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-------------------Allied Assault [17h35m - Hard + no manual saving / 6h25m - Normal / 3h20m - Easy]

We're back with a long-running franchise and its very first PC-exclusive installment: Allied Assault, running on the id Tech 3 engine and developed by 2015 Inc. This one was pretty exciting to start up as I've had great expectations after the ingenious first game and the technically disastrous, but still playable sequel. Finally you could move & shoot at the same time, the levels were bigger and you could save whenever you want, as much you want. With a bigger budget, we've gotten a huge and more authentic representation of war, we may not be in the boots of Jimmy Patterson but that's trivial, as long as the action is full on display. Well, uh... it was popular, it spawned 2 more expansion packs and used to have a lively MP community. As for myself, it was a bit of a tough nut to crack but I've come to the realization that Allied Assault is simply solid and nothing else beyond.

Once again, we are playing as some sort of super-soldier, who carries out most of the missions alone, tearing down the Nazi forces all by himself. There are set-pieces with multiple soldiers on screen like the during the D-Day breach and the bodycount is much higher too. If you still remember anything from the original, you'll notice the influence in level design and get those "aah" or "wait, I've been here before, haven't I?" vibes which I thought was a great tribute. Either way, all the locations you travel to have color, style and character with the music, consisting of exclusive compositions and tracks from the original, adding to immersion. The sound design does a good job here as well and you can definitely expect a challenge. That is, if you want, or should I say, CAN put up with the flaws.

The engine can't really handle mouse input and will often rotate at a faster speed than it should, making aiming feel erratic and jittery. Guns are usually inaccurate and locational damage is thoroughly inconsistent, you will never know how many rounds exactly it will take to kill an enemy. That, and the infinite spaws in some areas are making the experience so much more frustrating, I don't even need to bring up the infamous Sniper Town level. The explosion effects are weak, driving and causing havoc in a tank doesn't feel as satisfying. The AI isn't the smartest either and if you play on anything but Hard, it should end in less than 5 hours, taking all briefing cutscenes into consideration. You still get medals, but it's not score-based anymore, I wish they kept it here but that's just nitpicking, now you have to complete the game on all 3 difficulty settings instead.

Having followed the series for some time now, I can't say Medal of Honor did a commendable job with the sequels in terms of gameplay, what's the point if an FPS doesn't deliver at shooting? WW2 shooters were going big and growing during that time and there weren't as many competitors around so that could have been what led to the positive reception on a technical level. And thus, 2 expansion packs came out: Spearhead and Breakthrough. Can they surpass Allied Assault in quality?

-------------------Spearhead [4h - Hard + no manual saving / 1h40m - Normal / 1h10m - Easy]

Apparently not, since Spearhead doesn't present anything worth the while. Surely the missions are varied and provide some challenges, but it also retains the same problems and the new guns are lacking in power. By the end, you reach Berlin to conclude the final mission with a tank battle and that is probably the best part of the 2 hours you will spend on that expansion pack, unless you want the last 2 medals too. But you haven't witnessed Hell until you got into...

-------------------Breakthrough [12h55m - Hard + no manual saving / 3h - Normal / 2h15m - Easy]

This is the pinnacle of the series, everything you've know so far mashed together and so much more. Same old problems still there? Absolutely! Perhaps... more of the bad ideas? Hell yeah! Breakthrough not only creates a deceiving image of itself within the first mission, it also fools you to believe that it's a survival horror adventure instead of your old-fashioned FPS action. Though it has to be said, the idea of WW2 events set in Africa & Italy is refreshing and the opening sandstorm set-piece is simply awesome. And yet, from there on, it gets drastically worse: suddenly, enemies no longer drop ammo for you, there is a MASSIVE bodycount, an abysmal amount of turret-sections and moments such as looking after inept AI or fighting off waves of tanks with the worst mortar mechanic ever. It goes out of its way so much, you'd think they hired an entirely new team and simply fired everyone from the quality assurance section. "F#*k you all, this is what people want to play as, trust me!1!" Yeah, no thanks. You want to keep your sanity intact? Stay away.

Final conclusion: Allied Assault is serviceable at best, one expansion pack is bland, forgettable and fails to acknowledge any of the main game issues, the other tops it off with more unnecessary bull, making it longer for all the wrong reasons.
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