Medal of Honor: European Assault
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Medal of Honor: European Assault is a video game in the long running Medal of Honor series. European Assault was released for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox in June 2005. It uses squad combat similar to the PC game, , and has a bullet time feature.
The game's story was written by John Milius, the writer of Apocalypse Now.
A description from the EA Games website reads "Europe 1942. These are desperate hours for the Allied forces as the Nazi war machine rages across a devastated European landscape. With the British on the brink, Lt. William Holt of the OSS is sent on a secret mission by order of the President of the United States. On his own, or with his squad, Holt is pivotal in helping to turn the tide in four of the most crucial battles leading to victory in Europe."
Theatres
There are four overall areas Holt will be sent to: France, North Africa, Soviet Union and Belgium. Each area will have a set of missions for you to complete. While some objectives will be pointed out to you from the start, exploration of the area will cause Holt to discover more missions. Each mission will consist of five elements: primary objective, secondary objective, killing a Nazi officer, obtaining documents from the officer and escape. If you complete all of the objectives, you will be awarded a gold medallion, but if you miss one or two, you will be awarded a silver or bronze medallion, respectively.France
In the beginning of the game (based on Operation Chariot), Holt and the British force are heading to the vital submarine pens at St. Nazaire. They approach the German held port in a ship hoisting a German Flag. This was done to make the Germans (referred to as Jerries by the British) see that the ship is one of their own. However, the ship was beginning to take fire and soon raised the Union Jack after they lost their cover. Upon landing, Holt is told to meet an officer at another side of the dock, which is denoted by a green flare. Upon meeting the officer, Holt has to head back to the ship, thus finishing the first mission. Then Holt goes with the British on the St. Nazaire Raid, where he destroys a fuel tank and eliminates a German officer named Klaus Mueller. Holt later travels through the docks in order to destroy an electric power plant, shutting off power to the city and eliminating another German officer by the name of Horst Brenner. Early the next morning, Holt and his British comrades receive word that no reinforcements will be coming, forcing them to fight their way through German officer Erich Koster and his forces through the city to escape into the French countryside.
North Africa
Lt. Holt is sent to North Africa, particularly a desert in the middle of Tunisia to meet with British 7th Armored Division, also known as Desert Rats, to disrupt a German operation involving development of V-2 rockets and new German Tiger type panzers. Holt's main target is a Nazi officer named Von Schrader but first had to deal with one of his men, Adabold Brecht. After initial fighting, Holt makes his way to inside of German compound and manages to rescue some captured SAS commandos and kill another of Von Schrader's men, Hans Schneider. With their help, Holt manages to get his hands on tape film which is recorded personnaly by Von Schrader and destroys a prototype V2 rocket.Soviet Union
After the North African Front you are sent to the Soviet Union. The bloody battle of Stalingrad is at its peak when Holt arrives. In order to help battered Soviet forces and track down Von Schrader, US forces sent some anti-tank weapon prototypes with Holt in return of information about the elusive Nazi scientist. Holt first establishes contact with a Soviet officer named Dimitri and then meets with local partisans. With the help of partisan fighters, Holt manages to destroy a rail gun and helps in capturing a church as a strategic point by eliminating Walter Neumann. After that Holt, accompanied by Soviet Regular Army officers joins the dramatic battle of Mamayev hill. After some intense fighting, Holt manages to eliminate Franz Gruebner and gets his hands on the top secret "Virus House" files and sends them to OSS headquarters. Holt then destroys all sensitive equipment in order to prevent Virus House information to fall into hands of Soviets.Belgium
Final mission of the game involves the one of the most famous battles of WW2, Battle of the Bulge. Holt is sent in with the 101st Airborne Division surrounded within the Ardennes forest in Belgium. The Mission starts with an intense German offensive. Holt, with the help of paratroopers from the 101st Airborne manages to stop the initial assault by killing Folker Kappelhorf and blows up a strategically important bridge. Then Holt is sent to a Belgian village to rescue a female OSS operative under capture by one of Von Schrader's men, Freder Engel. This operative is none other than Manon Du Champs, advisor in many of the Medal of Honor games, and main character of second game. In final mission, Holt accompanied with a platoon of US soldiers for the critical assault on Von Schader's so-called Virus House. With one final narrow-cataclysmic battle, Holt manages to eliminate Von Schrader and destroy the prototype atom bomb he developed by sending it to underground at the last moment and survives with some minor wounds. This is the only Theatre that allows you to wield the famous B.A.R. which often run low or at times out of ammo.Weapons
British weapons
- Mills bomb
- Lee-Enfield No 4mk I
German weapons
- Karabiner 98k Rifle
- MP40 Submachinegun
- Gewehr 43
- Sturmgewehr 44 Assault Rifle
- Model 24 grenade
Russian weapons
- Mosin-Nagant 1891 Rifle
- PPSh Submachinegun
American weapons
- M1911A1 Colt .45 Pistol
- Thompson submachine gun
- Winchester Model 1897 Pump Action Shotgun
- Bazooka
- Browning Automatic Rifle
Mission Medals
If you achieve all golds in the entire theater, then you will be awarded a "Mission Medal," which are based on actual medals. They can be seen later on in the game if you go to the Main/Start Menu and look at Service Record.
| France | North Africa | Soviet Union | Belgium |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Name change
Medal of Honor: European Assault was formerly titled Medal of Honor: Dogs of War, however, this was changed due to the French translation that apparently means "Mercenaries". The name was changed to European Assault despite the fact that part of the game is set in North Africa.Another name change is for the female character named Manon. In the first three games, Manon's surname is "Batiste". In European Assault, it was changed to "Du Champs". A minor detail to most, some players joke about it saying that Manon got married between the games.
Criticism
Despite its playability, Medal of Honor: European Assault has been criticised by some fans of the genre for being a fairly short game and for its lack of an online multiplayer component. Also, the graphics are mediocre up close and the overall look is grainy. European Assault is also said to be an uninspired game with bland gameplay by some gaming magazines. However, other articles such as IGN and Gamespy, thought European Assault was a far better game than the previous and a move in the right direction for the franchise. Critics were encouraged by the open ended nature of the game, as well as some sweeping changes to the standard Medal of Honor formula such as aiming with iron sights, quicker deaths and larger, more epic battles as well as the addition of squad mates. However, the new adrenaline meter was met with mixed reactions, and the "revive" system that replaced standard checkpoints was an unpopular addition, and many reviewers thought the squad command system was a little too limited in scope. The game may have also suffered from a technical glitch such as the player, for no reason whatsoever, being able to pass (more known as clipping in gaming terms) though some enemies and their own teammate. This basically means the player's squad has no collision detection – you can walk through, and they through you. This design choice is actually quite good (or bad depended on the player) as they will not interfere with your progress. However, a problem arises when they occupy the very same space, blocking your view. Such a glitch can ruin any authenticity that the game was striving for. There was also the fact that no Americans served in Operation Chariot, which was before America enters the war.
External links
- [Official site]
- [Medal of Honor: European Assault] at MobyGames
- [GameTab reviews]
- [Planet Medal of Honor]
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