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Before the Medal of Honor reboot was even announced, I knew the only thing EA could do to compete with current FPS heavyweight Call of Duty was to take their long-running franchise out of World War II and move it into the modern theatre. When I first saw the announce trailer for the game it became clear to me that no matter how good or bad it would turn out, reviewers and gamers alike were going to give Medal of Honor a hard time.

The year was 2007, and that winter saw the release of Infinity Ward's immensely popular shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and, for better or worse, it completely redefined the war-based FPS title and how we play them. The game was loaded with spectacular set-pieces, memorable characters, a harrowing storyline, and enough polish to rival most Hollywood films. Modern Warfare’s presentation was unlike anything seen in its genre before and it was only natural that other games would mimic its style. While Activision and Infinity Ward were enjoying massive success with the franchise at this point, as well as accumulating general acclaim for its moment-packed single-player campaign and addicting multi-player mode, EA couldn't seem to keep the time-tested Medal of Honor series afloat. Medal of Honor: Airborne was released just a couple months before Modern Warfare but still suffered the effects of the former's success. Airborne was the same as all the others - set in World War II, with a Teen rating, and no real game play innovations.

In the three year absence of the Medal of Honor series leading up to its reboot, Call of Duty's light only shone brighter. In that three year time span, Activision has released two more Call of Duty sequels - World at War and Modern Warfare 2 - with another one set for release next month, titled Call of Duty: Black Ops. I used to be a huge CoD fan, but I've slowly begun to realize that every entry in the series after the first Modern Warfare has been nothing more than a thinly veiled rehash. I now ask myself how long it's going to take before the rest of the gaming populace catches up. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of Activision milking me for $60 every year just to play what is essentially an expansion pack.

That leads me into the title at hand. On release day, with Medal of Honor in my possession, I hoped for the best but feared for the worst. As I loaded the disc into my PS3, I begged and pleaded with the gaming Gods that this would be anything but another Modern Warfare carbon-copy. As I played through the game's opening mission and continued onward, I noticed immediately that EA has gone out of their way to show gamers that this title certainly is not a Modern Warfare clone. Right out of the gate you will notice a number of game play aesthetics different from the majority of shooters on the market. The first of these, and what I feel to be the most important, is that this is not a run-and-gun FPS. A couple of well-placed shots and your character is down for the count. It's absolutely essential to pick your shots carefully, to remain in cover until the coast is clear, and move forward cautiously. Aiding in this task is a feature I feel current-gen first-person shooters have been sorely lacking; a lean button. Holding down L2 and pushing the left analog stick either left or right will allow your character to lean in and out of cover.

There's also the ability, when sprinting, to hit Circle near cover and you will slide into it. This helps during many moments in the game when enemy fire is coming from all directions and you can't afford to be out in the open for too long and have to get to cover quickly. I should mention that when you execute this maneuver, your character stays crouched until you hit Circle again to stand him up. Another feature I really loved was being able to change my rifle's firing mode between automatic and single-shot fire to better adapt to a given scenario. And unlike the Call of Duty series, you can carry up to three weapons at a time as opposed to two. Pressing Triangle switches between your two main weapons and double-tapping the button switches to your pistol. Taking a stab with your knife (pun intended) is mapped to R3.

What will probably separate Medal of Honor from its long-time rival the most is the game's overall approach to its subject matter. This isn't the interactive action film that the CoD titles have become as it is decidedly much more grounded and harrowing. There are no massive set-pieces, no out-of-place heroics, and no over-the-top, James Bond-like action sequences. Granted, I can't really call Medal of Honor realistic in the sense that I would call early Tom Clancy games - like 2001's Ghost Recon - realistic, but I think EA has gotten the series back on track by steeping this particular title in real-world conflict and not making a mockery out of the men and women fighting the war EA is attempting to emulate. Not only will you spend a vast amount of the game traversing accurately rendered Afghanistan terrain by way of three different characters, you will also have the chance to commandeer turret guns, call in air strikes, utilize high-powered sniper rifles, fly an attack chopper, and even go through a section with heavy reliance on progressing by way of ATV. Apart from the onslaught of first-person shooting segments, I really enjoyed how the game never leaves you doing one thing for too long.

Where I’m most certain MoH will divide gamers is that it is mostly devoid of fancy pyrotechnics and over-the-top action sequences that have become the forte of war shooters as of late. I’m sure some will find that the game is a little too barren in regards to its lack of special effects, but I found that approach vastly refreshing. Firm emphasis was placed on creating semi-realistic battles with the accompaniment of excellent hit detection and ragdoll systems. I can’t praise the combat in this game enough. It feels slightly weighty and slower-paced than most FPS’s while also preserving the authenticity that developer Danger Close has been working towards achieving from the very beginning. There are a good amount of weapons at your disposal and also a neat feature that remedies having to scour a combat zone for new weapons. If you are running low on ammo and still have your default load out, you can request ammunition from your squad mates. I would be remiss, though, if I didn’t mention the effectiveness of the other soldiers in your unit. Most games of this ilk seem to only have them on-screen for nothing more than a cheap allusion to realism, in Medal of Honor’s case they do extremely well in combat. Not only do they pick off enemies with the accuracy of a real soldier, they maintain cover like one, too.

Graphically, Medal of Honor is a good looking game but certainly nothing special. The Unreal Engine 3 is put to good use here and models the rocky mountain terrain of Afghanistan well, complete with terrific lighting and well-detailed textures. Character models look good and also move fluidly enough, although I can't say the same for the cut scenes. The animations in these are lacking and the robotic character movements don't help matters much. Thankfully, however, they don't make up a large portion of the game and are therefore easy enough to overlook. What I was most surprised with is that the game runs well considering the Unreal Engine has always been temperamental with the PS3 hardware. The frame rate is fairly consistent with only a few times here and there that it drops below the normal 30. There's nothing truly amazing about Medal of Honor's visuals, but they serve the look of the game well while preserving the aforementioned authenticity.

As far as I’m concerned, EA have reinvigorated their famed FPS series by not only overhauling its content but by also making Medal of Honor with the clear intentions of not doing what everyone thought it would: rip-off Call of Duty. Another excellent thing about this reboot is that, as you may have noticed, the single-player campaign was developed by Danger Close whereas the multi-player component was developed by DICE, their brainchild being the ever-popular Battlefield franchise. I’d like to see more publishers do this; enlisting one team for single-player and another for multi-player. I feel it would ensure that both modes are given the proper amount of attention without favoring one over the other. After reading through various reviews after purchase, however, I can see that EA is going to have a long road ahead of them as too many people are still making this out to be some cheap Modern Warfare knock-off. Reinvention of the franchise aside, MoH is an outstanding FPS that makes great strides in the realm of modern military action games by lessening the fantastic and heightening the realism. Activision better watch their asses.

9/10