Preview: Medal Of Honor: Warfighter

Announced on 23 February, 2012, as the direct sequel to the 2010 Medal of Honor series, Warfighter aims to once again put the player in a rough and tough setting, with guns, blood, explosions and a strong attempt at emotion.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter is a first-person-shooter developed by Danger Close Games, where it will be published by Electronic Arts on the 26th of October, 2012. The upcoming shooter is said to run on DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine — the one from Battlefield 3. The Frostbite 2 engine will power both multiplayer and singleplayer parts of the game.

With the use of the Frostbite 2 engine, it’s expected that visuals will be up to scratch, along with how the game plays and what the player can do. In fact, one of Battlefield 3′s biggest selling points was “blow whatever you want up”, therefore, we can surely extend that to Warfighter too.

However, Warfighter isn’t Battlefield, nor is it Call of Duty. Warfighter is a game in-between, a title which seems very out of place. If anything, it seems as if this is Electronic Arts’ answer to Treyarch’s versions of Call of Duty, where Battlefield is the “big boy” which fights against Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare. That said, Warfighter has a tough road ahead of it.

Regardless of that, we will talk about the game on its own merits and what it will offer the player. After all, it might be something a little different to what everyone is expecting and, or, wanting.

Title: Medal of Honor: Warfighter
Developer: Danger Close Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1-20 (single and multiplayer)
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U
Expected Price: R499.95 (Xbox 360, PS3); R339.95 (PC)
Release Date: 26 October, 2012

The plot for Warfighter will continue after that of the 2010 Medal of Honor game. And, that essentially means, those with the previous version should get this title as it’ll be great fun. For new comers, it might seem a bit limiting, however it’s a war game — how much could you possibly miss?

In the 2012 game, it has been said that players will continue to control Tier 1 Operations, in various settings and through various scenarios. The game will ask players to eliminate enemies, rescue hostages and even assault a few people on the way. Missions will take place all over the world, where two notable settings include the Philippines and on the the Somali Coast, because pirates — and stuff.

More specifically, players will take control of two Navy SEALs: Stump, a new character, and Preacher, from the previous game. The Warfighter story will not only focus on how these two can easily annihilate their opponents, but also on how they live their life in America. It’s meant to be a story which offers an emotional experience, instead of pure war fighting. The story sees Preacher’s family torn apart after he has been deployed in battle for years, where the main mission for the entire game is to track down dealers of an explosive, PETN, which has crossed borders into the United States.

While Stump and Preacher are expected to be the protagonists, Voodoo and other central characters will return from the 2010 title as well. Also, following that, Warfighter will then, for the first time, feature non-US Special Forces units.

In the single-player version of the game, players will have the option of six different classes: Assault, Sniper, Demolitions, Point Man, Heavy Gunner, and Spec Ops. There will be certain perks unlocked if players work as a team.

Each of these classes offer the player something different. For example, Point Man is very different to Assault, where Demolitions is very different to Sniper. Each class will offer a unique experience to the game, where it allows the player to see just how the well Tier 1 Operation teams co-ordinate, and what they do to overcome their enemies.

For the multiplayer aspect of the game, which is generally the more popular part of the game, players can expect to play as forces from 10 different countries.

• Australia’s SASR
• Canada’s JTF2
• Germany’s KSK
• Norway’s FSK/HJK
• Poland’s GROM
• Russia’s Gruppa Alfa
• South Korea’s UDT/SEALs
• Sweden’s SOG/SSG/SIG
• United Kingdom’s SAS
• United States’ SEALs, SFOD-D, and OGA Tier 1 Operators

Multiplayer in Warfighter will see each country boasting its own perks, weapons and grenades. That means, if you’re playing with UK’s SAS, it will be somewhat different to South Korea’s SEALs. Following that, the multiplayer aspect of Warfighter includes Support Actions, in the form of helicopters, unmanned aircrafts, weapons and so on.

A new mode to the multiplayer side of the game, called Fire Team, has been added too. Fire Team will see two players working together as a team to achieve various objectives. Sound familiar? Perhaps the word “co-op” will refresh your memory.

In other, sad news, the multiplayer cap has been dropped from 24 to 20 players, where certain modes will allow for even less players.

It has been said that there is a total possibility of 72 different classes, which would be taking each country’s team into account with their various individual classes. Players can pick their class before the game starts. And so you know, trying each class is hours of fun on its own.

With all of the above in mind, and after watching all of the videos in this article, wouldn’t you think that Medal of Honor is trying something different? It doesn’t seem to be your standard shooter, instead, it tries to offer more. Guns and explosions can no longer get us to play games, as we’d rather know about the life of our character and what we’re really fighting for. Medal of Honor tries to show “why we’re killing”, opposed to “what we’re killing”, like most other shooters.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter is scheduled to launch on 26 October, where it will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii U — after its release.

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Name: Dean Oberholzer
Location: Cape Town
Position: Editor

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