10.0
GotY Awards 2010 – Most Disappointing Game
Medal of Honor – Nothing says “We’re rebooting a popular franchise even though the last game in the series wasn’t release that long ago” like sticking a bearded guy on the front, and setting it in modern warfare just like the franchise that replaced it. That’s right, Call of Duty replaced Medal of Honor. You can argue all you want, it did just that. Not surprising, though. The last good Medal of Honor game, Allied Assault, was made by Infinity Ward people before the company even existed – so there you have it. What I saw of this game looked quite impressive, at first. The graphical style was both gritty and clean, on the single-player Unreal Engine 3 side of things anyway. Then I heard that the multiplayer was to be developed by DICE, and on their Frostbite engine. So basically, we were getting a single-player campaign and Bad Company 2 multiplayer, but not. I think I may well have ended up buying Medal of Honor if it weren’t for the pathetic multiplayer beta I played. It was like Call of Duty and Bad Company stitched together, and boy was it bad. Then another beta came out that would apparently address everyone’s woes. From what I played, it was exactly the same. Bad. The gold product came out the same way too, I’m afraid. Stick with Bad Company 2, people.
And in Close Second…
Call of Duty: Black Ops – My opinion about Black Ops is rather well documented on this website – and of Treyarch. Not that I could make games any better, of course, but I just don’t like what Treyarch do. Well, generally. I actually did like the odd thing they did with this game on the multiplayer side. Custom emblems, more attachments, and firearms that appealed to me. Sadly, the game did nothing else for me. I played the single-player just because, and played the multiplayer until I hit max rank once. I haven’t gone back to it since. Say what you will about Modern Warfare 2 – I will still go back and play portions of that game. And Call of Duty 4? I still play the multiplayer of that game, and the single-player. Black Ops? I doubt I’ll go back to either any time soon. There, I said it. Black Ops. You’re a disappointment.
Alpha Protocol – Obsidian is very good at taking what someone else has created and expanding on it. They have had success with titles such as Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2, both sequels to games they did not create. So it was exciting to hear that the team was going to develop an original IP using RGP mechanics and dialogue trees that they had experience with from their past work. Alpha Protocol, an espionage RPG/shooter hybrid that would show the true talents of Obsidian and prove they could develop a great game from the ground up. Well, Alpha Protocol did prove one point: Obsidian should stick to established franchises. The game is a mess, with stiff controls and ugly AI. I will not sit here and tell you that I played through this entire game, as I only witnessed a portion and decided it was time to put it down, but that is exactly why I was so disappointed. This game had huge amounts of potential, promising a multitude of play styles and unbelievable replay value due to the constant decision making and character building. This was the Mass Effect style RPG I was waiting for, but it did nothing but leave me scratching my head. Obsidian has now lost most of my attention, releasing the abysmal Alpha Protocol and creating the buggy, incomplete Fallout: New Vegas. I just hope they can turn it all around in 2011.
And in Close Second…
Medal of Honor – Medal of Honor: Frontline was one of my favorite shooters on the PS2. The rest of the series has been hit or miss, but the announcement of a reboot in a modern setting grabbed my interest. It worked wonders for Call of Duty, so why can’t Medal of Honor be relevant once more? Yet, the game was exactly what I feared: a by the books, playing-it-safe military shooter. It’s as if Danger Close and Dice got together with a check list of key modern shooter conventions and began marking each one off as they soullessly designed this game. There is no distinguishing feature, and no originality to be found. This is not a bad game, just so generic that it does not standout in the least. The most disappointing part about Medal of Honor is that it sold over three million copies, proving that people will buy any game with multiplayer, guns and a resemblance to Call of Duty. Play Black Ops or Bad Company 2 if you want a quality shooter. Don’t support Medal of Honor.
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I don’t understand everyones hatred for Medal of Honor – It was far superior to Black Ops; The shooting felt tighter, the story felt more emotionally involving (Even if the story was worse in general, apart from THAT twist at the end of Black Ops, which rips off Manhunt 2), and it was just more fun. The same (Doing nothing new) can be said about Black Ops, although at least Medal of Honor had the balls to base it off an actual modern conflict. I haven’t played the multiplayer in Medal of Honor yet, and from what i’ve been told, the MP almost certainly is worse, but I have to say that Black Op’s had a worse single player component than MoH (In my opinion).
Just a note as well on the opening sentence “Nothing says “We’re rebooting a popular franchise even though the last game in the series wasn’t release that long ago” – Remember that CoD 2 came out in 2005, CoD 3 in 2006 and was then rebooted in 2007 for Modern Warfare. MoH: Airborne came out in 2007 and was rebooted in 2010, making the introductory sentence a moot point.
However, a generally decent article; especially about Black Ops and Alpha Protocol,
I hardly see Modern Warfare as a reboot. It was called Call of Duty 4, the next in the series from Call of Duty 3. It was simply in a new setting. However, Medal of Honor is indeed a reboot. Three years after the last game didn’t do too great, with the stock name ‘Medal of Honor’ with a new setting. The difference is there, and that is what separates it as a reboot.
Also, you may not understand everyone’s hatred, but you don’t exactly need to. They’re people’s opinions, at the end of the day. I do like parts of Medal of Honor, parts of the single-player especially – but as a whole package? Nah.