I want to go on the record and say it was a little thing that stuck out in my mind at first. True, the game is being heavily regarded as one of the Comeback Kids of next year and with all the reboots of series coming out – how could we not notice Medal of Honor? They knew the fans were panting, grasping at hints of something on the horizon that community forums were putting out but what could they have done? We knew nothing. Yet, it was a deliberate keep of animation that made my heart catch in my chest.

One of the characters in the game, as he was walking up a wooden faux-bridge… stumbled. He stumbled, caught his footing and kept walking so the next person could walk up behind him and that is what had me stuck there. It was that kind of realism that took just another Medal of Honor game and put me in the mode that I was willing to listen. I was willing to learn just what these men did to take an over-washed and faded series and pull it into something that would tell a story. The amazing guys over at EA actually accepted that we were cautious and when they brought us into EA’s offices to tour the facilities and get knee-deep in the mythos of Medal of Honor; they knew what they had in store. Most of us were kind of hesitant to drink the Kool-Aid and even when they threw around flashy words like “Prone” and “Tier 1 Operators”, they knew that work was ahead of them.

The next two days were essentially a cavalcade of terminology; Patrick Liu came out and told us how the guys at DICE had come to terms with the vast majority of the gaming community seeking a Bad Company 2 clone with the Medal of Honor stamp. They refused. Instead, they took the best bits and pieces from Bad Company 2 and they said; “You know what? We can do this better. We can please the fans and still put out a product that we can be proud of.” What we saw was nothing short of intriguing and while it’s still too soon to tell just how we’ll go beyond Multiplayer Beta (Which yes, GamingAngels was invited to participate in thanks to Matthew Pruitt over at EA.). I do know that I’m intrigued to find out more from the lives of a “Tier 1 Operator” and the single-player mission that includes your character Rabbit and just what he must do to get home.

Upon our last day though, they set us loose on the multiplayer and we all branched off into our own loud-mouthed teams to form an immediate alliance. We were solid in our critiques and while every single one of us enjoyed ourselves; we were staunch at letting the team know our complaints. What made this experience even better was the actual Roundtable we shared with Greg and Patrick and let them know where the problems rested. They confirmed if they were known and then they would nod and usher some words between each other when a good idea came out. Honestly, this is how these community events should be done. Listen to us, guys. We know what we’re talking about.

I’m excited to see how the multiplayer evolves past the two levels we played were. Maps were absolutely immersive and beautiful, the flaws were documented and even though we were just playing beta – we still gleaned pleasure from it all. That’s the truth right there. We weren’t bought into them because they paid our way to come see their toys; we bought into them because they came to us with hat-in-hand and admitted that they knew they messed up but they’re here to tell the story now. They’re back to bring Medal of Honor to the honest roots it began at and nobody can fault them for their newly brandished humility.

The genre of wargames is nothing new. We’re human beings that, as gamers, sometimes we feel useless and powerless in our own Countries wars. We fight, we play hero and sometimes even that act alone is mocked. However… if nothing else, how nice is it going to feel to finally play a war-based FPS that focuses on protecting a life and getting it back to his family?

Take a look at the Medal of Honor: “Leave a Message” trailer and some of our other included media. Keep tuned into GamingAngels to find out more as we continue forward.