Medal of Honor: Warfighter Review

 Something terrible this way comes! Unfortunately, that isn't a tag line for a movie.

The newest installment in the MoH franchise isn't very good. In fact it borders on the terrible. The not extravagantly outstanding, but enjoyable Medal of Honor 2010 had quite a lot of things going for it, namely the campaign and associated storyline. It was well told through the eyes of Tier-1 personnel conducting operations which were loosely based upon those during Operation Anaconda. The characters were engrossing and the protracted plot was interesting, it pulled the player into that world, it made you want to experience what was going to happen next.

The campaign in Warfighter is a little different. Really different. And really incoherent. It juts back and forth constantly, from the past to the present, back to the past, and even further into the past, and then right into a mission. Danger Close would like you to believe Warfighter is the story of a operator toeing the line between family and duty, but you learn so little about the man that the attempt rings hollow. The central character is a blank canvas, his back-story nonexistent, and any explanation as to why his wife is constantly pissed off is unknown. Selfish cow should hit up the Class-6 like the rest of the base wives. Of course I'm joking... perhaps.

"Authentic experience" indeed. Hey brah, your Magpul pop-up sights are on backwards.

While there are some intense and memorable moments here and there especially the driving segments, they pale in comparison to a sporadic AI, frequent bugs, and texture popping issues. True, the PC version looks like a BMW compared to its Yugo Console brethren, the visuals are still rather bland in places and texture streaming issues abound.

In today's market of competitive online gaming, my hopes remained optimistic as to the multi-player component. Those were however quickly dashed once I actually launched a session. Upon choosing a server I was greeted with a menu UI that was more awkward and confusing then it should have to be, and before I could even choose my kit, the game had me spawned right into the action. Okay, very well then. I'll just kill someone, die, and try again. I acquired my target, a bush-wookie (sniper), and fired around 15 rounds into him from around 25 meters. Was he killed? No, no he wasn't. He did however turn to face me and with a single round, ended my digital life.

Hmm... Lets try this again, shall we? Prior to spawning I quickly chose weapon customization - You won't fool me again Warfighter. Being that the map I was currently playing on was more of a CQB level, I thought it would behoove of me to pick iron sights or a optic more suited to the environment. Unfortunately however, I was stuck with the ACOG and its magnification level, the other options including iron sights weren't unlocked yet. Wait, I have to unlock iron sights? Shouldn't the unlock process be the other way around?

Take cover, the net-code is terrible!

Not even taking into consideration the questionable rank and progression system. There are serious problems with round registration as the bullets impact or don't impact a character. This is due to the fact that the hit-box in Warfighter is horrendous, and while BF3 suffers from the same ailment, it appears that Danger Close screwed something up... or they didn't care to improve upon it... I don't know. If you're hoping that Hardcore mode would make the game a little more interesting, increasing the lethality, and forcing people to think tactically, think again. All Danger Close has done is to remove certain HUD elements for said mode, negating one of the primary reasons gamers play on more difficult settings.

Verdict

The original Worf-fighter is not pleased.