Medal of Honor (series)

Medal of Honor franchise

Logo used from 2004 to 2008.
Genres First-person shooter
Developers

EA Los Angeles
EA Digital Illusions CE
DreamWorks Interactive
2015 Inc.
Rebellion Developments
Netherock Ltd.
TKO Software
Budcat Creations

EA Canada
Publishers Electronic Arts
Creators Steven Spielberg[1]
Composers Michael Giacchino
Christopher Lennertz
Ramin Djawadi
Platforms PlayStation
Game Boy Advance
Linux
Windows
Mac OS X
PlayStation 2
Nintendo GameCube
Xbox
PlayStation Portable
Wii
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
First release Medal of Honor
November 11, 1999
Latest release Medal of Honor
October 12, 2010
Official website http://www.medalofhonor.com/

Medal of Honor (MoH) is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive (now known as Danger Close) and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console. Medal of Honor spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and the PC and Mac.

Contents

Plot

The Medal of Honor series puts the player in the boots of an Allied combatant during World War II, with the exception of the recent game which lets players take part in the modern Afghanistan conflict (at times as a Combat Applications Group (Delta Force) operator, Ranger or DEVGRU operator), with weaponry appropriate to each time period. The player fights for the United States (although groups such as the French Resistance have been represented), and the identity of the main character varies between games. The games are often characterized by linear gameplay through recognizable WWII-era areas of conflict, which is sometimes presented in a cinematic tone (e.g., inspiration from modern films like Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line and Enemy at the Gates and the television mini-series Band of Brothers).

Gameplay

The gameplay originally focuses on the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), an American espionage organization during World War II, placing emphasis on using false papers and silenced pistols, but as the series and the technology has progressed, it has shifted emphasis towards front-line combat, and has now almost completely abandoned the original focus. Since the release of Medal of Honor: Rising Sun the series has focused on providing a more open-ended element to the games, allowing the player to have more options in each level and getting away from one linear path. In the later games in the series, the artificial intelligence (AI) of the enemies and fellow soldiers has been notorious for being below or above current FPS expectations. The violence, up to Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is bloodless and simple, usually consisting of elaborate animations, while the violence in Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault and onward contains the occasional sprays of blood. The newest Medal of Honor contains realistic figures, surroundings, and effects giving it a modern FPS look.

Games in the series

PC releases

Overview over PC versions
TITLE RELEASE Protagonist(s) SYSTEMS Comments
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault 2002 Lt. Mike Powell Windows 2000/95/98/Me/NT/XP, Linux, Mac OS
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Spearhead 2002 Sgt. Jack Barnes Windows, Linux, Mac OS expansion
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Breakthrough 2003 Sgt. John Baker Windows, Linux, Mac OS expansion
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault 2004 Pvt/Pfc/Lcpl/Cpl/Sgt. Tommy Conlin Windows
Medal of Honor: Airborne 2007 Pfc/Cpl. Boyd Travers Windows Vista, XP
Medal of Honor 2010 Spc. Dante Adams, Cpt. Brad "Hawk" Hawkins, "Rabbit", "Deuce" Windows

Console releases

Overview over console versions
TITLE RELEASE Protagonist(s) SYSTEMS Comments
Medal of Honor 1999 Lt. Jimmy Patterson PSX
Medal of Honor: Underground 2000 Manon Batiste PSX
Medal of Honor: Frontline 2002/2010 Lt. Jimmy Patterson PS2, Xbox, NGC / PS3
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 2003 Cpl/Sgt. Joseph Griffin PS2, Xbox, NGC
Medal of Honor: European Assault 2005 Lt. William Holt PS2, Xbox, NGC
Medal of Honor: Vanguard 2007 Cpl/Sgt. Frank Keegan PS2, Wii
Medal of Honor: Airborne 2007 Pfc/Cpl. Boyd Travers Xbox 360, PS3
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 2007 Lt. John Berg Wii
Medal of Honor 2010 Spc. Dante Adams, Cpt. Brad "Hawk" Hawkins, "Rabbit", "Deuce" Xbox 360, PS3
Medal of Honor 2 2012 0TBA 0TBA

Portable releases

Overview over portable versions
TITLE RELEASE Protagonist(s) SYSTEMS Comments
Medal of Honor: Underground 2000 Manon Batiste GBA
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator 2003 Cpl. Jake Murphy GBA
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2006 Lt. Jimmy Patterson, Lt. William Holt, Sgt. John Baker PSP
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 2007 Lt. John Berg PSP

Medal of Honor Collection

Medal of Honor Collection is a set of three games: Medal of Honor: Frontline, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun and Medal of Honor: European Assault on the PlayStation 2 and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault and Medal of Honor: Airborne for Microsoft Windows. It was released on March 6, 2007.

Medal of Honor 10th Anniversary Bundle

Medal of Honor 10th Anniversary Bundle is a bundle of three games for the PC: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, with its respective expansion packs, Medal of Honor: Spearhead and Medal of Honor: Breakthrough, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault Director's Edition, and Medal of Honor: Airborne. It was released on September 22, 2008.

Cancelled games

In the history of the Medal of Honor series, two games are known to have been cancelled: Medal of Honor: Fighter Command, a flight-sim-esque game that was to be released for the PlayStation 2,[2] and Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 2, the sequel to Medal of Honor: Rising Sun.

Awards

Guinness World Records awarded the Medal of Honor series with a world record for "Best-selling FPS franchise" in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008.

See also

References

External links