Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a 2002 first-person shooter video game developed by 2015, Inc.^[2] It was published by EA Games and officially released for Microsoft Windows on January 22, 2002 in North America and on February 15, 2002 in Europe. Aspyr published the Mac OS X version released in August 2002. An incomplete Linux version was also released in 2004.

Allied Assault is the third game in the Medal of Honor series. It is the first game in the series for Microsoft Windows, and the only game in the series with expansion packs. The game uses the id Tech 3 engine, with modifications from Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.², to simulate infantry combat in the European and North African theaters during World War II. In the spring of 2014, GameSpy announced the shutdown of their master servers, which were responsible for MoH:AA's in-game server browser.^[3]

Gameplay

Single-player

In the game the player takes on the role of Lt. Mike Powell of the United States Army Rangers who works for the OSS. Single-player missions include assaulting German bases in Algiers and Norway, storming Omaha Beach on D-Day, and rescuing comrades behind enemy lines in occupied France. The game's levels are often compared to Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan; many of the levels are direct quotations of the scenery (or even complete sequences as in the Omaha Beach mission) in the film. Omaha Beach was re-created in Medal of Honor: Frontline for consoles.

Multiplayer

Once a game server and type is selected the game starts in spectator mode and the player can choose between joining the allies or the axis then select the set of weapons. The game using a point system, adding points for the number of kills and rounds, deducting points for suicides and addition of death points for getting killed.

Multiplayer contains four different modes. Deathmatch in which every player has to kill everyone else and get the highest score, Team Deathmatch in which a team has to kill other teams and get the highest score, Round Based which is similar in gameplay to Deathmatch but counts the rounds instead of the score and "Objective" mode where a player must win the most rounds by completing missions.

Other popular game modes of the game have been created by fans, such as "Freeze Tag" which has similarities to Deathmatch but player is finished off by being frozen, "Capture the Flag" which requires a player capture the other's team flag and take it back to base in the shortest time, "Basebuilder" which requires a team to use preset items and get the highest score and "Countdown" in which a player is required to hold an item for a length of time to preserve the team's life meter.

Plot

Lt. Mike Powell, the protagonist, is a skilled U.S. Army Ranger and later an agent of the Office of Strategic Services. Powell and a squad of Rangers are in Arzew, Algeria, fighting on the North African front. The squad fight their way into the city, but an ambush kills all the team except Powell. Powell continues into a North African Axis base, where he rescues S.A.S. agent Major Grillo and retrieves his equipment. The major and Lieutenant Powell split up, with Grillo securing transport, while Powell does sabotage in a motor pool. He then links back up with Grillo, who has commandeered a jeep with a mounted machinegun. The two then drive to a German airfield, where they successfully destroy the Stuka dive bombers grounded there. While Grillo distracts the German forces, Powell sneaks into a bunker, cuts off Axis radio contact and fights his way to a coastal lighthouse to signal the Allied fleet to begin the invasion of Africa. He escapes with Grillo then in the jeep.

Following the Allies' success in Africa, Powell and Grillo are sent to German-occupied Norway to infiltrate the city of Trondheim, where a Kriegsmarine U-Boat is being outfitted with a prototype Naxos radar detector. Grillo makes it into the base first, but is killed by German guards while opening the front gate for Powell. Powell fights his way into the base, then he disguises himself as a German soldier and infiltrates the loading dock. He first goes to the lab where he destroys the Naxos prototype. Next, Powell gains access to a submarine intended to be fitted with the prototype and blows it up, then escapes into the air ducts. He then fights his way out of the base, where he is extracted by an Allied squad.

Thanks to Powell's efforts, the German U-Boat threat is neutralized, clearing the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Powell is sent to Omaha Beach under Capt. Ramsay, where he and his fellow Rangers storm the bunkers, despite taking heavy casualties, and secure the beach. He is then sent into the countryside beyond the beaches to assist various American units who are being harassed by Nebelwerfers.

Powell is then assigned to go behind enemy lines and acquire intelligence on German troop movements. After rescuing a stranded British pilot Joe Baylor, Powell meets up with French Resistance member Manon Batiste (the protagonist of Medal of Honor: Underground). She sends him out to conduct various acts of sabotage against the German war effort. He then raids a manor house being used as a command post where he secures important enemy documents, including the blueprints for the new King Tiger tank. Powell then escapes the manor house with Manon's aid.

Powell's next mission involves hijacking a King Tiger tank and using it to secure a vital bridge at the city of Brest. After navigating through the sniper-infested ruins, he meets up with the American tank crew chosen for the mission. Powell and the tank crew capture the King Tiger and use it to fight their way through the countryside. Upon reaching Brest, Powell provides cover for the King Tiger to protect the bridge, until reinforcements come to secure it.

Powell's final mission sends him to Fort Schmerzen, a German mustard gas-producing facility that was previously raided by Lieutenant James Patterson, but has since been restored to operation, supposedly as a POW camp, but is possibly being used to produce mustard gas. Powell is parachuted into the woods, where he destroys some Flak 88s harassing Allied planes. He then infiltrates a weapons depot, and destroys a stockpile of StG 44 assault rifle and then destroys a German communications outpost, cutting off Fort Schmerzen's communications. Powell then hijacks a freight train and along with a squad of US Rangers, uses it to reach Schmerzen. Upon arriving at Schmerzen, Powell and his fellow Rangers storm the fort and release all the POWs. Powell then fights his way into the lower levels of Schmerzen, where he discovers that the fort's mustard gas production facilities are still operational. He plants explosives on the gas facilities, and escapes just before Fort Schmerzen is destroyed.

Expansion packs

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead

The first expansion pack for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. It re-enacts 3 major European Theater battles through the eyes of Sgt. Jack Barnes (voiced by Gary Oldman), a paratrooper of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Barnes lands behind the Atlantic Wall on D-Day in Normandy, holds the line near Bastogne in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge and infiltrates Berlin before the Red Army begins their attack. The expansion has several new weapons added to the player's arsenal in Spearhead including the Russian PPSh-41 and the British Lee–Enfield.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Breakthrough

The second and final expansion pack for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The player takes the role of Sgt. John Baker of the US 34th Infantry Division. This campaign covers the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the turning point of the North African campaign, the fall of Bizerte, the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, the bloody Battle of Monte Cassino, followed by the amphibious landings and defense of the beachhead at Anzio, Italy and finally, the battle of Monte Battaglia in September 1944. It adds the Spearhead weapons and some Italian weapons as well as newer British weapons such as the De Lisle carbine and the PIAT anti-tank weapon.

Compilations

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Deluxe Edition

The first compilation pack included the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault main game, the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead expansion pack, two strategy guides, a music CD soundtrack from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and a preview of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault

Medal of Honor Allied Assault: War Chest

The second compilation pack included the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault main game and the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Breakthrough expansion packs.

Medal of Honor: 10th Anniversary Bundle

Allied Assault and its expansion packs are included in the Medal of Honor: 10th Anniversary Bundle, along with a CD containing some of the game's soundtrack, as well as the inclusion of the director's cut of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, and Medal of Honor: Airborne.^[4]

Music

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA Games Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Michael Giacchino
Released	August 30, 2005 (2005-08-30) (Digital)
Genre	Video game soundtrack
Length	17:36
Label	E.A.R.S.
Producer	Michael Giacchino

The music for Allied Assault was composed by Michael Giacchino. The official soundtrack was released on August 30, 2005, on iTunes and Amazon. The soundtrack consists of 5 tracks. In addition, Allied Assault re-used various soundtracks from the original Medal Of Honor and Medal of Honor: Underground, which were also composed by Giacchino. For the expansion packs, music tracks from Medal of Honor: Frontline were re-used.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 91.05%[6] Metacritic 91/100[7] Review scores Publication Score Game Revolution [8] GameSpot 9/10[9] GameSpy [10] IGN 9.3/10[11]
Awards Publication Award Metacritic #4 Best PC Game of 2002[7] Metacritic #7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2002[7]

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was released to universal acclaim. It received a score of 91.05% on GameRankings^[6] and 91/100 on Metacritic.^[7]

References

External links

• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault at MobyGames
• Official website
• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault at the Internet Movie Database