But it's all over far too soon!
But the difficulty in unlocking all the weapon upgrades through the course of the game serves to highlight Medal of Honor: Airborne’s biggest drawback which is how incredibly short the whole game is. Honestly, there’s perhaps 6 hours of playing time here before you’re looking at the end credits with just a touch of disbelief that you’ve completed the game in less than a days’ play.It was about halfway through, around mission 3 that I started wondering where Medal of Honor: Airborne was taking me. We’d jumped into Sicily and Italy, then we’d jumped into Normandy to do some behind the lines stuff and it was becoming obvious that unlike Call of Duty that focused on key battles in World War 2, Medal of Honor: Airborne was going to only let you play through missions that started with a mass parachute assault… Which only left the partially successful Operation Market Garden drop into Holland before the war would be over.
Click for larger imageThere is one more mission, an airborne assault on a flak tower that has no historical basis but makes a fun, if more linear mission to finish the game… and that’s it. By comparison with the first mission, the assault on Adanti, the flak tower ending is by far the most linear and, to be honest, is a let down compared with previous missions. But even then, it’s still surprising how damn short the entire game is.
So, let’s sum up Medal of Honor: Airborne.
On the plus sides, there’s the more open, non-linear gameplay that lifts it above the more forced path Call of Duty series and it has to be said that the first mission in particular with its mass of routes on the ground and over the roofs and maze of indoor rooms and hallways is probably the best of the meagre five on offer. Perhaps just five missions wouldn’t be so bad if they were longer but they’re not.
Click for larger imageThe actual gameplay is fun for what is essentially an arcade shooter but enemy AI can be a daft as a brush at times. Sometimes they’ll hide behind a pillar for ages without moving while at other times they’ll take a couple of hits and then charge towards you anyway. And of course there’s my favourite, with the AI unleashing a murderous volley of fire that would be utterly devastating if it wasn’t all instantly hitting the box the AI is hiding behind.
Into this mix of disappointment we should throw in a few minor bugs such as getting glued to the world in several doorways, especially tunnels, (which is a sod when you have no grenades left to suicide with), or your squad AI that goes off to complete objectives in the order they want.. often leaving you to take on a task completely alone as if you’re fighting a one man war.
Click for larger imageSo overall, though Medal of Honor: Airborne is a fun game to play, it’s also a disappointing experience, primarily due to its length. I can put up with the odd bug and the stupid AI. I can put up with the fact that I’m not going to unlock everything because unlockables conflict with each other… I can even put up with my squad all buggering off in one direction leaving me to go my own way… No, the real killer for me is the sudden and unexpected appearance of the end credits… Perhaps World War 2, as a source of inspiration, is all played out? From playing Medal of Honor: Airborne, you’d think so.
I'd like to give Medal Of Honour: Airborne some sort of award as it's a fun game to play... but it's so damn short that I really can't recommend anyone spending upwards of £25 on a game they'll finish in an afternoon. My six hours of playing time was going back and having a good mooch around through the levels and even trying to complete levels using just the pistol... If you like to crack on and get objectives done then, even on the harder difficulty settings, you'll be through Medal of Honor: Airborne in maybe as few as 3 or 4 hours...
So, with such a short playing time for a full priced game I can't recommend this as being a sensible use of your cash. Even if you've got a spare bit of cash burning a hole in your pocket, you'd be better off waiting until Medal of Honor: Airborne hits the bargain bucket.
Pros
Non-linear objectives
Multiple routes on most maps
Cool weapons upgrade system
Cons
Roughly 6 hours of play will see you finish the entire game
The last level is the worst of the lot
Not enough playing time to unlock everything
AI is as dumb as the proverbial
What there is of Medal of Honor: Airborne is good, there just isn’t enough.
