Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Breakthrough

aka: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Breakthrough: Second Edition - North Africa, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Reload 2nd, Medal of Honor: Débarquement Allié - L'Offensive
Moby ID: 10568

Windows version

The big breakthrough for you

The Good
The start of each mission throws you straight into battle, forget about stealth (although it's a nice break when you go undercover in one instance). This expansion retains the good mechanics from Spearhead, such as the melee attacks and the ability to lean to one side. In every mission you're always going to find a new mechanic, ranging from commandeering a tank to navigating in an overturned ship. And Michael Giacchino's reused tracks are well placed and fit the mood of each part of the levels.

The arsenal is even bigger and better than before, with the new Italian and British weapons as well as the artillery you can mount and the vehicles that punch through enemy lines. And speaking of weapons, your fellow NPCs in this game are a lot more helpful and competent than any I've ever seen in action in the other Medal of Honor games, which softens enemy encounters somewhat.

The Bad
The speeches that you hear in each of the cinematic cutscenes are not very clear, so it could have used subtitles, and it lacks the charm that Jack Barnes' poetry had, but it's still authentic. And we're still missing some extras and behind-the-scenes content that all Medal of Honors ought to have. I'd nitpick about the historical inaccuracies, but so much effort is present that one has to let it slide and focus on the action.

Some of the levels are harder than they need to be, particularly the ones in the second and third missions, but if you utilise your weaponry and medikits well, you'll get through them. The rail shooting segments on a jeep with a 30 cal are restricting and leave you exposed to enemy fire, meaning you'll stand a better chance if you fire non-stop.

The Bottom Line
This expansion is just as astounding as Spearhead is to this day, though I recommend getting practice on its predecessors due to the ramped up difficulty. Sadly this is the last expansion derived from Allied Assault and it would have been great see additional expansions covering lesser known conflicts. Get a thrill from getting and playing this title or for the better experience collect the "Medal of Honor: 10th Anniversary Bundle".

by Kayburt (30396) on March 4, 2021

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