'Medal of Honor: Warfighter' Gameplay Demo Shows Promise

Game Rant

By GR Staff

Published Jun 5, 2012

'Medal of Honor: Warfighter' might not be the biggest shooter on gamers' radars this Fall. But when Danger Close debuted a gameplay demo at the EA E3 presser, the results were quite impressive.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2p-q03AVi0&feature=related

Medal of Honor: Warfighter has a lot to prove heading into this week's E3. How will the game propel the modern military genre to greater heights than Call of Duty or Battlefield? What measures are being taken to ensure the sequel avoids the lukewarm reception of 2010's Medal of Honor? And will Frostbite 2 be more than just a banal bark.

We sought answers going into EA's press conference, and Danger Close Games executive producer Greg Goodrich took the stage with a live gameplay demo to afford some answers.

Loading through a brief introduction, Goodrich claimed that every mission in Medal of Honor: Warfighter's campaign contained a "dotted line to an actual event or real world hotspot." With the fictional storyline already discussed by the developers, the latter seems likely to have a greater influence - and it's conveyed here in demo that sees the Tier One operators engage an inland Somalian pirate stronghold.

Immediately, the visual fidelity Danger Close is trying to achieve stands out (something we never felt reviewing the last Medal of Honor). The developer promised that Frostbite 2's power - originally employed in Battlefield 3 to level skyscrapers and sear our eyeballs with tactical lights - would be harnessed into rendering the finer points of destruction: splintering wood, scattering debris, destructible cover. All of it appears smoothly projected as the action unfolds, and it doesn't seem to diminish the splendor of those let's-airstrike-the-sniper-out-of-the-big-hotel setpiece explosions.

Of course, with any gameplay catering to the mainstream FPS/multiplayer crowd and crown, the feel is as vital as the look. We hope to go hands on with Warfighter as E3 progresses throughout the week, but the demo does give us enough to consider in the meantime. A revamped room clearance system has been installed where the player has a variety of options and controls for cleaning out foes. The attack robot (though it doesn't look to be manually deployable) displays promise for more non-linear mission structures. There's even the instance where our soldier's scope is slid off as the battle transitions indoors. Not new to shooters, sure, but evocative of how more emphasis is being placed on equipment personalization.

Ranters, it's clear Warfighter looks improved over its 2010 predecessor. But is it ready to compete with today's top-tier shooters? What are you takes on the new gameplay demo?

Medal of Honor: Warfighter will release October 23rd, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

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