Until now DreamWorks' acclaimed WW2 first-person shooter series Medal of Honor has been confined to the PSone, but with MOH Allied Assault the bestselling franchise makes it onto the PC. The first thing you'll notice is that the format is relatively unchanged. The OSS bunker is there in all its glory, as are the Pathe News-eque briefings and the fantastically atmospheric music and ambient sound. But although the format is cosy and familiar for Medal heads, the move to PC has brought with it some great new features. Firstly although it's not squad-based, in several of the missions you will gain comrades in arms; you can't control them, but the speed of your actions will decide whether they live or die. Secondly the medal system has changed. Whereas the original was pretty formulaic, clear the level with over 75 per cent health and killing all enemies, in Allied Assault there are "secret missions" which you don't have to complete to clear the level but if you perform above and beyond the call of duty, such as rescuing a POW or risking life and limb to acquire a manifest, you are rewarded accordingly.
Graphically it's a bit disappointing. Some of the hedgerows in the boccage level are rather pixelated, but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in atmosphere. The fantastic (Indiana Jones alike) music is back and the sound is literally stunning as bullets, explosions and shrapnel rain about you. But what really raises MOH Allied Assault above Wolfenstein, is the Omaha Beach level. This is possibly the most intense war-gaming experience ever on a PC. Around you people are crying, praying, dieing and you having to run up a beach to the shingle dodging a hail of machine gun bullets. It's insanely difficult to make it, even on easy level, but you will be gripped by the sheer full-on intensity of the experience, so much so that the next time you see Saving Private Ryan you'll nod sadly remembering how you were there. --Kristen Bowditch
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Rating : 4/10