Metareview: Medal of Honor

In our review of Medal of Honor we said the "campaign is an exceptional experience, but the total package simply doesn't beat Call of Duty." The real drag was the game's "unremarkable" multiplayer, developed by DICE, not standing up to the single-player campaign or being able to headshot Call of Duty's twitch-based multiplayer, its clear inspiration and competition. Critical opinion of Medal of Honor is definitely mixed.

• Eurogamer (80/100): "As a game about the Afghanistan war that does its absolute utmost to avoid being about the Afghanistan war, Medal of Honor is arguably just a shooting gallery spliced with a fairground ride and a solid multiplayer accessory which owes a lot to Bad Company 2."

• 1Up (B): "But while the multiplayer is very much a worthwhile experience, it lacks the scope and grandeur of Modern Warfare 2, let alone the upcoming Black Ops. By comparison, the number of play modes and customization/rank options seem quite limited, and it's hard to believe fevered Call of Duty or Bad Company 2 players will break from their current favorites to dedicate themselves to Medal of Honor."

• Game Informer (70/100): "All the parts for a great multiplayer experience are here – class unlocks, a variety of familiar modes, lots of guns – but they don't come together in a way that makes Medal of Honor a must-play shooter. Military buffs may enjoy the game on some level, but in such a densely packed genre, EA must try harder to stand out."

• IGN (60/100): "Swinging wildly between the horrors and danger of war and unrealistic action movie moments and hampered by a surplus of boring scripted sequences, not even DICE's talented multiplayer designers are able to elevate Medal of Honor to something memorable."

• Giant Bomb (3/5): "But all of those scripting bugs and boring unlockables quickly add up, death-of-a-thousand-cuts style. In the absolutely ruthless world of online shooters, there's little room for weakness. Medal of Honor alternates between its derivative style and its annoying technical glitches way too frequently to rise above the crowd."

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