Medal of Honor: Vanguard
Posted June 23, 2007
Adapting the innovative control scheme of the Wii to a first person shooter must be a daunting task. Red Steel nor Call of Duty came close to nailing the Wii’s full spectrum of capabilities, but Electronic Arts decided to take a shot with the World War II shooter Medal of Honor: Vanguard. This entry into the Medal of Honor series follows the wartime trials and tribulations of Frank Keegan, a corporal in the 82nd airborne. Similar to the openings of a couple other WWII shooters, we are treated to the cinematic of Frank getting blown out of his drop plane and into enemy territory. The presentation of Vanguard is faithful to previous renditions of the series, but unfortunately a bit stale for those who grew up on Medal of Honor games. 
Gameplay:
The single player campaign is broken into four main operations with a historical basis; Husky, Neptune, Market Garden, and Varsity. Each section takes place in a separate locale; Sicily, France, Holland, and Germany. The operations contain a few missions, none of which are particularly engrossing. Similar to all Medal of Honor games previous to this version, the story follows an incredibly linear path. In general terms, it’s the same WWII shooter you’ve played for years, just from a different virtual soldier’s perspective and with an interesting take on the controls.
Again, Electronic Arts has recycled the same artificial intelligence found in MoH titles, completely unable to respond fluently to the battle. Soldiers still hide behind specific objects (walls, crates, barrels) and pop out from time to time for a few shots. Watching each battle unfold is like replaying the same war movie over and over. The conclusion is always the same and the enemies never seem to learn. It’s very unfortunate to see the developers take the easy way out rather than building proper A.I. specifically for the Wii’s hardware.
Without the inclusion of online capabilities, the multiplayer modes within Vanguard are restricted to 4-player split-screen. Games can be setup in the standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag modes as well as king of the hill. Additionally, a mode called scavenger hunt will randomly drop supply drops on the map for the players to snatch up. The player with the most supply packs wins the round. It’s a novel inclusion and is surprisingly the most fun mode with four players.
Wii Control:
The abilities of the Wii-mote in this situation seem to be hit or miss, dependent on the player’s perspective. While there are novel uses, such as controlling the direction of your landing parachute, the aiming capabilities tend to be clunky in the opening moments of the game. As the first mission comes to a close, players will find adaptation to special moves just as quickly spinning around or reloading your weapon a chore of massive proportions. Fortunately, lining up a shot is simple enough after about an hour of playtime as well as lobbing numerous grenades at unsuspecting Germans. Also, the player has the ability to peek around corners and lurch into prone positions. This comes in handy in later stages of the game when eliminating sniper fire or mounted machine gun nests.
Graphics:
Visually, Vanguard doesn’t hold a candle to the high def shooters on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but still packs a punch for the Wii’s capabilities. The screen resolution looks best in 480p widescreen, but obviously looks vastly better than the PS2 version in any mode. Between levels, the textures are quite varied and seem to represent the ideal view of a war torn landscape. The player and enemy animations are smooth in a general sense, but lack the variety found in games using the Havok engine. The lighting effects really shine as the most brilliant aspect of the graphic engine, specifically explosions and resonant gunfire. While the framerate occasionally takes a hit during tense portions of the game, the beauty of the environments makes up for a touch of slowdown.
Audio:
As per standard form in all Medal of Honor games, Vanguard has a tremendously moving musical score. The slow, building melodies are strewn throughout every single moment of the game and crescendo at the appropriate sections of battle. Additionally, the voiceovers follow a similar caliber of quality. German and American soldiers litter the auditory landscape with chants, screams, and speeches worthy of a military cinematic production. Finally, the sound effects are carried over from other Medal of Honor games, but still hold an excellent standard within Vanguard. Bullets zip by the player’s ears, ping off the surrounding walls, and remain embedded seemingly in your rear speakers.
Overall:
While the game is mildly entertaining to the WWII buff and Wii-mote fanatic, the limited campaign length and brain-dead A.I. puts a damper on an otherwise decent shooter. Gamers will blow through the single player campaign in a matter of hours and the multiplayer capabilities are hamstringed by Nintendo’s lack of online multiplayer. Wii owners should make an attempt to check this title out for a rental period, but obviously avoid a full priced retail purchase.
Gameplay:
The single player campaign is broken into four main operations with a historical basis; Husky, Neptune, Market Garden, and Varsity. Each section takes place in a separate locale; Sicily, France, Holland, and Germany. The operations contain a few missions, none of which are particularly engrossing. Similar to all Medal of Honor games previous to this version, the story follows an incredibly linear path. In general terms, it’s the same WWII shooter you’ve played for years, just from a different virtual soldier’s perspective and with an interesting take on the controls.
Again, Electronic Arts has recycled the same artificial intelligence found in MoH titles, completely unable to respond fluently to the battle. Soldiers still hide behind specific objects (walls, crates, barrels) and pop out from time to time for a few shots. Watching each battle unfold is like replaying the same war movie over and over. The conclusion is always the same and the enemies never seem to learn. It’s very unfortunate to see the developers take the easy way out rather than building proper A.I. specifically for the Wii’s hardware.
Without the inclusion of online capabilities, the multiplayer modes within Vanguard are restricted to 4-player split-screen. Games can be setup in the standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag modes as well as king of the hill. Additionally, a mode called scavenger hunt will randomly drop supply drops on the map for the players to snatch up. The player with the most supply packs wins the round. It’s a novel inclusion and is surprisingly the most fun mode with four players.
Wii Control:
The abilities of the Wii-mote in this situation seem to be hit or miss, dependent on the player’s perspective. While there are novel uses, such as controlling the direction of your landing parachute, the aiming capabilities tend to be clunky in the opening moments of the game. As the first mission comes to a close, players will find adaptation to special moves just as quickly spinning around or reloading your weapon a chore of massive proportions. Fortunately, lining up a shot is simple enough after about an hour of playtime as well as lobbing numerous grenades at unsuspecting Germans. Also, the player has the ability to peek around corners and lurch into prone positions. This comes in handy in later stages of the game when eliminating sniper fire or mounted machine gun nests.
Graphics:
Visually, Vanguard doesn’t hold a candle to the high def shooters on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but still packs a punch for the Wii’s capabilities. The screen resolution looks best in 480p widescreen, but obviously looks vastly better than the PS2 version in any mode. Between levels, the textures are quite varied and seem to represent the ideal view of a war torn landscape. The player and enemy animations are smooth in a general sense, but lack the variety found in games using the Havok engine. The lighting effects really shine as the most brilliant aspect of the graphic engine, specifically explosions and resonant gunfire. While the framerate occasionally takes a hit during tense portions of the game, the beauty of the environments makes up for a touch of slowdown.
Audio:
As per standard form in all Medal of Honor games, Vanguard has a tremendously moving musical score. The slow, building melodies are strewn throughout every single moment of the game and crescendo at the appropriate sections of battle. Additionally, the voiceovers follow a similar caliber of quality. German and American soldiers litter the auditory landscape with chants, screams, and speeches worthy of a military cinematic production. Finally, the sound effects are carried over from other Medal of Honor games, but still hold an excellent standard within Vanguard. Bullets zip by the player’s ears, ping off the surrounding walls, and remain embedded seemingly in your rear speakers.
Overall:
While the game is mildly entertaining to the WWII buff and Wii-mote fanatic, the limited campaign length and brain-dead A.I. puts a damper on an otherwise decent shooter. Gamers will blow through the single player campaign in a matter of hours and the multiplayer capabilities are hamstringed by Nintendo’s lack of online multiplayer. Wii owners should make an attempt to check this title out for a rental period, but obviously avoid a full priced retail purchase.