Still maintains that warlike feel that made MoH:AA such a noteworthy FPS.
Graphics: 9
Sounds: 8
Value: 7
Tilt: 8
There's certainly no shortage of war stories derived from the last Great War as every story, no matter how trivial or noteworthy they are, they all have that common element which played a very important part of the war. E.A. in conjunction with The Congressional Medal of Honor Society produced the third Medal of Honor game in January 2002 (or the 1st for the PC) with tremendous success as it faithfully replicates the turmoils and tubulations from this Great War. Therefore almost a year later, the expansion pack 'Medal Of Honor, Allied Assault: Spearhead' continues with the same successful formula of realistically producing the intensity and ruthlessness that the players have experienced during the third MoHAA game.
Being an expansion pack and like its counterparts, Spearhead replicates three scenarios that can easily be classified as turning points for WW2. You'll play through the eyes of Sgt. Jack Barnes and heading throughout the European theatres you'll be going 'behind the Atlantic wall' during the early morning of D-Day (June 6th 1944), defending the ever-important and strategic town of Bastogne as part of the eminent Battle of the Bulge to the one man seige of Berlin just before the massive Red Army marches by.
So from the opening cut-scene you form part of the 501st Infantry Regiment, parachuting into France is certainly one of the most unforgettable moments in any video gaming and looking in hindsight, could very well be the motivation for the latest Medal of Honor Airborne game as you can see the similarities between them. Yet what seems odd though that even though you get the opportunity of playing the enjoyable Russian campaign, you cannot help feeling a little 'off mark' as being the American hero, the Americans never really joined forces with the Russians until the very end of the war and since when an American drove the T-34 tank single-handed?
Thus far Spearhead still maintained that intensity that was well-known from the third Medal of Honor game and considering the third campaign predominantly is the Russian assault of Berlin, there will be additional armaments that were mainly used by the Russians for that period (e.g. PPSh SMG, the Mosin-Nagant and the beloved SVT40) but in the hands of the American, you. Also there have been some significant improvements with the realism of all the weapons in Spearhead as it now takes into the consideration for recoil, distance and damage ability.
Improvements have been made with the AI and it's especially noticeable when playing on the 'hard' level as they don't have the tendency to have sniper-like acurracy. Yet, and regrettably so, there are some missions where the captain must not die yet he acts like a kamikaze idiot and charges into battle or standing in front of a tank (which is not a really clever thing to do) therefore forces you to rush past the captain and hopefully nuke anything before he starts firing and dying.
Ending each mission will guarantee a medal (like its predecessor) but sadly there are no 'beyond the call of duty' medals which really made a difference in the first game. Yet you will be treated with a perfectly narrated war poem and genuine photo snippets from each completed scenario which certainly adds realism to the game play.
The graphics are pretty much the same as the original Medal of Honor but certainly not outdated as the Quake III engine continues to be the powerhouse for PC gaming; yet unfortunately so there are still drops in frame rates when rending outdoor environments but this doesn't happen often. Although cool features has been added to Spearhead like trees can be cut in half, sections of buildings blown off or bowling down street lamps when driving a tank certainly brings excitement to that otherwise static environs. However one noticeable change was that Spearhead uses real footage when detailing your next mission and uses real photos during the summery page. This positively enhances the game play of not just playing the game but being in the game.
Considering the sounds department hasn't really made much change yet this does not to say it's backward as the quality is still top-notch so expect the whizzing sounds of bullets firing, the whirling and cranking sounds from those huge flak guns to planes screaming overhead. Also you cannot help but smile to the Medal of Honor title theme as you'll almost feel the sense of this 'Medal of Honor patriotism' and as expected there are additional musical scores to enjoy. Yet the most significant change arises from the voice acting of Sgt. Jack Barnes who's spoken by the talented Gary Oldman.
As with any expansion packs Spearhead is quite a short game considering there are only three missions with four parts in each, expect just a couple of hours playing time however all is not lost as you'll still get the intensity and excitement like the original Medal of Honor game. Yet there's some noteworthy add-ons when it comes to multiplayer as there's an additional modes being the 'Tug of War' (players have multiple objectives which can be retaken by the opposing team). Also there's more multiplayer choices like able to vote out/select a map therefore adds more team cohesiveness when selecting your next battleground.
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead although only reveals just three single player missions it still maintains that warlike feel that made the third instalment such a noteworthy FPS. With all the additional features like using real film footage, quality voice acting, improved AI, realistic weaponries and exciting new multiplayer modes, Spearhead is certainly a worthwhile investment in time and money.