A Realistic War Experience
There's a certain safe zone that military shooters like to put us in. As Americans, we enjoy the thrill of battle and the rush of adrenaline that realistic warfare gives us, but if the subject matter of a shooter gets too close to home we start to feel uncomfortable, as the bullets and corpses we see on the screen stop being simple digital opponents and start being symbolic of real-life conflict. We saw this in 2010 with the release of Medal of Honor. EA had to change the name of the Taliban to the "Opposing Force" in multiplayer, due to a public outcry that said it was wrong to portray Taliban members killing American soldiers in a video game. At the same time, many people defended EA's decision to take us out of our comfort zone and put is in a situation that more closely mirrors real life conflict as a way to "look at ourselves in the mirror," so to speak.
Now, EA is developing a new Medal of Honor, entitled Medal of Honor Warfighter, and they have chosen once again to model the game after real-world events. In fact, Warfighter is going to be far more realistic than even the 2010 MoH release, because this game was written by actual active U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas. EA called the game "an up close and personal look at today's battlefield and the fight against the ongoing global terror threat." They are purposefully trying to make the game mirror reality as close as possible, It's a risk, considering what happened with the previous Medal of Honor release, but it's a commendable artistic effort nonetheless.
Medal of Honor Warfighter tells the story of a U.S. Tier 1 Operator codenamed "Preacher." When a deadly explosive device, codenamed PETN, manages to penetrate civilian borders, Preacher and his fellow teammates are sent in to resolve the problem. What sets the story of this game apart from other military shooters is that it will take a look at the personal life of a Tier 1 Operative. According to the announcement press release, Preacher's family has started to fall apart due to his years of deployment. The game will not only focus on his attempts to protect them from the new enemy threat that has brought the war to his front door, but also on the process of picking up the pieces of his former life and salvaging what remains of his now broken marriage.
The game will take gamers to many real-life locations. According to the press release, "From rescuing hostages in Abu Sayyaf's Basilan, Philippines stronghold to assaulting Al-Shabaab's 'Pirate Town' on the Somali Coast, gamers step into the boots of Tier 1 Operatives as they hunt down the global threat of PETN."
Gamers will take control of Tier 1 operatives form several countries other than the U.S. as well. Noted operatives include the British SAS, Australian SASR, German KSK, and Polish GROM. The game's multiplayer mode will actually feature these many different Tier 1 Operatives fighting against each other in many different war games. The press release calls it "multi-national Tier 1 blue vs. blue team play." This skillfully avoids any issues people might have with playing the "bad guys" in multiplayer mode.
Details on the gameplay system of Warfighter have been kept under wraps. However, pre-order bonuses have already been announced. Users who pre-order the Limited Edition of the game will unlock the U.S. Navy SEAL Tier 1 Sniper on day one. Supposedly, this will save players over forty hours of game time, though this is just an estimate as the game is not yet complete.There aren't many other details to talk about at this point. We know that the game will be running on the Frostbite 2 engine, which is sure to vastly increase the video and audio quality, but other than that, we are mostly in the dark. EA hasn't released a true gameplay video, or even an explanation on how the multiplayer actually works. What they have told us, though, is that the developer,
"The core team is bolstered by industry veterans who hail from DICE, Treyarch, and more," says the press release. "Together, this team is united behind a single vision for the game—authenticity, respect, and honor for today's warfighters, with real emotion, real threats, and a game designed to highlight the extraordinary nature of the material."
Regardless of the gameplay, it's nice to hear that EA is committed to continuing their attempts to create realistic war simulations in the Medal of Honor series. Considering this game is written by real soldiers about what war is like, it's a big step forward for military shooters, and for the games-as-art movement. We will bring you more details about Medal of Honor Warfighter as they become available.
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