RETRO – If you thought that you ever truly lived through Pearl Harbor in a video game, where your character is on a sinking and burning ship with a heavy machine gun as you try to shoot down Zeros. How about the time where you’re platoon gets ambushed by soldiers of the rising sun that scream at you, and you attempt to hit them? Well if not then it is time to load in MoH: PA.

On the 7th of December 1941, Japanese bombers suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor and sunk the ships of the American navy. The citizens of the USA were in shock, and the event becomes one of the most defining parts of their history, as this was the point when the war that raged over in Europe reached them also. It was also after this event that Roosevelt decided to enter The Second World War on the side of the Allies. The so-called „Pacific Front” was also an important part of The Second World War, in particular for the Americans. Which is why I never understood why the video game market was never that keen on setting a title on the Pacific Front? Finally, my prayers have been answered as we finally had the chance to play Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault…

Feeling, and realism hand in hand

We can argue for a long time about how realistic is the Medal of Honor series and the younger brethren aka Call of Duty. Both sides can be argued for in the end. On the one hand, these games allow us to experience the epic battles of WW2. However, on the other hand, there are so many „arcadey” designs in these games that it is laughable. In MoH: AA we have the tank driving section or the Anti-Air section in Call of Duty where it felt like I was playing Star Wars against the Stukas.

Regardless of which side we agree with, I have to say that the developers of Pacific Assault have finally found the correct balance between realism, and movies’ epicness. During my playthrough, I have not found one moment where I did not have my jaw on the floor, be it the flaming ships, the Zero squads above me, or the screaming Japanese soldiers that attacked me in waves.

Plus on the more „calmer” levels the AI’s level of detail, and thanks to the more tactical gameplay elements I felt that I was in the most realistic situation ever in a WW2 FPS…

From Rookie to Veteran

Our protagonist is Tom Conlin, who is a rookie at the beginning of the game. I was especially happy that our character is not an OSS super agent, as in MoH: AA, where it was a little unrealistic to send a spy into the meat grinder in Normandy. Tom is not only more realistic, but a more authentic character, as he narrates the story, and our squad members communicate with us. His superiors will order him commands, and he will be congratulated if he kills a few of the enemy. Also, the Doc will warn him that there is only one medkit left. These may seem like small things, but they allow us to immerse ourselves in the game world as Tom much better than a super secret agent sent to the bloodiest front of the war.

The story is much better than compared to Allied Assault or Call of Duty – although there is no parallel narrative or sequence of events, at least, we have detailed cinematics where they show us the important characters. This cinematics focuses on especially on our squad members. So we finally can get to know our comrades, and they are not just nameless cannon fodder.

Sir, yes, sir!

The game begins in media res with a little but rather intensive offensive – this time not in Normandy but at Tarawa. Not only is the location different, but the situation is also new: just like in History, the Japanese soldiers hid and shot at the transport ships, all the while Zeroes were also attacking them. The offensive was not as impossible a sin Normandy, but our character ends up with a severe wound, and as his vision blurs the story jumps back to Tom’s training, and his first day in the army.

The developers thus bridged the issue where there is usually a training section in such games that is ultimately a boring part of a WW game. The training is also special as instead of the monotonous checklist of things to do, we get a Full Metal Jacket type of a drill instructor that orders us to complete sections, shoot with guns, and use grenades, plus command our team. In the end, this also feels like a movie instead of a generic video game.

Squad move out!

Yep, we move out with a squad onto the battlefield. In MoH: PA in the later missions we even get to lead a squad, and we can order them around to do simple tasks (just like in Operation Flashpoint): Move up, defend this position, attack, etc. Of course, to order our allies we need to complete many missions, and our team members will be there with us until the end. Just look us, the squad members will also be touched by the horrors of war; they will get injured, dirty, bloody, and muddy. While we are at it, the developers also detailed the injuries better for our squad mates.

As just like in Call Of Duty our allies cannot die, unless the story says so. However we, at least, did not encounter such scenes where they are explaining something to us while they keep getting shot, but they still finish their sentences and run for glory as if nothing happened. In MoH: PA our squad members will collapse if they get hit, and they will need a medic to get their selves together.

The AI for the squad members are usually first class: they crouch, they head for cover, run into houses, shoot from windows, and they even retreat if the situation calls for it. Although the good Yankees do some dumb things, such as the time when the allied AI would be in a crossfire, and I could barely kill off the Japanese soldiers in the game. They would flank me and kill me in a few seconds.

Banzai!

Speaking of AI quality, the enemy’s is also unbelievably great that is for sure. The angry yellow men híde with great talent, shoot at us from cover, or attack us at the most unexpected moments. What makes them so different from their German allies is the „Banzai-Attack” : When this happens, they rush us screaming at us with bayonets to carve us up.

With a bit of luck, our rifle and our gun are loaded, if we are out of luck though well we’ll feel cold steel in our stomach, and Tom will end up dead on the battlefield. The other new „feature” is that the Japanese soldier patrols the levels, either on foot or on vehicles. When the driver notices us, they step on the breaks and the soldiers get off the transport to attack us. With a bit of luck, we can throw a grenade onto the truck, and all of them die, but this can rarely be done.

The developers did not only try to make the game more authentic with the AI, but they also attempted to do it with the enemy’s behavior. For instance, it is fun to listen to Japanese soldiers talk about how the war will not be long last, or how they are undefeatable, or how one of their comrades cheated in cards. They do not even suspect that soon a grenade will land next to them

The „Day of Shame” – from first hand

Of course besides the usual squad based combat moments, we’ll have the usual vehicle-based missions that are either really quick or slow. The speeding with the jeeps are similar to what we have seen in MoH: AA and from Call of Duty, the shooting from a ship cannon is similar to the scenes from United Offensive. As our ally try to pray away the evil Japanese soldiers, we use the anti-air guns to clear the skies.

After this scene, the events heat up – literally: we end up in one of the bellies of a destroyer, and we try to stop the flames by shutting the pressure of with valves. We finally get out of the ship and use one of the cannons of the ship to kill the Zero planes. The Pearl Harbor drama is recreated authentically in MoH: PA, just like Normandy in MoH: AA. The game is authentic, dramatic and tragic when it comes to the war scenes in the levels.

Someone carried away by the waves…

Of course no matter the epic scenes if the graphics engine would not be able to handle such magnificent epicness. As the old MoH engine was outdated, the developers developed a new one; that was upgraded with the good old Havok physics engine. The result is fascinating: we move in a jungle, where we sneak around in the high grass so that the enemy will not notice us. The trees, the rivers, everything, looks beautiful, and the best part is they react realistically to our actions. When you shoot into the water, it fractures realistically.

However that is not all, the rivers have realistic drift, and it can take away items and even dead bodies. Besides the water physics, every other item also has realistic physics. If you want to bask in the awesomeness of the game’s physics, I advise you try out the following: When you cleared out a Japanese village, go and sit with the AA gun, and shoot everything to smithereens, just to calm the nerves and enjoy some explosions….

We should also not forget about such small details as the movement of the vegetation, either due to our movement or the wind (or maybe due to some explosions). Furthermore, the character faces are also rather well detailed, and the developers did an excellent job here: the only game that looks better in this department is Valve’s bestseller Half Life 2.

War’s road to hell is paved with MoH: Pacific Assault

Those who loved Call of Duty, I can say that Activision’s war FPS’s days are over: the newest Medal Of Honor wrecks the game. MoH: PA is more realistic and looks better than any other War FPS game, and finally we get a better story, plus cinematics which was not a defining trait of the genre up until now. I also enjoyed the most exotic location and the deadlier enemies. I’ll go crazy if I have to deal with the German army again in the Ardennes just to save Private Ryan for the millionth time. All in all MoH: PA is a real classic, and it almost beat every competitor on the market currently. That will be banzai that you will not forget for a long time.

-BadSector-(2004)

Publisher: EA Games

Developer: EA LA

Genre: Akció, FPS

Relase date: 2004