Engrossing Detail, floppy flying, and Pearl

User Rating: 8.3 | Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault PC
By alichino | Review Date:
MOH: Pacific Assault The Good: Cinematic feel. Engrossing Menus. DVD Extras. Cinematic Feel: We all know that the line between movies and games has long since been blurred into oblivion. We’ve come to expect a deep story line and well managed script as part of our gaming experience. MOH Allied Assault did not really have this, but then again, it didn’t need it since it followed so closely on the heels of Saving Private Ryan. It was not difficult to believe that you were fighting in the movie along side Tom Hanks and Tom Sizemore (well maybe not him, he’s apparently having drug problems, he might not shoot in the right direction). Pacific Assault does a very good job of creating a believable script throughout most of the game (there is one major exception to this, which I mention in the bad). The voice acting quality is good, the details of where and when things occurred from Bloody Ridge to Pearl, you get the impression that the developers had some love and respect for the story they were trying to tell. And let’s face it, this is our best vehicle for History these days Engrossing Menus: The menus were a real treat. Listening to the old time radio programs, and having the option of replaying and reviewing past performances. Although, even on my high end machine the menu’s tend to eat up fps with the 3d environment superimposed across the background. DVD Extras: The DVD version includes a Director’s Cut, which had some interaction about specific details during the Pacific in WWII. Although if you were looking for historical information en mass you might be a little disappointed as there is not much meat to the data they do provide. The Bad: Uncontrollable at times. Uncontrollable. Two words: The Airplane. This is probably the single biggest mistake of the whole game. At one point you climb aboard a Navy fighter / bomber, man the tail gunner position and proceed to destroy a plethora of weak Japanese AI airplanes. At one point you take control of this aircraft and must fly it…only, you have to fly it with your mouse. Now some of you might like this (I’m looking in the direction of the BF1942 crowd) but frankly I don’t. During the early parts of the game, dragging my sorry butt through the jungles, I took my time. I wanted to savor the silent approach and the attacks. But now, flying along with the mouse, trying to guide the plane in circles and get good angles of attack, I found myself so frustrated that I wished that this part would just end. But irony of ironies, I spent twice as long in this section of the game struggling to get through it. I actually had to walk away from the computer once to cool my engines after spiraling into the ocean one to many times. The Obvious: Decent AI: Seem to stay oblivious to you until you get close, then attack in wave after wave. Only one small issue with the AI, they hone in on you more often than your AI counterparts. Bloody Ridge would be a great place to notice this as the waves of guys seem to bypass the foxholes in front of you and make a bee line right to you. Quality maps: Level designers should be proud of their work. Although some what linear in fashion, the detail and textures, size and complexity are darn interesting. Quality dialog: Voice acting is good. Well written. Even in game dialog is not so overbearing and obnoxious that you turn it down (things like, “Good shooting” don’t apply ever seven seconds…thank the gods). Good mouse response (except when flying). Good graphics. Nice physics. What should change: FLYING. ARGH! Some kind of Damage Model for vehicles. Game Highlight: Pearl Harbor sequence. It really is worth the purchase of the game.

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