Medal of Honor: European Assault [PS2]

You know the drill, soldier: it's another World War II shooter. Thankfully, European Assault adds a couple of new features, namely a small squad of soldiers for you to command that aren't completely brain-dead, and a new, more open-ended level structure. It's short on surprises, but long on solid, enjoyable, and action-packed gameplay.

European Assault's levels take place in Second World War France, North Africa, Russia, and Belgium. Lt. William Holt, the game's star, is an elite US agent. At the start of each level, the plot is related through grainy, period newsreel footage, read by the sandpapery tones of screenwriter John Milius. It follows the exploits of one Lt. William Holt, an elite commando and intelligence officer, as he assaults German bases around Europe.

For once, European Assault's levels don't just involve racing through a linear series of objectives, shooting everyone who gets in your way. Instead, they offer scope for exploration, and not everything about them is necessarily made clear from the beginning.

Each one generally contains about eight objectives, but you won't get told about most of them until you reach a preset point on the map. For example, you might take a side route and spot a radar dish, and then be informed one of your objectives is to take it out, Or you could hear the cries of an imprisoned SAS officer, and be ordered to rescue him and his compatriots.

Lurking somewhere around the corridors of the levels are high-ranking German officers, who can soak up a good deal more fire than the standard grunts. Your additional objectives usually involve investigating just how many bullets it takes to lay him out -- it's a lot, and he'll fight back with significantly more gusto. These extra objectives are optional, but usually lead to more power-ups and better rewards. Not to mention, they're rather fun.

Opening up the levels for exploration like this takes European Assault some distance away from your typically linear WWII shooter. Rather than just running from point to point, there's some purpose to poking around the level, and plenty of incentive to go back and clean up any objectives you missed. It's a well-implemented system.

Often, you're pursued (or "supported," we suppose) by a squad of three fellow soldiers. You can order them about, in a limited kind of way, but we found the most effective approach was just to let them get on with it. They prove surprisingly competent at navigating the sometimes complex level layouts, they use cover sensibly, and they're not bad shots, either.

One design decision is that squad mates have no collision detection - you can walk straight through them, and they through you. The plus side is they can't block corridors or interfere with your progress. But the downfall comes when they occupy the same physical space, often blocking your view and your shot at an enemy. Still, while not up to Brothers in Arms standards, they're a helpful addition.

Unlike some other "realistic" shooters, European Assault isn't afraid to favor accessibility over slavish adherence to historical accuracy. Pickups, like weapons, ammo, or health, are marked with a great big floating icon. Even on normal difficulty, you're given a generous supply of extra lives and medkits. More experienced players will want to reach for the higher levels for a little more challenge, although there are no restart points in the fairly lengthy levels.

On the other hand, the game is quick to punish Rambo-like aggressive play. You're much better off taking it easy, hanging out behind cover, and peeking around for sniper-style surgical kills. If you nail enough of them, you'll be rewarded with a few seconds of "Adrenaline" mode -- essentially, bullet time, invulnerability, and infinite ammo in one. But at that length, it's nowhere near as useful as it sounds.

European Assault's enemies aren't too bright. You'll often find yourself aiming at the spot where you know your enemy is about to appear, making it feel almost like a shooting gallery. At close range, they draw a bead on you faster than you can turn with a joypad, leaving you wishing you'd tackled them more carefully.

On the presentation side, the graphics aren't stunning on any platform. Functional is more the word -- the low-poly models don't particularly impress, and the texture-work, thanks to a dull brown and gray palette, is patchy. Sound is as outstanding as we've come to expect from a Medal of Honor title, with music, sound effects, and voice-overs all making valuable contributions to the game's atmosphere.

Four player split-screen is available with appropriate hardware, across a good number of team-based and free-for-all modes. But playing on a quarter of the screen isn't exactly a 2005-quality experience, is it? Many of the multiplayer modes would have been perfect for online play, and it's a real shame that most players, lacking a room full of draftees and a box full of controllers, won't investigate them too far. European Assault positively begs for online multiplayer, and it's conspicuously absent.

So what's the verdict? No prizes for originality, but if you're looking for a novel experience, you already know better than to try WWII shooters. Given that, European Assault is both atmospheric and exciting, and there isn't much higher praise for a historical first-person shooter than that. The extra freedom provided by the open-structured missions is very welcome, and although the graphics aren't the best, the general standard of presentation is very high. European Assault will not disappoint.