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The Plot:
   
"Medal Of Honor: Frontline" has the player taking on the role of Jimmy Patterson, a Lt. in the army who has to venture into the chaos of battle in six major missions (starting with Omaha Beach), each of which has different levels and smaller tasks to accomplish. The player is also able to use 20 different weapons that are picked up at various stages throughout gameplay. While the player generally goes through a set path throughout each mission, the smaller tasks that the player is presented with at stages during the mission were interesting, challenging and generally enjoyable.
Rating: 9.5/10
The DVD
Graphics: "Medal of Honor: Frontline" contains very enjoyable graphics and strong detail - while this game does not boast "award winning" graphics, it also has graphics that are certainly good enough to be convincing. Faces of the fellow soldiers are decently rendered (if not totally crisp and clear) and small object detail is also noteworthy. Building interiors and exteriors are also varied nicely. The game's color palette is well-rendered, appearing natural and strong throughout. I was especially pleased with some of the smaller things - shadows and light are nicely presented - in the opening scene where the soldier must make his way into the gun towers, the halls inside provided enough shadows that I wasn't sure if a soldier would pop out of the darkness. Little things like reloading and rubble in cities are captured well, too.
A couple of flaws and concerns popped up: I thought that the gameplay could occasionally get a bit choppy during some of the most intense sequences. I also would have liked a little more interactivity with some of the objects or elements that I encountered - a lot of (well, most of) the doors didn't seem to open, for example, which was frustrating. Having the doors open - even if there was nothing behind them - would have at least opened up the game a bit more. Load times are not too bad, although with this game, there were times that I was pleased to be able to take a little breather. I wasn't entirely dazzled by the game's graphics, but I thought they were very good, nicely detailed and certainly convincing.
Rating: 9/10
Sound: The soundtrack is where "Medal of Honor: Frontline" really shines. The opening sequence, where the soldiers are loaded into boats and head towards the beach, is remarkable, with sloshing waves and gunfire clearly heard all around the viewer. Once the boat hits the shore, explosions rock the area and gunfire starts to intensely fly from towers located up the beach. This recreation is so fierce that I have to say, "Medal of Honor" is the first game in a long time to really get my heart rate going, as the tension delivered by all of the sound effects crashing around you is remarkable. Even the voice acting is very good - none of the speakers sound cheesy or voice-act poorly - this certainly adds to the feel of the proceedings.
The soundtrack is in Dolby Surround and the surrounds are clearly employed to deliver a wealth of sound effects. To top it all off, a wonderful and effective score is crisply offered, nicely balanced with the sound effects when it enters. Sound quality is strong, too - the explosions aren't flat and soft - they do pack a solid amount of low bass. With surround sound, the game's remarkable soundtrack often was able to carry the experience over some of the flaws with the gameplay.
Rating: 10/10
Gameplay: Gameplay is the only area where I had a bit of trouble with "Medal Of Honor". I was intitally pretty frustrated with the control of the weapon - I thought it was difficult to use the stick to accurately and quickly aim - this gets a bit worse when you're trying to aim at a soldier or object across a fairly big distance. To top it off, there are times when the player finds themselves reloading under fire and the German soldiers aren't going to wait for you to reload and then aim (although there are times when they have to reload, too.) At a few points, I could swear that I aimed directly at the soldier and hit, but it didn't seem to register. The control of the weapon did prove frustrating and although I did manage to get better with it, I still felt that somehow this aspect could have been made easier.
Enemy AI is also varied throughout the game. There were several instances where I was impressed with how the German soldiers at least tried to either hide and then fire or attack with some sort of thought. Also, if an enemy simply sustains an arm hit, they will likely get back up and give chase once again. Yet, there were a few times when AI was not as great; I found myself attacking a couple of soldiers manninging a gun - I took out the soldier manning the gun, but the soldier standing next to him didn't seem to notice. Although there are "Easy", "Normal" and "Hard" levels of difficulty where the enemy AI is a bit more fierce, the AI improves - your aiming is still rather difficult.
Also, as I noted in the graphics area, I would have liked the game to have been "opened up" (the example I always like to use for an "open" action game is the PC series "Delta Force", where you can wander around and ponder different methods of approaching an attacker) a bit more, rather than proceeding along a pretty set path. That would probably have added more replay value, too.
Rating: 8/10
Rating Issues: "Medal Of Honor: Frontline" is rated "T" (Teen). The game is a war drama; there are some disturbing images of fellow soldiers being injured or worse. In one particular run through the "Omaha Beach" sequence, a soldier nearby said "hey!" - before I could run over, he was gone in a flash of light and an enormous explosion. That said, I believe that the reason why this is rated "T" and not "M" is because of the fact that, while there is as much violence as one would expect in a war movie, it is not portrayed in an extremely graphic nature. The "T" rating is appropriate.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I was impressed by aspects of "Medal Of Honor: Frontline" - most notably, the game's soundtrack, which is remarkable (although the soundtrack certainly isn't as effective coming through a TV as a surround system.) On the other hand, while the graphics were very enjoyable, they occasionally could appear slightly rough around the edges. Gameplay also wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped. Still, although I had some concerns with the experience, I found myself getting caught up in it. Although I didn't feel the game was without some concerns here and there, I thought it was an often thrilling and dramatic first-person shooter. Although I don't think I'd call this a "must have", it's a game I'd recommend taking a look at for fans of the genre.
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