Medal of Honor: Allied Assault | |
---|---|
Developer(s) |
|
Publisher(s) |
|
Designer(s) | Vince Zampella Jason West |
Writer(s) | Zied Rieke Steven Spielberg |
Composer(s) | Michael Giacchino |
Series | Medal of Honor |
Engine | id Tech 3 |
Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux [2] |
Release | Windows Mac OS X Linux 2004 |
Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a 2002 first-person shooter video game developed by 2015, Inc. and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Allied Assault is the third game in the Medal of Honor series. The game uses the id Tech 3 engine, with modifications from Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² , to simulate infantry combat in the European and North African theaters during World War II.
In Allied Assault, the player takes on the role of Lt. James Powell of the United States Army Rangers who works for the Office of Strategic Services. Single-player missions include assaulting Nazi bases in Algiers and Norway, storming Omaha Beach on D-Day, and rescuing comrades behind enemy lines in occupied France. The game's levels are often compared to Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan ; many of the levels are direct quotations of the scenery (or even complete sequences as in the Omaha Beach mission) in the film. Omaha Beach was re-created in Medal of Honor: Frontline for consoles.
Once a game server and type is selected the game starts in spectator mode and the player can choose between joining the allies or the axis then select the set of weapons. The game uses a point system, adding points for the number of kills and rounds, deducting points for suicides and addition of death points for getting killed.
Multiplayer contains four different modes. Deathmatch in which every player has to kill everyone else and get the highest score, Team Deathmatch in which a team has to kill other teams and get the highest score, Round Based which is similar in gameplay to Deathmatch but counts the rounds instead of the score and "Objective" mode where a player must win the most rounds by completing missions.
Lieutenant James Powell, the protagonist, is a skilled U.S. Army Ranger and later an agent of the Office of Strategic Services. Powell and a squad of Rangers are in German-occupied Arzew, Algeria, fighting on the North African front. The squad fight their way into the city, but an ambush kills all the team except Powell. Hargrove continues into a German base, where he rescues S.A.S. agent Major Jack Grillo and retrieves his equipment. The major and Lt. Powell split up, with Grillo securing transport, while Powell does sabotage in a motor pool. He links back up with Grillo, who has commandeered a jeep with a mounted machinegun. The two drive to a German airfield, where they successfully destroy the Bf 109 fighters and Stuka dive bombers grounded there. While Grillo distracts the German forces, Powell sneaks into a bunker, cuts off Axis radio contact and fights his way to a coastal lighthouse to signal the Allied fleet to begin Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. He escapes with Grillo in a German transport truck.
Following the Allies' success in Africa, Powell and Grillo are sent to German-occupied Norway to infiltrate the city of Trondheim, where a Kriegsmarine U-boat is being outfitted with a prototype Naxos radar detector. Grillo makes it into the base first, but is killed in action by German guards while opening the front gate for Hargrove. Powell fights his way into the base, where he disguises himself as a German officer and infiltrates the loading dock. He goes to the lab where he destroys the Naxos prototype and gains access to a submarine intended to be fitted with the prototype and blows it up. He fights his way out of the base, where he is extracted by an Allied squad.
Thanks to Powell's efforts, the German U-boat threat is neutralized, clearing the way for the Allied invasion of Europe, Operation Overlord. Powell, as a part of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, is sent to Charlie sector of Omaha Beach under Capt. Ramsay, where he and his fellow Rangers storm the bunkers, despite taking heavy casualties, and secure the beach. He is sent into the countryside beyond the beaches to assist various American units who are being harassed by Nebelwerfers.
Powell is assigned to go behind enemy lines and acquire intelligence on German troop movements. After rescuing a stranded British pilot Joe Baylor, Powell meets up with French Resistance member Manon Batiste (the protagonist of Medal of Honor: Underground ). She sends him out to conduct various acts of sabotage against the German war effort. He raids a manor house being used as a command post where he secures important enemy documents, including the blueprints for the new King Tiger tank. Powell escapes the manor house with Manon's aid.
Powell's next mission involves hijacking a King Tiger tank and using it to secure a vital bridge at the city of Brest. After navigating through the sniper-infested ruins, he meets up with the American tank crew chosen for the mission. Hargrove and the tank crew capture the King Tiger and use it to fight their way through the countryside. Upon reaching Brest, Powell provides cover for the King Tiger to protect the bridge, until reinforcements come to secure it.
Powell's final mission sends him to Fort Schmerzen, a German mustard gas-producing facility that was previously raided by Lieutenant James Patterson (the main protagonist of Medal of Honor as well as Medal of Honor: Frontline ), but has since been restored to operation, supposedly as a prisoner-of-war camp, but is being used to produce mustard gas. Powell is parachuted into the woods, where he destroys some Flak guns that are shooting Allied planes. He infiltrates a weapons depot, and destroys a stockpile of StG 44 assault rifles and destroys a German communications outpost, cutting off Fort Schmerzen's communications. Powell hijacks a freight train and along with a squad of US Rangers, uses it to reach Schmerzen. Upon arriving at Schmerzen, Hargrove and his fellow Rangers storm the fort and release all the prisoners. Powell fights his way into the lower levels of Schmerzen, where he discovers that the fort's mustard gas production facilities are still operational. He plants explosives on the gas facilities, and escapes just before Fort Schmerzen is destroyed.
The game was developed by a team of 22 developers. [5] Development spanned from 2000 to late 2001 and used id Software's id Tech 3 engine with modifications from Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² .
Vince Zampella and Jason West left 2015, Inc. to later form Infinity Ward with Activision to develop the Call of Duty series, with the first installment taking inspiration from both Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Allied Assault.
The first expansion pack for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. It re-enacts three major European Theater battles through the eyes of Sgt. Jack Barnes (voiced by Gary Oldman), a paratrooper of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Barnes lands behind the Atlantic Wall on D-Day in Normandy, holds the line near Bastogne in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge and infiltrates Berlin before the Red Army begins their attack. The expansion has several new weapons added to the player's arsenal in Spearhead including the Russian PPSh-41 and the British Lee–Enfield.
Spearhead received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), [6] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. [7] It was nominated for GameSpot's annual "Best Expansion Pack on PC" award. [8]
Breakthrough, the second expansion pack for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, puts the player in the role of Sgt. John Baker of the US 34th Infantry Division. The campaign covers the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the fall of Bizerte, the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, the bloody Battle of Monte Cassino, followed by the amphibious landings and defense of the beachhead at Anzio, Italy (Operation Shingle) and the battle of Monte Battaglia in September 1944. It adds the Spearhead weapons and some Italian weapons like the MAB 38 submachine gun as well as newer British weapons such as the De Lisle carbine and the PIAT anti-tank weapon.
The first compilation pack included the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault main game, the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead expansion pack, two strategy guides, a music CD soundtrack from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and a preview of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault .[ citation needed ]
The second compilation pack included the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault main game and the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Breakthrough expansion packs.[ citation needed ]
Allied Assault and its expansion packs are included in the Medal of Honor: 10th Anniversary Bundle, along with a CD containing some of the game's soundtrack, as well as the inclusion of the director's cut of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, and Medal of Honor: Airborne. [9]
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA Games Soundtrack) | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by | |
Released | August 30, 2005(Digital) |
Genre | Video game soundtrack |
Length | 17:36 |
Label | E.A.R.S. |
Producer | Michael Giacchino |
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Game Music Online | 8/10 [10] |
The music for Allied Assault was composed by Michael Giacchino. The soundtrack was released on August 30, 2005, on iTunes and Amazon. The soundtrack consists of 5 tracks. In addition, Allied Assault re-used various soundtracks from the original Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor: Underground , which were also composed by Giacchino. For the expansion packs, music tracks from Medal of Honor: Frontline were re-used as well.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "MoH: Allied Assault (Main Theme)" | Michael Giacchino | 4:04 |
2. | "North Africa" | Michael Giacchino | 3:19 |
3. | "Schmerzen" | Michael Giacchino | 3:37 |
4. | "Sniper Town" | Michael Giacchino | 3:20 |
5. | "Tiger Tank" | Michael Giacchino | 3:23 |
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 91.05% [11] |
Metacritic | 91/100 [12] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Computer Gaming World | [13] |
GameRevolution | [14] |
GameSpot | 9/10 [15] |
GameSpy | [16] |
IGN | 9.3/10 [17] |
Publication | Award |
---|---|
Metacritic | #4 Best PC Game of 2002 [12] |
Metacritic | #7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2002 [12] |
In the United States, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault sold 900,000 copies and earned $34.2 million by August 2006, after its release in January 2002. It was the country's ninth best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Medal of Honor computer games released between January 2000 and August 2006, including Allied Assault, had reached 1.9 million units in the United States by the latter date. [18] It received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), [19] indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. [7] Its Warchest release earned a "Silver" award from ELSPA, [6] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. [7]
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was released to universal acclaim. It received a score of 91.05% on GameRankings [11] and 91/100 on Metacritic. [12]
Allied Assault won PC Gamer US ' "2002 Best Action Game" and Computer Gaming World 's "Action Game of the Year" awards. [20] [21] The latter magazine's editors hailed it as "the best single-player shooter since Half-Life." [20] It also won GameSpot's annual "Best Sound on PC" award, and was nominated in its "Best Single-Player Action Game on PC" and "Best Multiplayer Action Game on PC" categories. [8] During the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Allied Assault for "Computer First-Person Action Game of the Year"; it also received nominations for "Computer Game of the Year" and "Innovation in Computer Gaming". [22]
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was the first PC game in the U.S. to be sold in new standard-sized packages recommended by IDSA, already standardized in console video game and DVD packaging. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a first-person shooter video game developed by Gray Matter Studios and published by Activision. It was released on November 20, 2001 for Microsoft Windows and subsequently for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Linux, and Macintosh. The game serves as a reboot of the Wolfenstein series. id Software, the developers of Wolfenstein 3D, oversaw the development and were credited as executive producers. The multiplayer side eventually became the most popular part of the game, and was influential in the genre. Splash Damage created some of the maps for the Game of the Year edition. A sequel, titled Wolfenstein, was released in 2009.
SimCity 4 is a city-building simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. The game was released in January 2003 for Microsoft Windows and in June 2003 for Mac OS X. It is the fourth major installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game. SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition contains the original game and Rush Hour combined as a single product.
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a 2002 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The game was re-released for Windows through the Steam online distribution service, and a DRM-free version was later made available through GOG.com. It is the second installment in the Hitman video game series and the sequel to Hitman: Codename 47. The single-player story once again follows Agent 47, a genetically enhanced human clone who worked for the International Contract Agency (ICA) as an assassin. Following the events of Codename 47, the former contract killer has retired and started a peaceful life at a church, but after his only friend, Reverend Emilio Vittorio, is kidnapped by unknown assailants, 47 resumes work for the ICA in hopes of tracking him down.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is a tactical shooter video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubi Soft in 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It is the first game in the Ghost Recon series. It was ported to Mac OS, Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2002 and to the GameCube in 2003. Ports for N-Gage and Game Boy Advance were planned, but later canceled. Unlike Clancy's other tactical shooter series, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon is not based on any of his books.
Battlefield 1942 is a 2002 first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game can be played in single-player mode against the video game AI or in multiplayer mode against players on the Internet or in a local area network. It is a popular platform for mod developers, with many released modifications that alter the gameplay and theme.
Call of Duty is a 2003 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the first installment in the Call of Duty franchise, released on October 29, 2003, for Microsoft Windows. The game simulates infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II using a modified version of the id Tech 3 engine. Much of its theme and gameplay is similar to the Medal of Honor series; however, Call of Duty showcases multiple viewpoints staged in the American, British, and Soviet campaigns of World War II in Europe.
Medal of Honor is a series of first-person shooter video games created by American film director and producer Steven Spielberg. The first game, Medal of Honor, was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation in 1999. It spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and PCs.
Medal of Honor: Frontline is a first-person shooter video game, in the Medal of Honor series, and was published by Electronic Arts. The player character is Lt. Jimmy Patterson, from the American Office of Strategic Services. Frontline takes place during the events of the first game and chronicles Patterson's journey as he fights his way across Europe into Nazi Germany during World War II. Frontline was released in North America for the PlayStation 2 on May 29, 2002 and for the GameCube and Xbox consoles on November 7, 2002.
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in North America on November 4, 2004, and in Europe on November 19, 2004, on Microsoft Windows. It is the seventh installment in the Medal of Honor series and serves as a sequel to the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, with its story set during the Pacific War.
Battlefield 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows. It was released in June 2005 as the third game in the Battlefield franchise.
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors is the first expansion pack to the 1999 real-time strategy video game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The fourth installment in the Age of Empires series by Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios, The Conquerors was released in August 2000. It features five new civilizations, four new campaigns, eleven new units, twenty-six new technologies, new gameplay modes, new maps and different minor tweaks to the gameplay.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000 is a sports video game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the PlayStation version, Xantera for the Game Boy Color version and Rainbow Studios for the Microsoft Windows version and published by EA Sports for PlayStation in 1999 and Game Boy Color and Microsoft Windows in 2000.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a real-time strategy video game which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 25, 2000 as the follow-up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Red Alert 2 picks up at the conclusion of the Allied campaign of the first game. Its expansion pack is Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, released a year later in 2001. Red Alert 2 was principally developed by Westwood Pacific in collaboration with Westwood Studios.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy video game in the Command & Conquer franchise, developed and published by Westwood Studios in 1996. The second game to bear the Command & Conquer title, Red Alert is the prequel to the original Command & Conquer of 1995, and takes place in the alternate early history of Command & Conquer when Allied Forces battle an aggressive Soviet Union for control over the European mainland.
Command & Conquer: Generals is a real-time strategy video game and the seventh installment in the Command & Conquer series. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in 2003 and 2004. The Windows version of Generals was developed by EA Pacific and published by EA Games, the Mac OS X version was developed by i5works and published by Aspyr Media. The Mac OS X version was released by Aspyr on April 12, 2004. In the game, the player can choose from three different factions: the United States, China and the Global Liberation Army (GLA).
Zoo Tycoon is a business simulation game developed by Blue Fang Games and released by Microsoft. Although first released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2005. It was followed by two expansion packs, Dinosaur Digs and Marine Mania, which were released in 2002, as well as a sequel, Zoo Tycoon 2, released in 2004.
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down is a first-person shooter video game developed by NovaLogic. It was released for Microsoft Windows on March 25, 2003; for Mac OS X in July 2004; and for PlayStation 2 and Xbox on July 26, 2005. It is the 6th game of the Delta Force series. It is set in the early 1990s, during the Unified Task Force peacekeeping operation in Somalia. The missions take place primarily in the southern Jubba Valley and the capital Mogadishu. The game also features a mission editor with which players can make custom missions. The game is based on the book of the same name, not the Sony film.
Battlefield 2142 is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth game in the Battlefield series. Battlefield 2142 is set in 2142, depicting a war known as "The Cold War of the 22nd Century", in which two military superpowers – the European Union (EU) and Pan Asian Coalition (PAC) – battle for the remaining unfrozen land during a new ice age.
Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe (CFS3), is the latest installment of combat flight simulators from Microsoft Game Studios, released on October 24, 2002 in North America and on November 15, 2002 in Europe for the Microsoft Windows.
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is an expansion pack for the hack and slash action role-playing game Diablo II. Unlike the original Diablo's expansion pack, Diablo: Hellfire, it is a first-party expansion developed by Blizzard North.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)