Buy Medal of Honor: Warfighter at **Amazon**
(Written by Robert Murphy)
Gear up boys
and girls and get ready for “Medal of Honor: Warfighter,” a first-person shooter that follows
as a direct sequel to 2010's series reboot “Medal of Honor” and picks up where the game left off from before as it reveals Tier 1 operator
“Preacher” returning home to find his family torn apart from years of
deployment. The campaign also reveals that the deadly explosive, PETN, had
begun to appear across the globe and if something isn’t done quickly it could
spell disaster for the entire world. Unlike the macho “Medal of Honor” games in
the past, “Medal of Honor: Warfighter” was marketed for the idea that players
should consider the side of effects of war and bloodshed but inevitably still
throws you into such violence and has you kill countless nameless terrorists.
“Warfighter”
from the very beginning strives to show what it is really like to be a Tier 1
operator, the group at the center of the new “Medal of Honor” series and while
developers went to great lengths to do so, this courtesy was not transferred
into the game play. Like its counterpart back in 2010, “Warfighter” has come
far in the way of innovation with each mission dropping a player into a scene
that hasn’t been seen before with the same standard setting and enemies.
Speaking of, our friendly neighborhood
terrorist AI aren’t quite worthy of the “I” part of “AI” as they are
anything but intelligent, enemies pop up and down out of cover and sometimes
even stand out in the open just waiting to be shot at. After which you and your
team break down a door and enter s-----l-----o-----w motion, which is used
countless times throughout the story to breach a room to kill a few more
nameless enemies. Much of the story also feels very scripted and lacks much in the way of thinking, doors don’t open until your team kicks them in, enemies you chase on
foot wait for you until you catch up with them and one mission consists of a
single target to shoot which you couldn’t miss even if you’ve never held a
controller. A redeemable aspect to the game is the guns, the beautiful glorious
guns, weapons sound incredibly real throughout the game and bullets tear
through enemies with deadly efficiency.
As for the
multiplayer, problems from the story carry over into the online play; players
are often blocked off from certain routes that make objective based modes like
bomb planting and flag capturing irritating. Shrubbery and impassable
rubble obscure routes, creating a dense clutter even on larger maps, while
spawn camping is an intensely frustrating problem as it is with any online
experience. Even “Warfighter’s” class system is outdone by better multiplayer
games. Each specialty has its own unique skills, such as the heavy’s armor
boost or the scout’s ability to see through walls, but the customization of
those characters is limited to their weapons. Streak bonuses unlock as you
score points, giving you the choice between aggressive/defensive tactical
devices, such as chopper support or smokescreens. The constant calling of support
items adds an unpredictable flair to each match, but the moment-to-moment
gunplay simply isn’t on the same level of the campaign.
Gorgeous visuals and good weaponry can only take a game so
far, and in this case all of that is eclipsed by all the negative elements of
“Medal of Honor: Warfighter”. The game serves as a functional shooter but with
the technical problems, with the AI, and the time spent waiting around for your
team to open doors for you and continue the story knocks this game down to
the realms of disappointment and mediocrity. Again “Medal of Honor” fans may pick
this up out of loyalty but even they may find this game a waste of time and the
game features elements that haven’t been done before and done better elsewhere.
Good:
-Good visuals
-Excellent weapons and sound work
Bad:
-Uninspired story
-Slow going campaign with scripted movement
-Multiplayer that also is somehow scripted and limits
movement
-Horrible AI mechanic
Scully Rating: 3.0 out of 10