Medal of Honor: Airborne - first look
A sharp about-face for the tired genre of WWII shooters
Okay, so only five operations in the entire single-player campaign may sound like a fairly short thrill ride, but that's because we've neglected to mention one little thing. In this iteration of Medal of Honor, you won't be confined to the story of a single member of the Airborne. In fact, each operation has two components: a solo reconnaissance mission with longer-ranged stealth-based elements and a more action-oriented infantry-based component where you'll fight alongside a bunch of other soldiers.
Medal of Honor: Airborne remains historically accurate to the fact that no individual Airborne soldier jumped more than once in any single operation by giving you two sets of shoes to fill. Initially, you'll play as Eddie La Point, a member of the elite Pathfinders whose goal was to prepare for the upcoming major assaults. Eddie's missions will be geared to a more stealthy kind of play involving sniping and sabotage.
On the other hand, you'll also play as a member of the hardy 82nd Airborne Division. Dropping into the shoes of Boyd Travers, you'll be treated to the all out battalion versus battalion large-scale conflicts. Boyd will be in the thick of it, serving as Airborne infantry and taking the brunt of the German forces head on, but with all of the "first in, last out" glory the Airborne became famous for.
After our visit to EA Los Angeles, we are tantalized by the truly next-gen innovations that Medal of Honor: Airborne offers. Unlike any other game in the genre of WWII shooters, you'll at last be able to scope out the lay of the battle and then choose your insertion point. If the developers at EA LA can pull off what they're shooting for, Medal of Honor: Airborne could be the WWII game of our dreams.
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