Medal of Honor: Airborne review

Jumping out of a plane isn't a decision that most people take lightly, even if it is with a modern, super-reliable parachute, and preferably a friendly instructor.

Consider, then, the idea of jumping out of a cramped WW2 crate and guiding a somewhat unrefined silk handkerchief into the middle of a battle zone. Sounds like fun, eh?

Well, if that is indeed your idea of a jolly day out, the newest iteration in the fine Medal of Honor series (they spell it that way over there, even when they're over here) will be right up your rubble-filled street. MOH: Airborne puts you in the army boots of Boyd Travers, Private First Class in the 82nd Airborne Division, an all-American elite unit exclusively made up of paratroopers.

WW2 games are ten a penny on the PC, but Airborne, while hardly re-inventing the wheel, certainly puts new tyres on it. At the beginning of each level, a briefing provides you with info on your objectives and gives you a rough idea of where to find your targets. Then, unlike other games which dump you onto the ground to get started, Airborne kicks you off in the midst of the action in the flak-filled skies above.

While green flares mark the demilitarized zones where you can land in safety, you're free to land wherever you want in the level: behind enemy lines, or even on rooftops to provide sniper support to the troops below. There are designated 'skill drops', too - particularly tricky landings with which to test your aerial skills. Every time you die, you're forced to parachute in again and work your way back to where you were.

There's no quick save button here, and if you die without completing an objective you'll have to do it all over again. It might sound frustrating, but far from it: success is incredibly rewarding. And even if you're finding a particular objective tricky, the non-linear levels allow you to go and attempt one of the others instead, perhaps picking up extra reinforcements along the way.

Weapon of choice

As you can only carry three weapons, choosing which to equip depends largely on your own playing style, and with shotguns, machine guns, automatic rifles and sniper rifles to choose from, there's a gun for every situation. If marksmanship is your thing, you're rewarded for your skills: make several headshots with a particular weapon and you'll earn upgrades which benefit you with reduced recoil, larger clips and faster rates of fire. Similarly, killing several enemies in a row, or dispatching combatants hand-to-hand, earns rewards that encourage you to hone your skills. There's something about the realism of the game, as opposed to science fiction-themed shoot-'em-ups, that makes the taste of all this somewhat questionable, but perhaps no more so than your average episode of 'Allo 'Allo.

Strip the game back to its basics and it's nothing revolutionary, but where the likes of BioShock (reviewed last month, or search for 125437 at www.computerbuyer.co.uk) may beat it for sheer atmosphere and depth, MOH:Airborne wins the day with its visceral, heart-pumping combat. The stunning graphics and cinematic presentation certainly don't hurt, and at times you'll find yourself gawping open-mouthed at the sheer scale of it all as you float into the battle below. Our biggest complaint is that the experience is slightly short-lived, but crank up the difficulty setting and you'll love every minute of it.

Author: Sasha Muller