Medal of Honor: Vanguard
| Medal of Honor: Vanguard | |
|---|---|
 Wii version cover art | |
| Developer(s) | EA Los Angeles Budcat Creations |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Series | Medal of Honor |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Wii |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Medal of Honor: Vanguard is the tenth installment in the Medal of Honor series of World War II first-person shooters. It was developed by Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio and released for the PlayStation 2 and Wii on March 26, 2007, in the United States.
Vanguard and its PS3/Xbox 360 successor Medal of Honor: Airborne, are the last and final two Medal of Honor games set in WWII and Vanguard is the last Medal of Honor game to be released for the PlayStation 2.
Gameplay
Players take on the role of Sgt. Frank Keegan, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, taking part in Operation Husky, Operation Neptune and Operation Market Garden. Keegan is later transferred to the 17th Airborne Division after Market Garden and participates in Operation Varsity.
Players are able to customize their weapons, such as adding a telescopic sight to a M1 Garand rifle and a drum magazine for a Thompson submachine gun, although these upgrades are only available on certain levels.
At the start of each of the operations, players parachute onto a battlefield (with the exception of a glider insertion at the start of the Invasion of Normandy) and can roughly designate where they land. Players who land at certain points in a level will be able to pick up weapon upgrades and ammunition. Missions can be played out in different ways depending on where the player lands and which weapons he or she obtains.
Content-wise, both versions of the game are the same. However, the Wii version implements the Wii Remote to accomplish such movements as crouching, jumping, making quick turns, weapon strikes, reloading, and shooting. These actions are accomplished with a standard video game interface (buttons and joysticks) on the PS2 version and are also an option on the Wii.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer has been included in the game in the form of a 2-4 player split-screen mode with both the Wii and PS2 versions. (The PS2 version requires a multitap to support more than two players.) This is currently the last Medal of Honor game to feature split screen mode. There are five modes:
- Deathmatch
- Team Deathmatch
- Capture the Flag
- King of the Hill
- Scavenger Hunt
Reception
Overall Vanguard received "average or mixed" reviews. IGN gave Vanguard for the Wii a 7.0 out of 10.0, while the PS2 version received a 7.2 [1]. GameSpot gave the game a 5.5 out of 10 for both the Wii and PS2 versions [2]. Most criticism for the game focused the poor graphics engine, lack of online play, and poor enemy intelligence. Also criticized was the fact that many of the game elements were already featured in the series or by other WWII shooters (with the exception of the parachute drop). Aaron Thomas of GameSpot stated that "There's really no reason to pick it up on the PlayStation 2, and thanks to a higher price tag for the Wii version, there's very little reason to buy it for the Wii, either"[2]. United Kingdom-based Website Mansized scored Vanguard a mere 2/5, claiming "Vanguard is a pretty shocking game"[3].
References
- ^ Miller, Greg (2007-03-26). "Medal of Honor Vanguard Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ a b Thomas, Aaron (2007-03-29). "Medal of Honor: Vanguard is yet another run-of-the-mill WWII-based first-person shooter". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ Pickering, Chris (2007-04-18). "This once ground breaking franchise doesn't cut the mustard these days". Mansized. Retrieved 2007-05-23.