Medal of Honor: Heroes 2

Electronic Arts Los Angeles was kind enough to fly me cross country to spend the day testing the new Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 game for our beloved console. Heroes will ship with three modes; Single-player, Arcade, and Multiplayer on EA Nation along with some of the best graphics seen on the Wii to date. We also got a chance to talk with Matt Tomporowski, the producer of Heroes who flew out from EA Canada to speak with us on this latest installment. Unfortunately, our room wasn't wired to test out online play but Mr. Tomporowski gave us a good overview of it's mechanics and its shaping up to be a fierce, fast-paced battle!

Mr. Tomporowski and the folks at EA Canada wanted to push the Wii as hard as possible in the graphics department, and it's more than apparent. Heroes II is right up there with Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy. This includes some post-processing effects never before seen on the Wii and many high resolution assets borrowed from the 360 and PS3, which is most evident on the weapon skins. The quality and attention to detail put into them are outstanding. There was also an area in the game where your working your way out of a sewer pipe of some sorts and the bleeding sunlight through the large grate is simply beautiful... You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there. Did I mention this is all done at 60 Frames Per Second both off and online?

Single-Player - To give a brief overview, players will play as OSS Operative John Berg and will infiltrate Normandy from behind enemy lines to undermine the Nazi regime in a plot that could turn the tides of WW2. The play style is true to the Medal of Honor name and is very fast paced. You're constantly in battle and this gives you a frantic "I'm in the middle of Hell" feeling which is 100% appropriate in a WW2 setting. The AI is responsive and self preserving and presents some unique challenges during game-play.

Arcade Mode - Arcade mode can be played with the standard controls or with the Zapper accessory. If you've ever played House of the Dead, Time Crisis, or similar then you'll be right at home here. Players are kept on a rail and the only responsibility is to shoot and reload. You'll play through the entire single-player game, but you'll have to fight a different AI than in SP. Instead of hiding and self preservation, the AI in Arcade mode will run at you in mass numbers and you'll have to pop them quickly or you'll end up toast. You'll also have the opportunity to shoot a special soldier that only appears for a few seconds that leads you through a separate path that rewards you with a better weapon to dispatch the insane number of enemies you'll be facing.

Multiplayer - Although we didn't get to test it we did find out that there will be three modes - deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag and you'll be able to vote and boot disruptive players from the game. There won't be any type of voice chat or keyboard use, but there will be a set up predefined commands and statements you can issue to communicate with others and your team. There will be six maps specifically designed for online play and according to Tomporowski Heroes 2 runs at 60 frames per second even with 32 players online... Impressive.

The controls are tight and feel great. No worries, this isn't another Red Steel. You can customize the dead-zone to your likings so that if it's to touchy for you on default, or make it extra small for precision during online play. Motions are incorporated for throwing grenades, reloading, setting explosive, and a few other actions. Mr. Tomporowski said the team didn't want to use useless or annoying motions so the ones added fit just fine. It was rather cool pumping the Wii remote to reload the shotgun after each shot, and bringing the controller up over my shoulder to aim and shoot a RPG was one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had on the Wii. There's also a level where you use a metal detector to navigate your way through a mind field and as you can guess you use the Wii Remote to sweep back and forth as you slowly make your way through. It's a nice change up from the constant action found throughout the game.

Final Thoughts:

32 Player online play, superior graphics, challenging single-player, and a House of the Dead style Arcade mode are only a few reasons MoHH:2 is shaping up to be a smash hit this holiday season.

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