Contra its predecessor, Medal of Honor: Warfighter isn’t just limited to the mountains of the Middle East; campaign settings from around the world – including the Philippines and Somalia – are confirmed destinations for the game’s outfit of Tier One operators, and developer Danger Close is weaving in factions from 10 different nations to fill out the game’s multiplayer.
Now we can add the homefront to the list of latest battlegrounds. Electronic Arts released a brand new trailer for Medal of Honor: Warfighter today, and while it does feature the personifying elements of every modern military shooter – helicopter rides, explosive firefights, UAV missile strikes – the spotlight is centered on its lead protagonist, Preacher, as he reconciles combat life with fatherhood and marriage.
2010′s Medal of Honor effusively touted authenticity, advertising Danger Close’s collaboration with real-life Tier One operators; Warfighter appears to have the same agenda. The trailer readily notes the campaign’s anchoring in “actual events,” and its depictions of suicide terrorist attacks (ostensibly the 2004 train bombings in Madrid – the timeline fits with Medal of Honor 1′s setting circa 2001-2002), military funerals, and Preacher’s emotional imbalance further echo the grimmer, morose aspects of today’s conflicts seldom seen in video games.
But just as Preacher will be forced to balance life on and off the battlefield, so, too, will Warfighter itself.
We rather enjoyed Medal of Honor’s heartfelt story, but unfortunately gameplay – the one component that ultimately drives sales – failed to live up to expectations when we reviewed the game in 2010. In its disappointing wake, Call of Duty: Black Ops went on to shatter almost every gaming sales record known to the NPD.
And so this is where we are two years later: the EA shooter faces stiff competition, again from Activision, in the futuristic form of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and the legion of analysts prognosticating paltry sales for Warfighter is growing by the week. E3 2012 saw a discernibly decent gameplay presentation for Warfighter back in June, but if the drama of its overall improvement can’t match that of the apparent narrative, EA may be forced to rethink their shooter strategy after the game’s October release.
Ranters, how much will the narrative focus in Medal of Honor: Warfighter impact your decision to pick up the game? Can EA’s shooter compete with Call of Duty: Black Ops II (or even its own Battlefield 3) this Fall?
Medal of Honor: Warfighter releases October 23, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
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I’m glad they worked on narrative a lot more than DICE did on BF3.
Hopefully their focusing on the campaign the most.
Although I only play MOH for the campaign, course thats what MOH is all about. The competition with Activision, COD wins this one their adding new things to their game, this one uses pretty much uses the same stuff as before.
You’re right, JACK.
Treyarch seems to be taking COD in a fresh direction. Luckily, the bad taste in my mouth left from MW3 hasn’t completely tarnished my faith in the series.
My opinion.
This looks like Battlefield’s and COD’s off-spring. The only thing it has going for it is the graphics, and I hate pre-rendered trailers. I actually find COD trailers more appealing, not in terms of graphics but presentation. I enjoyed E3′s showing much more than this, the gameplay. And this game won’t have the same effect that MOH 2010 had (underrated game IMO). I actually want to pass on this one because EA and Danger Close need to set MOH apart from BF and COD.
I’m actually really looking forward to COD:BO2 and ArmA III much more than this. The problem is Warfighter can’t seem to figure out what it wants to be, at least that’s what I’m getting. Maybe a launch trailer can change my mind.
To clarify, not declaring this a bad game or a write-off, just stating how this particular trailer makes me feel.
i would beg to differ about it “not brining anything unique to MOH” if you think about it battlefield and call of duty don’t put any emotion into their games. This stacks it full. It gives many people that sense of “wow this is what it’s like for military personnel and military family’s” and I can verify those feelings as I come from a military family.
So can I and I’m a war vet. I understand what it’s like out there, I’ve been there and back. A game will never capture the real emotion of a real life soldier.
I don’t know, the multiplayer footage didn’t get me interested at all. Heck, I still haven’t played 2010′s MOH’s multiplayer once, and don’t really intend to. The campaign is where it’s at with these games, and I really liked their real pro-military stance in that game. Definitely had a message I could appreciate. I’m hoping this one will maintain that, and as long as it has a good campaign I think I will get it. This trailer definitely has me more interested than anything before it…
I believe it will top Battlefield 3. The campaigns in Battlefield have never been amazing. And it seems like they are bringing a lot to the table with the multiplayer. Of course it will never top sales of COD which is very unfortunant. @ATG you said that they are taking call of duty into a new fresh start. But to be realistic. They are only movin it to the future. The COD franchise has never updated their graphics engine, the gameplay remains to stay the same since COD 6 Modern Warfare 2, and even with alterations to their multiplayer it’s still the quick scoping dominated game it always has been. It (and I mean no offense to you) just lacks any team effort and skill.
@Cody
I said “fresh direction”, referring to the branching storyline (no matter how minor). And MOH’s story is unique, but as time passes, BF, MOH, and COD become more and more similar. Engine’s aside, of course
all im gonna say is BADCOMPANY 3
Thats pretty sick. I have not played a Medal of Honor game since, I dont know, maybe the last WWII game they made? This looks great though. I have been meaning to get back into the modern FPS games. Airsoft has held me over since the last COD came out. Got my RL load out pretty close to my in game load out. Check it out: http://www.airsplat.com/medal-of-honor.htm