Medal of Honor: Airborne
(Electronic Arts; Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC; Teen)
It's Allies-vs.-Axis again in the latest salvo of WWII-inspired Medal of Honor games. The much-ballyhooed twist in this 11th installment in the MoH franchise — which, as of now, has stretched on two years longer than the actual war itself — has you begin each level by jumping out of a plane and parachuting into combat. But once you hit the ground, Airborne looks and plays like any other WWII first-person shooter. (The game challenges you to land on specific drop points, but it's a meaningless exercise that you'll have no urge to pursue.) On the plus side, the ''land anywhere'' feature does bring a fresh open-ended structure to the series.
Perhaps most indicative of the mixed-bag experience this game offers is the fact that Airborne's most invigorating level is also its most aggravating. Your goal, in this penultimate mission, is to cross a bridge. Easy, you say. Except that far too many enemy soldiers are either: (1) concealed snipers, or (2) armed with Panzerschrecks, shoulder-mounted weapons that fire deadly rockets. Step in the path of one of these haymakers and it's auf Wiedersehen. (Oh, and did we mention the tanks?) Your chances of getting through it without dying and having to restart the level — in our case, about 50 ulcer-inducing times — are slim.
This is Airborne's problem in a mortar shell: It simply doesn't fight fair. While the other levels aren't as poorly balanced as your ordeal on Nijmegen Bridge, you get the feeling throughout the entire adventure that your enemies always have the upper hand. Enemy soldiers are almost impossible to cut down. Incoming grenades land at your feet with uncanny precision. Still, some will feel compelled to play till the very end, partly because the orchestral score is so stirring (almost too good for this game) and, mostly, because like any red-blooded American, you won't want to let those damn Nazis win. C+ —Gary Eng Walk
