Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

aka: Kongressimedal: Liitlaste rünnak, Medal of Honor: Débarquement Allié, MoH:AA
Moby ID: 5616
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Description official descriptions

In Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, the first PC installment of the famous Playstation game series, you assume the role of Sgt. Mike Powell, a member of the 1st Ranger Batallion. You have been recruited by the OSS (some sort of secret service) and need to battle through over 20 levels based on historical campaigns during WW2.

Missions include the landing at Normandy (D-Day), assaulting the town Arzew, a rendez-vous with the french Resistance outside the village of St. Lo, and even taking the famous bridge at the German town Remagen. You will need to rescue agents, plant explosives, assault desert camps with your team and of course kill every Nazi that comes into your gunsight.

There are plenty of weapons available, including the MP40, some sniper and assault rifles, hand grenades and explosive charges.

Spellings

  • 荣誉勋章:联合袭击 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

220 People (195 developers, 25 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 90% (based on 45 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 141 ratings with 8 reviews)

Nicely Presented WW2 Run 'n Gun

The Good
I initially picked up this game based on my reaction to the famous "Nebelwerfers" demo. I'm not a fan of railroady cinematic games as a general rule, but the demo convinced me that there's merit in a well crafted experience. And make no mistake, Allied Assault, like its scion Call of Duty, is a cinematic run and gun with few pretensions to realism. Okay, it's not quite so silly as Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but it's still very much a game.

And quite a good one, too, if a bit short. Spanning six missions, each split into several "levels", the game will not occupy too much of your time. There are expansion packs, however, as well as the vaunted multiplayer, so if you want more after finishing the game, it's out there. Most missions are of the on-foot variety, but a tank level and a handful of undercover missions break up the gameplay pretty well.

The levels take place across various locales, from the now-famous Omaha Beach landing (Which is quite the spectacle) to snowbound forests, to bombed out towns, and of course, German bases. Most levels are quite well designed, if very linear. Still, while undoubtedly linear, the levels feel a tad more open than the ones in Call of Duty do, allowing you to make detours in a few places to take out snipers ahead of time, and suchlike. And then there are levels like the "frozen forest", which, thanks to good design, almost feel open. Gameplay is standard WW2 shooter fare, giving you both German and American weapons, cunningly rendered to look almost like the real thing. Sniper rifles, pistols, SMGs, grenades, all the expected period weapons. Nary a raygun or suchlike in sight, thank goodness. All weapons have their pros and cons, like recoil, reload time, accuracy, and seem to be quite well balanced. No uberweapons here.

Allied Assault is of course based on the Quake 3 engine, which looks good, but not great. There are benefits, though, like engine stability, solid multiplayer performance, and reasonable system requirements. It's been so long since I could run a game with everything turned up to max, plus 4X AA, and still get a smooth 60 FPS, that I'm probably just being biased.

Sounds and music are some of Allied Assaults' best points, the score by Michael Giacchino is fantastic. There are some pseudo big band tracks in the game that just shine, as you might expect from the guy that scored Pixar's "Ratatouille" and "The Incredibles". Yeah. That guy. Sound effects are equally superior, in fact they make certain levels of the game. German cries, realistic gunshots, snow crunching under your feet and dogs barking in the distance as you traverse a snow-blanketed forest at night... You get the picture.

The game's difficulty depends on what you're expecting, really. People whined incessantly about the "Sniper's Last Stand" mission, I didn't find it to be much harder than the rest of the game, heck, I even got the medal for that mission the first time through without even knowing it. So, overall, pretty easy. On the "Medium" difficulty level at least, which is the setting that I started and finished the game on. Maybe I'm spoiled by games like Operation Flashpoint and even the original DOOM, but compared to those, Allied Assault just isn't hard. Period.

Multiplayer is quite nice, including such favorites as team deathmatch and objective-based modes. Still can't compete with the king of WW2 multiplayer squad based combat, Day of Defeat, in my book though. Still, Allied Assault remains to this day one of the most populated online games, and there are plenty of servers. That should tell you something about the multiplayer.

The Bad
The game's major flaws are its previously noted linearity, and the lack of squad-based missions. Only a handful of levels provide you with a team, the rest of the time it's the classic "one-man army" approach, as you wipe out whole bases full of Nazis with your Thompson and your Honorable American Manliness. Then there are the missions where you run through German bases, which almost play out like old-timey corridor crawlers. Like I said, realism is not a strong point here. The loner missions are still quite fun, though, and stand up very well against mechanically similar shooters. More squad based action and non-linearity would have approached perfection, but would also have made this a completely different kind of game. There are better choices out there if you're looking for that kind of game.

The Bottom Line
Not perfect, but if you like WW2 shooters, love great atmosphere, don't mind more traditional types of gameplay, and need some solid multiplayer fun, certainly give this game a spin. The demos are still readily available, and will give you a good idea of what to expect. Even better, the game and all it's expansion packs can be had for peanuts nowadays.

Windows · by phanboy_iv (84) · 2009

Disastrous adventures of Lt. Mike Powell

The Good
MoH is making its beginning on PSX and it's the first FPS involving WWII to have a such impact on the community. So, EA wanted to expand it to computers. After all, it's THE platform for FPS... at this time (and being a non-console player, I still find that the computer is very well adapted for FPS).

MoH: Allied Assault takes you in WWII in the shoes of Lieutenant Mike Powell, from the US Army, belonging to the OSS office. His first mission sees him in North Africa, trying to save his squad (saving a member nearing death is rewarded by a medal - and it's the only one I couldn't have) and freeing a secret agent from the Nazis' hands. After destroying tanks and cannons, Mike is firing at planes on the airfield, in a jeep, similar to the ride with Moody in Call of Duty: United Offensive.

His second mission is to sabotage a U-Boat in Norway and is your first contact to the disguising gameplay. Find an enemy's uniform, his papers and if you keep your weapon in the holster, you will be not bothered by Germans, only at checkpoints. Eventually, you will have to kill officers if you need papers. But remember to do it quickly or the alert will be given. If you can steal the U-Boat manifest, you'll be rewarded by a Norvegian medal. I was very happy to find it in my medal case.

After that, our dear Powell is sent to France... during Overlord. So, you will have to find a way on the beach to your unit. I assure you that your life will be soon near zero. And if it wasn't sufficient, you'll also be trying to find lost units in villages, calling artillery, etc..

Then, you're still in France, in a special mission, for freeing a secret agent (or a pilot) and leading him in the French resistance, where you'll meet a young woman, reminding me the heroine of MoH: Underground/Resistance on PSX - well, this is really her. Anyway, you'll be in a stealth mission: if you're spotted, kill the enemy before he can give the alert. You can cut it by pressing the action key.

Then, you're sent to Brest in order to find a tank crew and lead them to a enemy tank. Before you can find them, you'll be in a village in ruins, with snipers at every corner. It's a frustrating passage because you can't spot them very well. It's in this mission that the tank ride, as raging as in CoD later, happens.

Finally, you're sent somewhere in a SS "fortress", near the Siegfried line. The village part is the most pleasurable part with the Norwegian and French resistance missions. As in this last one, you have to be careful with the alerts. Anyway, it's the last part that is really frustrating. Well, gaining the medal by limiting the casualties to four isn't easy as many snipers are arriving but I did it. It's after that. Going deeper in the bunker, freeing prisoners and then planting explosives... You don't know it, but you won't have time for breathing because you have to escape the fortress in fire and with Nazis trying to stop you and the fact that you don't recognize your path can make you nervous. And then, it's a pain in a ass to exit the building with SS firing at you when you have a few HP.

As you can see, the gameplay is varied. If the core is to shoot to every enemy you can meet, except when disguised, you will have to plant explosives, steal documents, free prisoners, ride a tank and even disguise yourself as an officer. You can be cured by a medic on the field (very useful during Overlord). Yep, you have objectives you can control by pressing TAB but if you're successful in secret ones, not mentioned in the game, you'll be rewarded by a medal in your medal case in the menu. Save lives, steal documents, lead a a full tank crew alive to their destination, finish the Overlord part (this one isn't even so difficult to find), destroy tanks, try to limit casualties to four and do the sixth mission in the three difficulty modes for having a full medal case.

Usually, you will find a passage about graphics here. Well, for once, it's in the bad part.

Soundtrack is better than graphics. The music is nice and well adapted to the situations, the voice acting is good even if I would have preferred subtitles like in CoD (not only when Germans are speaking) and the sounds are convincing.

About lifetime or/and replay value, there is a multiplayer mode and I suppose that MoH is doing better in it than in the single player campaign. With the three difficulty mode, if you want to go back to Hell, you can. Me, I'll stay at Easy, thank you.

The Bad
Flaws? Yes, this acclaimed game has a lot of flaws.

About difficulty, I only played the game in Easy Mode. You're sure that was the easiest level? No way. The enemy make damage. A lot of it. Medikits are sometime hard to find. Nazis spot you before you can do the same. And even with the indication of the origin of the fire, often, you can't see where is the enemy. The accuracy of your weaponry is disappointing, even with the crosshair well placed, you can miss your shot. You're always wondering if you're gonna live or not with a low HP. I DO not want to imagine what the game is in the hardest mode.

The missions aren't so enjoyable. I mean, only some parts of them were really interesting like the disguising for example. I also loved the second part of Overlord. But you are always wondering what you had to do. Then, you don't know if this silenced weapon will be used or not. Well, you have to be careful but everytime, you're spotted. And adios discretion!

Now, it's time for my famous complaint about the tank ride. I know now where the team behind Call of Duty found their ideas for it. A good part of it were behind MoHAA. If your turret isn't in the same direction as the front of the tank, you'll be trying to position you in the right one, losing seconds and being at the enemy's mercy. Even the jeep ride was easier. Well you weren't driving and it was somewhere very slow but you didn't have to worry about the destination, you had just to concentrate on the Nazis. Well, thanks god, they did the chaingun automatic in CoD.

Graphics are... ugly. It's very rare that I say that about a 2002 game but having play with the same engine on others games, it's always angular, collision management is frequent and well, I can't say that it was beautiful. Half-Life, a 1998 game, is better in this domain. Even Tomb Raider in 1996 was more impressive that MoH in 2002. I can even say that BlueShift, the weakest link in the HL trilogy, is better than AA. Are you sure that the team had exploited the engine at its maximum? You're really sure that MoHAA is younger than Half-Life? Even Quake III Team Arena seemed more beautiful than MoH.

The Bottom Line
As much as I'm not really trying every existing FPS, I consider myself as a fan and a regular player. So, to the hardcore gamers, play CoD instead of it, if MoH is missing in your game collection, don't buy it. For occasional players, MoH can be a good experience of the WWII, even if CoD is better. If you're a MoH fan, if you don't have AA in your collection, you can try it.

I was disappointed by the game in a famous series. Perhaps that in 2002, it was a very good game but I'm not sure that now, it can bring pleasure. Yes, some parts can. But overall, the game hasn't very well aged. When I'll finish Breakthrough, MoH will be out of my hard drive memory, like CoD: United Offensive or Painkiller Overdose. CoD: UO? I wasn't in my shoes when playing it. Overdose? It was bugging, despite liking it, I couldn't afford to let the game eat my memory. MoH: AA? I didn't like it from A to Z with the exception of L... If you prefer, I didn't like the game except for some parts. But they can't save it from disappearing from my computer. Poor Mike Powell, I'm sure that he deserves a better destiny than this one.

Windows · by vicrabb (7272) · 2008

Warning: Contains one of the most cinematic combat experience ever.

The Good
Of course it's all about THAT level. The level that the developers' must have wanted to include since the first game but obviously didn't have have the power to do it justice. It's the selling point of the game and they had to build the player up to be ready for it.

As a result we start with a few levels in various parts of the occupied world as we get used to the controls. Again we take the role of a Special Forces trooper, this time with the upgraded Quake 3 engine, which means the addition of some friendly squad mates to 'help' you out. This is no squad shooter though as they're quickly taken down, leaving you in the classic one-man army situation. There are more tactics and other characters than in previous instalment though and you often have to team up with someone to complete a level.

Having fought through Northern Africa and behind the enemy lines in Norway you're finally treated to the game's golden moment; the D-Day landings. It seems a bit puzzling that as a top Special Forces trooper who's previously been sent on highly classified mission you're suddenly put in a landing craft alongside the normal G.I.'s, but then it's all about the experience.

What an experience it is, a true recreation of Saving Private Ryan. Standing in a landing craft, you're helpless as you enter the battle with explosions all around, it's terrifying. The door opens and suddenly you're off, running like mad for the sparse cover whilst the bullets tear apart those around you. Like the previous Medal of Honor games there's no blood which is just as well.

Surviving the landing the rest of the game follows the Allies march towards Germany in a series of mini-campaigns. Whilst it's all quite exciting nothing quite matches the landings, though another level plucked straight from Saving Private Ryan comes close. In it you have to pick your way through a ruined French town taking out snipers, followed by stopping a tank from a church bell tower.

Once again the developers' have a done a masterful job of creating excitement and an atmosphere, much as with the first game but on a bigger scale. The graphics look gorgeous in muted tones and the sounds are amazing. Events are scripted to keep you on your toes as you follow the clear and obvious path. Obviously there's not much story but then it's a war and you're a soldier and you don't question orders.

The Bad
The game is truly an experience; like I mentioned it requires no critical thought and can be a happy shooting gallery. Clearly designed for mass appeal you can't even kill your squad mates if you try, so no chance of accidental guilt.

I don't want to spoil the experience for first time players; suffice to say don't play it a second time as it will spoil that all important first impression.

Finally my last real gripe is the last level. It felt as if the developers decided to turn up the difficulty and punish the player for coming so far. Suddenly you have a timed sprint followed by an almost impossible cross-fire for no real realism or drama – a total let-down.

The Bottom Line
This is a great and hopefully terrifying taste of cinematic warfare. The series finally achieved it's goal of recreating sections of Saving Private Ryan and bringing them home.

Macintosh · by RussS (807) · 2011

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Medal of Honour: Allied Assault appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Film homage

The D-Day section, in which the player storms Omaha beach, is directly inspired by the opening scenes from the film "Saving Private Ryan". It's worth noticing that Steven Spielberg directed the film and was involved in the earlier Medal of Honor games through his production company DreamWorks Interactive.

Bans and censorship

  • There is no blood to be seen at all throughout the game. EA/2015 removed all blood so they could retain a Teen ESRB rating.
  • The US and EU versions are forbidden to be distributed in Germany because they contain symbols which are regarded as unconstitutional (e.g. swastika). For the German version the developers had to remove any appearances of swastikas. Most of them are replaced with an Iron Cross. Additionally in the level "Scuttling the U-529" all Hitler salutes were removed.

Critical reception

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was featured on the cover of the February 2002 issue of Computer Gaming World, where it was billed as the "most intense WWII game ever".

Dedication

The credits say: "This game is dedicated to all the men, women, and their families, that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. You will always be remembered."

Ending

The game has no proper ending: final mission, "The End", credits.

Enemy communication

The Wehrmacht soldiers speak flawless German. A player understanding the language, may occasionally have a slight advantage, as they can anticipate the enemies' actions: "Er ist im Luftschacht!" (He's in the air shaft!), "Mein Gewehr klemmt!" (My rifle's jammed!).

Online servers

The game's online servers (which were hosted on GameSpy) were scheduled to shut down on 30 June 2014, like for other Electronic Arts titles in the wake of GameSpy's total closure.

References

  • In the fourth mission the player is assigned to find an OSS agent named Manon. This woman has appeared in countless Medal of Honor games as a minor character, offering to meet up with the main character of the game to give information. She is also the main character in Medal of Honor: Underground.
  • During the credits, a 1940s-style song is played while pictures of WWII are displayed on screen. One of these is a picture of Mike Powell and what appears to be his regiment. In the picture the player can see Mike Powell and also James "Jimmy" Patterson, the main character from Medal of Honor: Frontline, which had not been released at the time of this game's debut.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • April 2003 (Issue #225) - Action Game of the Year
    • April 2003 (Issue #225) – Action Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • April 2003 (Issue #225) – Best Level of the Year (for Omaha Beach)
    • April 2003 (Issue #225) – Best Sound of the Year
  • GameSpy
    • 2002 – Best Sound of the Year (PC)
    • 2002 – Best Level of the Year (PC, for Ohama Beach)

Information also contributed by ApTyp, Entorphane, JPaterson, Matt Neuteboom, PCGamer77 and Zonker.

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Related Sites +

  • Official Website
    Official website, designed by Electronic Arts.
  • We Want YOU
    An Apple Games article about the Macintosh version of Allied Assault, with commentary being provided by Aspyr Media President Michael Rogers (June, 2002).

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  • MobyGames ID: 5616
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by phlux.

Macintosh added by Corn Popper.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, -Chris, Unicorn Lynx, JPaterson, Jeanne, tarmo888, Neville, Zeppin, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack, Kayburt.

Game added January 23, 2002. Last modified March 14, 2024.