have to find and protect your comrades from bunker shooters. At this point you really begin to realise what it must have been like all those years ago and the action is incredibly realistic. You then have to kill a lot Germans before proceeding to blow up the nests with a machine gun.
Even this first level is far from easy but it is certainly worth persevering.

On Medal Of Honour Frontline you have a plethora of weapons at your disposal from the Thompson to a shot gun to grenades. These weapons are also highly authentic. You also have the brilliant sniper rifle to choose from, which enables you to aim and zoom in to an unsuspecting german smoking a fag a long way away or hiding behind a tree or scenery and then blow his brains out without him even knowing your there. This is a very neat touch. The sniper rifle becomes an incredibly important part of the game on later levels as enemies are often difficult to see.

The attention to detail on MOHF is to be frank amazing, as this is a first person shooter you have the crosshair and you can aim for the soldiers leg, torso, or head.
What is sublime though is how accurate the soldiers actions are when shot. For instance if shot in the leg he may pause briefly hopping up and down before regaining his composure and shooting at you again but if shot in the head he will die instantly.
These soldiers will fight to the bitter end just as there WW2 counterparts did all those years ago and won't stop shooting even if they've been shot several times in the leg or twice in the torso. This adds to the realism and the longevity.

The levels are diverse and follow many of the real scenes from WW2 including Operation Market Garden, Arnhem Nights Etc.
There are 6 different missions set in over 20 levels.
On this game you have to do everything from blow up anti aircraft guns to distract guards by setting fire to a haystack to destroying German Submarines.
At many points doing the game you will have to use various disguises to infillitrate certain areas undetected.
You also have access to various modes of transport and one level is even set on a train.
I won't say any more about individual missions as I don't want to spoil this epic title for you.

The longevity of this game is phenomonal, when I first purchased it in Mid 2002 I got stuck on one level and didn't play it for a while then horror of horrors my PS2 was stolen I of course brought another and got MOH again. I finally completed it on Normal setting about 4 months ago after playing on and off for nearly two years.
Even if you complete it though you feel compelled to go back and get gold stars on every mission (requires 75% health, 95% enemies killed) to open up bonuses. Or if you fancy a challenge why not try it on hard mode?. Although this is a very challenging game this doesn't spoil the enjoyment and if your really stuck you can contact HQ Mid level for help and advice.

Overall this game is probably the best on the PS2 and is far superior to the rather disappointing by comparison Medal Of Honour Rising Sun. I paid £44.99 for Frontline at the tiime but if i'd known how good it was I would have paid double.
Now out on platinum for just £19.99 this game is an absolutely essential purchase.

GRIPES

No game is perfect but this comes very close. My few gripes are:

1. When Screen Is Very Crowded Very Slight Slowdown Can Be Noticable.

2. There is No Multiplayer Mode

3. Controls Can Take A Little Of Getting Use Too To Start Off With.


OVERALL

Playability: Incredibly playable, authentic, diverse. You will lose sleep playing this.
SCORE OUT OF 10 9.5

Graphics: Unbelievable, attention to detail is magnificent and many games today can't match the graphics.
SCORE OUT OF 10 10

Sound: Very realistic sound effects from gunfire to bombs exploding to Nazis screaming insults at you.
SCORE OUT OF 10 9.5

Longevity: This will take you months to complete in full
SCORE OUT OF 10 9.75

Summary: