Latest Game Reviews

MOH: Allied Assault - Breakthrough (Expansion Pack) Review - PC

16th October 2003 by
87%
How does one obtain a Medal of Honour? "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in action involving actual conflict with an opposing armed force." Breakthrough is very much like every other game in the Medal of Honour series. There really isn't that much new to it, except for the usual: locations, missions, weaponry & soldiers. We loved Allied Assault because of its Saving Private Ryan style missions, and now Breakthrough is giving us an even greater look into the events that occurred from February 1943 through to September 1944. Hold on to your helmets, because remember, "You are here to fight!" - General George S. Patton, March 24, 1944.

Gameplay

As Sergeant John Baker of the U.S. Army, it's up to you to stop the Axis of evil from defeating the U.S. army, and turning German into the next English. You'll face all new artillery, vehicles, and enemies, and if you do not conquer all corners of these environments, you will be defeated without question. Your battles in MOH: Breakthrough range across Italy and Tunisia, with 6 different key locations. Each battle has several missions involved, including rescuing hostages, planting explosives, rendezvousing with spies, and much more. A lot of the tasks that you're asked to do are very cleverly thought up, and the missions all run smoothly along with each other, making the storyline of each battle very easy to follow.

Breakthrough practically features something new for everything. There are new grenades, a new pistol, new rifles, new heavy weaponry, new artillery, and new vehicles. Of course they had to feature new units such as these, as the battles are at a different location to those we played in MOH: Allied Assault. Italian rifles may not be the best weapons to use if you're unfamiliar with them, so learn all you can about them before using them in the heat of battle!

In-game, MOH: Breakthrough is exactly like every other game in the series. The single player missions will keep you entertained for the better half of a week, and if you enjoy that, you'll be playing it online for quite a long time. In case you've never played a MOH game before, it's a first person shooter, and although sometimes you have a squad following you around, it's pretty much You VS The Axis. With that in mind, all soldiers have a good manoeuvrable body, where they can lean out behind walls, and crouch. Aiming to shoot isn't really a hard thing given you have a mouse, but if you're getting shot then it's pretty darn hard to hold your gun straight!

What I found most disappointing from Breakthrough, which is the same for all MOH games, is the lack of a realistic health system. You get shot about 30 times before you die, and you can find health everywhere. Sure, this is done in games quite a lot, but if EA wanted the realism, they would have less (continued next page)

next page »