Men Of Valor
Medal of Honor: Vietnam Conflict
Tags: Men Of Valor Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Nov 17th, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men Of Valor (title page) | 1+ | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| First Person Shooter | Yes | ||
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For years, the most popular first-person shooters were based around World War II. It’s understandable, as it is pretty much the single most remembered conflict in the last hundred years, where atrocities unspeakable took place. Winning the war pretty much defined a generation of Americans as ready to fight for the ideals of Democracy and lay their lives on the line for all the things we hold dear in this country. As noble a cause as that was, the same can’t be said for our next major conflict: the Vietnam war.
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In the times of the free-thinking, experimental 60’s, we declared war on the communist Northern Vietnam. While the initial jump to war seemed like another victory for Democracy that would be swift and clean, we quickly learned that the enemy was more cunning and prepared. Gone were the days of trench warfare in WWI and the tight-quarters combat in bombarded structures of WWII. The Vietnam war was fought more along the lines of our Revolutionary war, Guerilla tactics with an emphasis on quick strikes. Well, out of the recent offering of Vietnam War-era titles, Men of Valor offers the best experience.
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Developed by team 2015, who have worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Men of Valor does as good a job on scripted events and atmosphere. As one would expect from a developer of the popular EA franchise, the tension and comradery of the Vietnam war is accurately portraited. Starting in Da Nang, Vietnam, you’ll control Dean Shepard, an African-American soldier just trying to make his way home. Somewhat awkwardly apathetic at times, you’ll get to know him through the various letters he writes (and reads aloud) to his family members back in the states. There isn’t a whole lot of character development in Dean, but for the most part he is what you’d expect an average soldier of the era to be. Aside from Dean, the various soldiers he fights along are vibrant characters, with some of the most interesting (and highly racist and foul) dialogue I’ve seen in a bit. Once it gets down to the fighting though, they can be some of the most idiotic NPCs ever.
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Maybe idiotic isn’t even a strong enough word, as some of the things these guys pull off (ally and enemy alike) is almost unbelievable. For example, you’ll be in the thick of it in dense foliage and have an ally on your right side. Both looking for any VCs ahead, your buddy will fail to acknowledge the enemy soldier crouching directly next to him, firing on all of the American troops behind. Aside from that, a lot of times you’ll notice the NPCs get stuck on things alot, causing them to almost spastically move in some sort of lost tribal dance, envoking some God to (I can only hope) strike them down and end their pain. Sadly that doesn’t happen, as it turns out it’s the ‘Eternal Seizure While Being Stuck on a Small Tree with Guns Firing all Around’ dance.
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Even with the various soldiers of the era being somewhat lobotomized, the atmosphere they inhabit is wonderfully done. The combat and various locales it takes place in really look a lot like movies such as Apocalypse Now and Platoon, maintaining the cinematic feel that made the Medal of Honor series so loved and faithfully recreating the weapons and vehicles of the time. In fact, the entire game reminds heavily of the Medal of Honor series, and draws on all of the key elements that gave it that distinct look and feel. Missions will follow the same formula, with minor and major battles, and rail-shooting scenarios on choppers and boats. You’ve pretty much been there before, but the Vietnam atmosphere is a nice change from the usual shooting down of Luftwaffe during D-Day.
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Along these wonderful environments though, you’ll be basically playing a linear shooter. It would of been really great if the maps were larger and offered different paths to take to achieve your goals. A lot of the game consists of ‘whack-a-mole’ shooting, with little to no surprise from the enemy troops as they pop out from behind various objects and long grass. While a lot of things are pretty neat the first time around, the linearity of it all won’t make the casual gamer want to complete Men of Valor more than once.
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Another problem presents itself in the load times. Insanely long, waiting to go from one cutscene to another or onward to battle is enough time for you to make a turkey sandwhich. Also, you should have plenty of time for condiments as well, because when I say long I mean LONG. The one nice thing they do to try and sink the Frustration Ferry is put in little facts and tidbits of info about the conflict. The problem is that these are hardly more than a few seconds read, and can quickly be read while waiting for the game to load for 2 minutes, only to play a long cutscene. Also, these load times transition over to the Multiplayer modes which we’ll go into now.
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So you want to recruit someone into America’s Army to battle the communists in Vietnam with you through Co-op mode eh? Well, what you’ll be rewarded with is moderate framerate issues and those pesky load times. If that isn’t your bag, then you can also hook up a LAN for some System Link action. If you are the lonely drifter type, then you’ll enjoy the gameplay modes offered through Xbox LIVE!. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Search and Destroy speak for themselves, with the other 2 modes being Recover the Documents (just like Capture the Flag) and Multiplayer Mission (Recreation of historic battles). I found most of the online experience in Team Deathmatch and Recover the Documents to my liking, but there is plenty there for the online competitor. The 7 maps featured look really well and provide a variety of cover and grass so tall you can literally become invisible within it. Sadly, the atrocious load times and framerate issues transfer over to the online arena, but they aren’t enough to make you turn the game off.
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Finally we come to the sound department. As is usually the case with most Xbox titles, Dolby 5.1 is available and really sounds terrific. From the sound of napalm shredding jungle and the VC to pieces, to the frantic cries of help by downed allies, 5.1 is a must. It’s great they put it in too, as the standard stereo just doesn’t do the experience justice. Also returning is the inspired sounds that made Medal of Honor so famous, with a slew of wonderful classical tracks that really add to the epic feeling.
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Overall, what 2015 has managed to do is create an authentic Vietnam experience, both holding true to the look and feel of the era and paying respectful homage to the facts. With other Vietnam-era titles out, Men of Valor is hands down the most enjoyable and impressive of the bunch. With a little polish this title could of become something truely great, but is sadly held back by the numerous, preventable problems it has. What we are left with though is a fun game that manages to pleasently surprise every now and then with some exciting gameplay and vulgar dialogue.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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Scripted Events Dialogue Good recreation of the war |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
Horrible A.I. Load times Framerate issues Linear gameplay |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| It all comes down to this being pretty much the best Vietnam-themed game on the Xbox. If you're a big fan of the movies of the war then you will most likely enjoy this game. Just don't expect it to have the same lasting value as Full Metal Jacket. | |
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Tags: Men Of Valor
Posted by David Hinkle on Nov 17th, 2004 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
