Cpt Blackadder
New Member
If you've got to this point of the opening line of this review, then congratulations, your open minded enough and one of the few people in the gaming industry who are not blinkered, and willing to accept new things.
MOH warfighter was NEVER going to win over the masses, no matter how good a game it was. Bad publicity, in house developer fighting and sacking of the brains behind the project a month before release, and overhyping itself to the masses with youtube giant's like FPS Russia getting involved with the buildup, inevitably and not surprisingly ruined the slim chance this had to impress gamers when they finally got their hands on this in October 2012. The MP beta released just a week before final release also did more harm than good.
The game SIMPLY was released 3 months too early and was a bit of a mess in the mean time because of it. MOH is NOT a COD or BF killer, and if you think that's what you were going to get with, then you will be disappointed. MOH is something else. It's a cross between Operation Flashpoint, Ghost Recon Future Solider, and Battlefield 3.
If you take the politics and pre-conceived ideas out of the equation, ( and that includes YOUR preconceived ideas dear reader ) is MOH warfighter actually any good at what it does?
OH yes
MOH warfighter uses the same Frostbite 2 engine that is used to power BF3. The BF3 SP campaign looked amazing, but frankly was as fun to play as watching paint dry ( except the excellent flying section ). Just imagine how good a SP could be if they took those same mechanic's and made a story that was actually interesting. Sprinkle in a good variety of gameplay elements to keep things fresh each and every level on top of top notch shooter action, ... and HELLO MOH warfighter Single player campaign!
We're not talking Uncharted or Binary Domain good, more like Act of Valor, Blackhawk Down good. The story is, world threat blows up people and you play as part of the teams following the trail from the explosive used, back to the brains behind it all. Playing from two different perspectives, that culminate in their stories coming together, all intertwined around one of the main characters ( Preacher ) issues with his family back home, was a surprising success. It doesn't feel convoluted or forced, it all felt authentic and interesting. The story doesn't rely on huge set piece blockbuster type million dollar backdrops to thrill you, but more invigorates and gives you an intense, character driven, understated but powerful tale with believable dialogue.
To help drive home the authenticity and realism of the story, based on actual events, the lighting, detail, textures, and audio are just UTTERLY stunning, and they draw you even more into this believable world. You really have to use your senses to progress through the levels, and you’re on tenterhooks while you are.
But the real winner here for anyone who ventures onto the single player game is that along with stunningly realistic cut scenes, you get to have a lot of fun along the way and a sense of " I wonder what I’ll be doing the next level " progression.
Each aspect of gameplay is superbly designed and executed, a theme found throughout the entire package. There are a few driving sequences that are good enough to belong in any driving game and frankly piss all over anything COD can offer. There are some excellent chase sequences in the style of a Bourne film. There's a sniper level similar to the COD4 level, "All Guillied up." And a few more surprises along the way.
Another great design element is as you breach doors along the way, you are challenged with the breaches to achieve certain targets, which if completed allows you to then have multiple ways to breach the next door you come across. Little details like this to keep things interesting make a difference to the end product and the overall enjoyment.
Overall it's a great SP, with superb design elements to find ways to keep you interested from start to the rewarding finish and could be argued is worth the price of the game alone!
Multiplayer is of course the meat and potatoes of any respected FPS these days, and this multiplayer is not going to have anywhere near as much longevity as some, but what you do get is actually extremely well balanced and fun to play. It's not easy to start with, and playing MOH warfighter in the same style as other FPS will soon become tiresome. Nope THIS MP is a very different beast altogether. All you COD/BF fan boys should take note, as this is the best, most tactical and balanced FPS going.
A huge array of guns/classes and customization will keep players enthralled when they play, but there's just too few maps and game modes to keep coming back for more and play for long into 2013. There are around 8 maps, and I have to guess at this as unfortunately there's no way to create a private match to explore what you do get. Those maps have 5 game modes to play them on them. The game modes are really good, and are fun to play, but the kicker is, to be honest, there's not enough people playing online at any given time to give you enough choice. There is ALWAYS a few games being played, don't get me wrong, but you can sometimes struggle to find a full enough lobby of the mode you would like to play. Sometimes though there are plenty of available servers of all game modes.
There is unfortunately the odd (and I mean ODD) case of spawn killing if you’re stuck on a team that is awful, but very few matches end up like this. There is also a very useful and well implemented buddy system where you can spawn, heal, and re arm your fire team buddy. It REALLY encourages team work as do the game modes, but is flexible enough that one or 2 players can dominate a match if they are good enough. It's the perfect balance between a COD and BF3 game. It takes the best aspects from each MP type, adds something new for itself, and gives you something different.
When you do find a match the match of your choice, what you'll find is a perfectly workable, fair, balanced MP system, that just.... well.. .works and works very well. Hit detection, is spot on, lagg is nonexistent (on the Xbox version I’ve been playing on anyway) and the options, statistic's and social aspects are deep. It actually has everything you would want, spare a few more maps.
At the end of the day, there is a lot to like about MOH warfighter; just it missed the boat by 3 months to be considered a serious contender in the FPS market. That 3 months, could be very costly to the Danger Close team. Rumor has it, EA will not support the title anymore and what we have now will just whittle away to nothing and rot away unused, and unloved.
Conclusion
If MOH Warfighter was a car it would be a Skoda. Yes, everyone cringes at the name, laughs and points even, but those that actually own a Skoda will tell you it's actually a bloody good car. MOH is the same. It doesn't really do anything wrong, in fact it does a lot of things very right, just no one knows about it, or wants to know about it, because they don't think it's worthy. For those brave few who have tried, I salute you. For those that are put off by the name and have preconceived ideas how this game should be and how you think it will fail, quite simply, your missing out and missing the point as it's its own game.
Rating 8 / 10
You'll not see a review score as high as this, but then most reviews were done when the game was released, not the finished article as it should have been, 3 months later. Give MOH a chance now and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
