Graphics and Sound

She’s gorgeous…

With the graphics settings turned up all or most of the way, Allied Assault is one of the prettier games we’ve played in a long time. The texturing isn’t quite on a par with RTCW, but arguing between the two is like debating whether you’d rather date Heidi Klum or Britney Spears. Both make for worthwhile eye candy. Character models are exquisitely detailed with facial expressions, widely varying styles of clothing, and tons of equipment (canteens, shovels, and the like) hanging off them. Weapon models in hand and on the ground are both attractive, and uniquely distinctive, making it easy to discern what type of gun an enemy is holding. Clearly the developers have done their homework on what the guns of WWII look like, and how they operate. Vehicles like tanks and aircraft have also been painstakingly modeled after their real-life counterparts.

Eat MG42

He fell a good distance

The jeep mission rocks

Animation is smooth and lifelike, particularly the death animations, which can be quite gruesome and pitiful all at once. Sometimes they quickly slump to the ground in a heap after being shot. At other times your victims will twist down in pain, doubling over into a macabre, almost inhuman position. Sometimes they aren’t quite dead – they’ll get knocked on their back in shock, sitting half up as if struggling to do an abdominal crunch. Or they’ll whimper in pain as they crawl away on their hands and knees. These half dead soldiers need to be dealt with, or else they get up and start shooting again. Finishing them off with an extra spray to the head brings out the ugliness of war, even without any blood in the game.

It’s also worth noting the versatility of the MOHAA engine – vast outdoor scenes with dozens of buildings and trees in the vicinity are possible. The sniper town level is simply amazing with the number of bombed out buildings you can enter and explore, and windows you need to scan for possible snipers. You’ll also play through snow levels in the dead of winter with snowflakes blowing about in the wind as you hunt deep in German forests. MOHAA also features vast networks of underground bunkers with multiple levels, dozens of fully furnished rooms, and a maze of possible pathways.

Close range kill

Random destruction

They're climbing the wall

…but she’s very high maintenance

The downside to all of this is the hefty system requirements. I played MOHAA’s single player campaign (see sidebar for my systems) at 32 bit color, with most of the model detail, curve detail, and terrain details on their highest or near highest setting, full entity lighting, and volumetric smoke. At first I was able to plod through at 1024x768, while putting up with lossy framerate during big firefights. As the missions wore on, and more and more enemies came on screen, these settings became unacceptably slow. I had to punch it down to 800x600. In multiplayer where framerate = life, forget about it. I had to knock off the shadows, set simple models, move it to 16 bit color, shut off dynamic lighting, and volumetric smoke to stay competitive. For a while now we’ve been waiting for legitimate reasons to need a GeForce 3. MOHAA might be one of the first reasons for me to run out and get one. Make no mistake – you need a beefy machine to run the game the way it was meant to be seen.

Crank up the Speakers

One area where Medal of Honor stands head and shoulders above the rest is in the sound department. Its sound effects are motion-picture quality exquisite, particularly with the weapons. It’s extraordinary the way you can hear the sniper rifle echo after you fire it, and listen to the fumbling and clicking as you work the bolt to load a new round into the breech. The Thompson lets loose with a rapid thump-thumping of its huge .45ACP rounds, while the smaller caliber German MP40 submachine gun has a higher pitched ratatat. Also noteworthy is the distinctive “plink” of the M1 Garand rifle ejecting a spent clip when you empty it. Ambient sound effects add to the atmosphere. German soldiers yell at each other in German, distant wolves howl in the forest, rain pitter patters on the ground, and planes drone overhead. The Omaha level will leave you as breathless and disoriented as when you first watched Saving Private Ryan.

MOHAA’s soundtrack is perfectly executed. Its rich orchestral scores inspire at just the right moments, fade into the background at the appropriate times, and introduce anxiety before major events.