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Medal of Honor: Airborne Review - Xbox 360

Introduction

You are Boyd Travers, Private First Class of the 'All American' 82nd Airborne Division – an airborne ranger or paratrooper, a new addition in World War II's bloody art of warfare. Dropped from an airplane into the heart of enemy territory as anti-aircraft, and anti-personnel shells explode around you, armed only with a couple of weapons, and a parachute with limited maneuverability. You have to hit your landing spot safely, start thinking fast, regroup, and try and accomplish your objective. Many never reached the ground alive.

For history fans, playing a paratrooper is yet another side of the war not really played out too much in either the Call of Duty or Medal of Honor franchises so far. The action starts off in Italy towards the end of the war, and then you move to France, and eventually the German heartland itself.

Gameplay

Medal of Honor: Airborne pretty much plays out like the previous games in the Medal of Honor series, as well as it's main protagonist – Activision's Call of Duty. The obvious point of difference is that for most of the levels, you end up parachuting into battle, utilising the controller to steer your player towards a safe (or unsafe!) landing spot. This is great fun, and shows another element of the war as you watch everything unfold below you. Things are a lot more open in this game, and you can pretty much land where you like in the battlefield, each offering unique positions and strategies.

Movement about the levels compared to others of the genre is improved, and the maps have many more 'levels' (as in different heights), and there is many places you can utilise in battle. There are plenty of opportunities to sneak onto a roof-top and rain bullets down from above, or seek out high or low vantage points. Walkways, parapets, towers, and other objects also provide possible areas to obtain the best position.

Most WWII shooters have you set in a pretty linear fashion. Sure they may allow you to move freely, however there are many areas off limits, and moving towards your objective generally has to take a fairly set path. Usually you move into an area, soldiers suddenly 'wake up' as you approach, you have to kill them, and then you can move into the next area – rince and repeat. Medal of Honor Airborne allows you to complete the number of different objectives in the level in whatever order you wish, an arrow on your compass directing you to the location. There is even the opportunity to land straight on top of your objective, pull off a rambo by killing all the soldiers and save the day almost instantly.

While one squad fights it out on one side, you may choose a sideways passage, which can be a great way to outflank your enemy, and shoot a bunch of them from behind. Or you (continued next page)