Medal of Honor: Airborne

Worth Playing (8.5 out of 10)

Medal of Honor: Airborne is what one would expect of a cutting-edge World War II shooter. The title has great gameplay and presentation, but the issues that plague it — the sudden inclusion of out-of-place enemies and the woefully unbalanced multiplayer portion —tend to drag down the overall enjoyment level of an otherwise spectacular game. The enjoyable parts of the title ultimately do outweigh the questionable ones, and in spite of its flaws, Medal of Honor: Airborne is one of the more compelling shooters released in recent memory.

Xboxdynasty (XD) (8.4 out of 10)

Nach den letzten, enttäuschenden Teilen der sonst recht guten Medal of Honor-Reihe steht euch mit Airborne endlich wieder ein technisch wie spielerisch würdiger Vertreter der Serie ins Haus. Enttäuschend ist jedoch die extrem kurze Spielzeit von rund fünf bis acht Stunden. Man ist noch gar nicht aus dem Staunen ob der spektakulären Absprünge heraus gekommen, da ist es auch schon wieder (nach einem sehr fulminanten Showdown) zu Ende. Danach erwartet euch nur noch der solide, aber nicht sonderlich herausragende Mehrspielermodus.

V2.fi (84 out of 100)

Jos ei moninpeli tuo genreen juurikaan uutta, yllättää yksinpeli tuttuun kaavaan tottuneita ainakin vähän. Kesken rattoisan sotimisen peliin ilmestyy mukaan supernatseja mustissa kaasunaamareissaan. Mitään kuun takaa tulleita tappajia eivät nämäkään germaanit edusta, ovatpahan vain julmetun kestäviä ja tuhovoimaisia kiusoja pelaajan reitillä. Vaikka pelaajahahmo ei kehitykään pelin edetessä, saa eri aseiden käytöstä kokemuspisteistä. Yhden tuliluikun kokemuspisteiden kerryttyä tarpeeksi palkitaan pelaaja esimerkiksi kiikaritähtäimellä, isommalla lippaalla tai vähemmän potkivalla rekyylillä. Loppupuolen vihollisiin saa kuitenkin päivitetyilläkin aseilla upottaa lippaallisen luoteja ennen kuolinkarjaisuja, mikä syö hieman parannusten tuomaa hyötyä.

Game Freaks 365 (8.3 out of 10)

So is Medal of Honor: Airborne worth the $60 investment? Depends. If you are a fan of the series, World War II shooters in general and/or more open gameplay, this is the best Medal of Honor since the PlayStation. Having to compete with shooters like BioShock, Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 makes it a tough call. I would say that the relatively short campaign and fun, but not flawless multi-player make this a great candidate for weekend rental. If you can fit another shooter in between Halo 3 and BioShock, you may also want to consider a purchase.

GamingHeaven / DriverHeaven (82 out of 100)

It's like this instalment of the franchise was designed by a focus group. Somewhere, a man in a suit flipped a wall-chart and said “OK, what do we want in a WWII game?” and other people in the meeting reeled off everything they like about games that had gone before. They came up with a mixed bag of RPG elements, free-roaming gameplay, balls-to-the-wall battles and objective-based MP modes. Somewhere else, people in t-shirts turned that list into a game, but ran out of time. Next time, give us the same polish, but a whole lot more game please!

GameZone (8.2 out of 10)

Excitement. Pure excitement. The Medal of Honor series would be nothing without it. That has never been truer than with Airborne, a game that revels in action to entrap its audience – thrill-craving gamers that want to blow stuff up and feel like they accomplished something when they do it.

Eurogamer.net (UK) (8 out of 10)

What's important, though, is to not get bogged down in the detail too much. It's a game that, when played under pressure, can be a real pain, but taken at your leisure is one to savour. With an excellent mission-rating system in place, it's also one of the few games that gives you an incentive to go back and do better. If only more shooters had such in-built replayability. With 12-player online team deathmatch and capture the flag thrown in there for good measure (that we couldn't test because, well, no-one was online yet!) across all six maps, there's even more reason to cast off your Medal of Honor prejudice and enjoy the best World War II game to date.

Armchair Empire, The (8 out of 10)

One final deployment of another World War II shooter utilizing a military branch not yet fully examined in game form to this degree isn’t completely unwelcome. Very engaging missions with excellent use of the environment in strategizing the method of securing victory combine with strong online gameplay for a WWII shooter worthy of the honorable mettle of the 82nd Airborne.

Game Positive (8 out of 10)

Aside from a couple of minor AI glitches and lack of vehicle use, this is one of the best historical titles on 360, and generally one of the better shooters out there. Despite some minor oversights, EA have brought the franchise back in a spectacular fashion. With gorgeous visuals throughout, and sound that add to the gritty atmosphere of the game, this original take on a tried and tested recipe will keep you coming back. Whether you're a fan of WWII shooters or not, an original approach and some interesting features make Airborne a worthwhile purchase. Without doubt, this is the best Medal of Honor game yet.

PlayDevil ( )

"Medal of Honor: Airborne" from publisher EA is back with full strenght. For the first time on the next-gen (or current gen if you like) consoles, this WWII shooter can be easily compared against other great WWII games such as COD3. Jumping out of a plane is a refreshing addition, in both single and multiplayer and it does add a new dimension to the genre. While the game is a bit short we do hope that the developer will publish additional MP maps to offer a better replay value. If you are looking for a decent, refreshing WWII shooter, "Medal of Honor: Airborne" is an excellent choice !

Eurogamer.fr (8 out of 10)

C’est un jeu qui peut être vraiment irritant quand on le joue sous pression, mais très plaisant quand on le parcoure à son propre rythme. Grâce à son excellent système d’évaluation des missions, c’est aussi un des rares jeux à inciter à revenir en arrière et à faire mieux. Si seulement il y avait plus de shooters où l’on peut rejouer de la sorte aussi facilement. Ajoutez pour faire bonne mesure les modes en ligne « Match à mort » et « Capture du drapeau » par équipes de 12 sur six cartes (nous n’avons pas pu les tester, car personne n’était encore en ligne !) et cela fait encore une raison de plus de jeter aux orties votre défiance envers Medal of Honor et de prendre plaisir à jouer au meilleur jeu sur la seconde guerre mondiale qui ait jamais vu le jour.

Games TM (8 out of 10)

Perversely, D-Day and Market Garden are the game's obvious highlights. Their outcome are so important, their iconography so resonant that they carry an immediate level of expectation that the other, more obscure missions never quite conjure. Airborne is never less than engaging and very often thrilling, but taking the bridge at Nijmegen gives you a sense of history that bowing up tanks in a non-descript train yard simply can't. Why else would we play World War II games? It may be time for the franchise to move on, but we sincerely hope that Medal Of Honor doesn't stray too far from reality. We'd like to suggest World War I: tragedy, epic battles, wasted youth, and virtually no chance of a happy ending. Even Spielberg didn't have the guts for that.

360 LIVE (7.9 out of 10)

Wer sich also nach frischer Weltkriegs-Action verzehrt, wird »Airborne« insgesamt reizvoll finden. Die Fallschirmsprung-Idee trägt sich zwar im Lauf der Zeit ab, aber sie bringt viel Bewegungsfreiheit mit sich und motiviert zum wiederholten Durchspielen der Kampagne. Insgesamt kein mitreißendes, aber ein unterhaltsames Action-Vergnügen.

games xtreme (7.9 out of 10)

All in all, MoH: A for all its faults is a good title that gives us a fresh new look at WWII. No co-op play is supported and that's something that could have really been a breath of fresh air for this game.

Gamesmania.de (79 out of 100)

Mögen die Weltkriegsshooter wie Call of Duty 3 auch noch so klasse sein, das WKII-Setting mag ich inzwischen einfach nicht mehr sehen. Besonders dann nicht, wenn die Entwickler nicht mal ansatzweise versuchen, sich eine spannende Story rund um die Schlachten auszudenken. So bleibt auch Medal of Honor: Airborne ein spielerisch sehr ordentlicher Shooter, der Genrefans gefallen wird, aber letztlich nichts großartig anders macht als die Vorgänger. Die Fallschirmsprünge sind zwar eine nette Idee, wirken aber zusammen mit dem Speichersystem (neuer Absprung nach dem Ableben des Helden, erreichte Ziele bleiben aber erhalten) noch etwas unausgegoren. In den Bereichen Präsentation und Spannung reicht Airborne jedenfalls nicht an Call of Duty 3 heran. Die ultrakurze Spielzeit dürfte außerdem viele interessierte Zocker, die des Settings noch nicht überdrüssig sind, zu Recht abschrecken.

Deaf Gamers (7.9 out of 10)

The wait for a 'next-generation' Medal of Honor game has been quite a long one and in the mean time we've had two Call of Duty titles, both of which were great, so it's natural that big things were expected of Medal of Honor: Airborne. The game does offers some important differences from previous Medal of Honor games but there is also a strong sense of familiarity here too. World War II FPS games are ten a penny these days and any World War II FPS needs to offer something different to stand out. Medal of Honor: Airborne just about does this but I daresay that for some it sticks a little too close to the series’ previous conventions. That said, if you're a fan of the series then what's on offer in Medal of Honor: Airborne will satisfy.

XBox Front (78 out of 100)

Medal of Honor Airborne ist ein gutes Spiel mit wenigen Schwächen. ABER: Man wird das Gefühl nicht los, dass man dieses Spiel schon einmal gespielt hat und das ist die größte Schwäche von MOHAIR. Es bietet Kennern von Weltkriegs-Shootern absolut nichts Neues. Da mag die Idee mit der freien Missionswahl und den aufrüstbaren Waffen noch so gut gemeint sein, das tröstet leider nicht über das schon oft verwendete Missionsdesign hinweg. Einzig Weltkriegs-Neulinge dürfen einen Blick riskieren. Alle Anderen können auf MOHAIR getrost verzichten. Unschlüssigen wird die Demo auf Xbox Live empfohlen.

Fragland.net (77.5 out of 100)

Medal of Honor: Airborne won't make FPS-haters turn sides, but the more hardened shooter fans will be occupied with it for a couple of hours. Too bad about the problems with the hit detection, the animations and the in the end déjà-vu objectives, as we did have some fun thanks to the refreshing feel of the weapons, the parachute jumps and the in the end satisfying final missions

Power Unlimited (76 out of 100)

Medal of Honor Airborne is de beste MoH sinds tijden. Misschien wel de beste WOII shooter van het jaar, maar dat kunnen we pas zeggen als we Ubisoft’s Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway gespeeld hebben.

Atomic Gamer (76 out of 100)

Combine fictional missions with an unrealized paratrooper advantage, and Medal of Honor: Airborne simply doesn't deliver. With six missions that take about 60 to 90 minutes each to complete and a decent, if somewhat by-the-books multiplayer mode, and there's just not enough here to really compete for your gaming dollar. Unless you're one of the dwindling few that just can't get enough of the World War II shooter genre, you can most definitely do better this holiday gaming season than buy Airborne.

4Players.de (73 out of 100)

Die Sprungidee ist frisch und toll, aber der Rest folgt dem Handbuch für WW2-Shooter wortgenau. Das ist natürlich per se nicht schlecht, aber: Schon wieder die Thompson, die genau so rattert wie in den letzten 20 Spielen. Schon wieder eine Farbpalette, die sich hauptsächlich auf Grau und Braun beschränkt. Schon wieder die hohlen Gegner, die hauptsächlich in der Masse gefährlich werden. Schon wieder die teils wundervoll gestalteten Levels, in denen ich nicht mal einen Backstein bewegen kann. Schon wieder die kurze Spielzeit, die mir zwischen Startbildschirm und Abspann gerade Mal Zeit für eine krosse Pizza lässt. Okay, die zweite Spielhälfte zieht in Sachen Inszenierung und Dramatik erheblich an - das Problem ist nur, dass davor die reichlich durchschnittliche erste Hälfte liegt. Airborne macht grundsätzlich nichts falsch, es liefert solide Shooter-Unterhaltung, die gerade im Vergleich zu Ausschuss wie Hour of Victory zeigt, wie viel Spaß das Genre immer noch liefern kann.

Game Informer Magazine (7.25 out of 10)

It has been three long years since World War II fanatics have had a Medal of Honor game worthy of its namesake. In the midst of its repeated failed campaigns, Call of Duty arrived with a brilliant strategy to take over the war. EA is now parachuting in reinforcements to even the score, but can this airborne unit turn the tide? Let’s just say Eisenhower would have more faith in the real 82nd.

Play.tm (71 out of 100)

Sadly, Infinity Ward and Call of Duty have moved on, leaving Medal of Honor: Airborne as the World War II FPS leader, whether we like it or not - though it is at least more worthy than Midway's diabolical Hour of Victory. But, then again, on the plus side, Infinity Ward and Call of Duty have moved on, leaving Medal of Honor as the World War II FPS leader, in a genre we're all just a little bit sick of trawling through every year. EA, if you're listening, it's a dead horse... please stop flogging it.

Gamer 2.0 (7.1 out of 10)

So although it may not be worth a purchase, it’s worth playing around with, if only for a while. The campaign won’t last you too long, and online play gives it no staying power. Airborne isn’t bad to the point where EA just needs to give up on the series, but something needs to be done. Maybe a leap to modern days may serve the series well, or it could blow up in its face as it tries to emulate Call of Duty 4. Either way, check it out if you have the time, but don’t expect too much from Medal of Honor: Airborne.

HonestGamers (Staff reviews only) (7 out of 10)

Despite the unquestionable fact that Airborne has been surpassed by today’s standards, I’m not going to write it off for that. In its efforts to try and advance the struggling foundations it inherited, it employed not only new ideas, but turned back the clock and reinvented old ones until they worked. The life bar, long since abandoned, gives much more gravity to any standing fire fight when you know each gaping bullet hole in your sternum means something more than cowering in a corner for a few seconds until you’re good to go again. The weapon learning arc means you will try out new firearms rather than stick to the same few like, and come on, admit it, you do with every other FPS out there. There’s plenty to complain about with Medal of Honor: Airborne. There’s simply even more still to appreciate.

GameSpy ( )

Though MoH: Airborne is a competent game, it's still essentially more of the same. World War II is a great source for stories to tell and action to recreate, but since this genre has many other titles to choose from, it seems a bit too late to be bringing another addition to the fray unless there's something truly innovative to justify it. Airborne has a few tricks up its sleeve, but that doesn't necessarily take it to the next level. It seems more of a rental than anything else, but if you're a die hard fan of World War II shooters and, more importantly, a fan of the legendary airborne, you're in for a good experience while it lasts.

UOL Jogos ( )

"Medal of Honor: Airborne" adiciona algumas novidades à série, como os saltos livres de pára-quedas e armas aperfeiçoáveis. Contudo, não representa uma grande evolução pois a ação continua essencialmente a mesma. O modo multiplayer, que prometia ser um dos grandes atrativos, é um tanto ralo. O capricho no visual, mecânica e som, no entanto, é o que faz de "Airborne" um dos mais prazerosos e divertidos jogos do momento.

Gamer.nl (7 out of 10)

Medal of Honor: Airborne is op zich een prima game. Helaas brengt de parachutesprong echter niet de vernieuwing waar vooraf op ingezet is. Ook andere minpunten, zoals de niet te verwoesten wereld, de toch nog lineaire gameplay en het feit dat jij altijd het middelpunt van een aanval bent, zitten de game teveel in de weg om tot grote hoogtes te komen. De aanvallend ingestelde vijanden, mooie locaties en dat typische Medal of Honor-gevoel geven de game nog wel wat elan. Ditmaal absoluut geen slechte Medal of Honor-game dus, maar een hele goede, nee ook dat niet.

GameSpot (7 out of 10)

Medal of Honor: Airborne is a game that rewards those who are patient enough to stick with it. The first half of the game is dull and just rehashes the same sort of gameplay you've seen countless times before. But about halfway through, things pick up and gradually get better and better until the last two levels, which are quite intense and a lot of fun to play. The multiplayer isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's quite good and adds some value to an otherwise short game. If you're tired of the genre, Airborne won't do anything to change your mind, but if you're looking to fight for the Allied cause yet again, it's a worthy tour of duty.

TechnologyTell (7 out of 10)

When everything is all said and done, Airborne is not the saving title for the Medal of Honor series. It can’t even be counted as one of the best. I would say at this point, as EA seemly can do little more then copy what Activision’s Call of Duty series has already done, they should just put the nail in the coffin and end this series once and for all.

Xbox World Australia (XWA) (70 out of 100)

At the end of the day, Airborne is a competent addition to the series. If you're a fan of these games then most of our complaints will be nothing new to you, and you'll probably approach the new jump mechanic and ostensibly open levels with gusto. Personally, I think that the game's graphical engine is being pushed ahead of original level design and AI programming, but this is something we're seeing in many "next-gen” titles, not just this one. If you leave your expectations at the door you should have a blast with Medal of Honor: Airborne... it just won't last very long.

Games TM (7 out of 10)

[Online review] Still, this is another high-quality product from EA, both online and off. The company has made a u-turn this year. Once synonymous with greed, now almost exclusively associated with quality. Has there ever been a winter when one publisher showed such incredible consistency and commitment to high-grade software? Surely not. Congratulations, soldiers. Keep up the good work.

Jeuxvideo.com (13 out of 20)

Par certains aspects classiques de sa mise en scène, Airborne séduira les gros mordus de la série, mais même eux devront constater ces failles qui s'articulent autour de mécaniques de jeu vieillissantes, d'une I.A. résolument accablante et d'un moteur 3D correct mais qui ne daigne même pas être secondé par un poil de physique. Et on ne reviendra pas sur sa durée de vie rikiki. Distrayant, mais d'un autre âge, Medal Of Honor a du mal à justifier son prix.

Extreme Gamer (6.5 out of 10)

Medal of Honor: Airborne jumps from it's Xbox 360 rendered C-47 airplane to land in mine field of gameplay issues, mediocre graphics and overused mission objectives. In this tired genre, the concept behind Airborne is its greatest accomplishment; however the overall execution doesn’t live up to its potential. Medal of Honor: Airborne has its problems, but the game isn’t a total bust. There is enough fast paced Nazi killing action to satisfy your warmongering heart for a few solid hours, as long as you didn’t by into the revolution EA was boasting. I enjoyed Medal of Honor: Airborne enough that it felt like a guilty pleasure. If you enjoy the WWII shooter genre then I would take a look at Medal of Honor: Airborne, but I’d have reserves about plummeting out those doors for a straight ahead purchase.

JustPressPlay (6.5 out of 10)

I highly enjoy a good FPS and I\'ve always been fond of a good WWII FPS. Medal of Honor: Airborne is a mediocre to good title. The new in game features don\'t compensate for the glaring other issues in my opinion. In closing, I would recommend this as a rental first before considering a purchase.

Gamekult (6 out of 10)

Précurseur du genre à sa sortie en 1999, Medal of Honor a depuis bien tiré sur la corde en enchaînant les suites sans trop d'efforts, alors même que la concurrence ne cessait de se montrer plus offensive et performante. A l'heure de la "Next Gen", la sortie d'un nouvel épisode, placé sous le signe de l'innovation et du changement, nous a laissé espérer un retour en force de la série. Mais l'atterrissage est un peu plus difficile que prévu.

Game Revolution (D+)

Airborne exemplifies how WWII games are stuck between wanting to be the History Channel (“these were real battles!” “the guns are supposed to suck!”) and a comic-book adventure (“bullets barely hurt you!” “everyone loves war!”). Dropping through the air was supposed to change the formula, but the formula was never about where you start and where you go, but in how you do it.