Last week I was invited up to the EA offices to go hands on with the multiplayer for the upcoming Medal of Honor game, Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
Being a fan of the 2010 reboot, I never liked the multiplayer offering, it felt like a dumbed down Battlefield. I’m very happy to report that the multiplayer in Warfighter has undertaken a tremendous overhaul. Sitting down with a few fellow gamers, we were able to play a domination like game mode on one Somali map. Before we could jump in we watched a short video from the developer informing us of the classes we could choose from and a little bit of information about all of them. In this alpha version of the game we were able to choose from a Marine sniper, an Australian SASR soldier, a heavy machine gun toting Canadian, an armoured up SFOD-D soldier, a Polish killing machine and another American commando.
I made it my mission to try out all the classes, finding out their individual strengths and weaknesses. I was surprised by the detail and the customization options. We weren’t able to customize our warriors, but I can see it becoming a vital option for players. All the classes are unique, from their weaponry, look and unique ability. With one press of a key you initiate your class’ ability. For the classes we played their abilities are as followed. The Canadian and Marine sniper can lay down and fold out a bipod, this allows their shots to be much more accurate and have very little recoil. The Aussie was able to swap out his current magazine for one with 20% more damage. The heavily armoured SFOD-D solider was able to lower his visor and take a lot more damage before going down. The GROM solider from Poland was able to equip and use his grenade launcher and the American commando was able to see enemy movements for a short time. These abilities are great and offer distinct differences between classes. I’m not sure how customizable these are, or if they can be upgraded but they make each class unique, and they make sure you’re not always playing as one class, it offers a lot of experimentation.
Warfighter also features a buddy system. This system allows you and one friend to team up and have unique abilities on the battlefield, such as respawning on your buddy instead of the predetermined spawn point. Since we were playing LAN, my buddy was sitting next to me. I’m not sure how this will be done in online play, whether it will allow to choose or randomly select a buddy, but it’s a great system that endorses teamwork.
The game looks amazing, even for alpha code. Colours are great and the frame rate and graphics look clear and crisp. Even those who didn’t like the reboot, all commented on how great the sound was, I’m happy to report that the sound is still outstanding in Warfighter. The sounds of gunshots and battle are all wonderfully crafted and really immerses you in the experience.
The gameplay was smooth and the gunplay was fantastic. Since we were playing on high end PCs, I’m not sure how this gameplay will transfer to console and lesser PCs, but I’m hoping it transfers well. The style of game seems like a mash of Call of Duty and Battlefield, which is great. This should allow people tired of Call of Duty or people who dislike Battlefield (or vise versa), to experience a different and fluid multiplayer experience. If you like Call of Duty or Battlefield, chances are you’ll love this. I only hope that gamers get their hands on Warfigher so the multiplayer stays alive, unlike Medal of Honor. I also hope that this game features localized searching, again unlike Medal of Honor.
You can get your hands on Medal of Honor: Warfighter, when it deploys in Australia on October 25th for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
