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It’s Europe’s turn to be assaulted in the latest first-person shooter addition to the massively successful Medal of Honor stable of games.

Medal of Honor European Assault

Medal of Honor European Assault is the latest game from the acclaimed Medal of Honor series – largely credited with pioneering the renewed interest in WWII gaming since it debuted in 1999.

A new mission means new environments, new weapons and new challenges. Against all odds, the leadership choices you make before and during the heat of battle will define your legacy as a hero in this most highly anticipated game – in the latest from the widely successful Medal of Honor franchise.

The dateline this time out is Europe: 1942. These are desperate hours for Allied forces as the Nazi war machine rages across a devastated European landscape. You play US Army Lieutenant William Holt, hand-picked by William ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan to be the first field agent of the newly formed Office of Strategic Services - the OSS. Medal of Honor European Assault does no less than make you the driving force in the struggle to liberate Europe.

No less than acclaimed Hollywood writer/director John Milius is the screenwriting talent behind the storyline of ‘European Assault.

Executive Producer Dan Winters believes John Milius - a military history buff - was the obvious choice, "The Medal of Honor franchise stakes its reputation on epic, cinematic action, and so does John Milius. It's a natural fit!"

Opportunity

Milius jumped at the opportunity to do a ‘screenplay’ for a computer game. "Video games provide a great medium for storytellers like me, and the authentic WWII subject matter of the Medal of Honor franchise is a great premise for a storyteller," explained Milius. "As someone who has long been considered a creative cowboy, I really enjoyed collaborating with the dynamic creative talent of EALA's development team on the intense action-filled story of Medal of Honor European Assault. It took me back to when I had first started in the entertainment industry, back to my days as a USC film student, and sharing ideas with visionary thinkers like Steven Spielberg and George (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith) Lucas."

A graduate of the prestigious USC film school, Milius is perhaps best known for writing and directing fast-paced action films such as Dillinger (1973), Conan the Barbarian (1982), and Red Dawn (1984). He shared an Academy Award nomination with Francis Ford Coppola for the screenplay of Vietnam epic to end all Vietnam epics, 1979’s dystopian Apocalypse Now. Film fans may also recognize his signature style within the many memorable lines and scenes he's crafted including the legendary "Go ahead, make my day" dialogue for Clint Eastwood in seminal cop movie Dirty Harry (1971) and the U.S.S. Indianapolis scene in Jaws (1975). He is a personal friend of the Coen brothers and was the inspiration for the character of Walter in The Big Lebowski (1998).

In Medal of Honor European Assault gamers play as US Army Lieutenant William Holt. As Lieutenant Holt, players undertake a series of highly classified missions across the European theatre. This being a high-octane first-person shooter, each mission is - naturally - of critical importance to the Allied war effort.

Variously players will find themselves tasked with gathering intelligence regarding the development and deployment of the deadly Nazi Tiger Tank and more significantly, stopping the Nazi plan to develop and harness atomic energy. In the pursuit of this goal Holt is thrust into action in all the pivotal battles of WWII Europe, including: St. Nazaire, North Africa, Stalingrad (with shades of the original Medal of Honor) and the famously ambitious and bloody Battle of the Bulge.

Q&A

Dan Winters is the executive producer of Medal of Honor: European Assault. Here, he talks about the game and how he has searched to improve the franchise.

Q: Which four battles does the game cover?

"With Medal of Honor: European Assault, we are returning to the war for Europe, the philosophical heart of the series. The European theater provides a dramatic backdrop for our gripping story. MOH:DOW tells the single cohesive tale of one man whose passion and duty draw him through the entire war."

Q: What's the gameplay balance between fighting alongside a squad and going solo?

"War is not a lone-wolf affair. As we broadened the scope of the player’s activities in MOH:EA from smaller clandestine battles to massive assaults, we needed to broaden the forces that the player can bring to bear. In some cases, this will be Allied soldiers fighting alongside, but not with, Lt. Holt. In other cases, however, he will have a squad with him that will follow his orders.

"MOH:EA is not a game centered on squad control, but we have enabled the player to guide his squad mates if he chooses, but we have not required him to do so. The squad-based nature of the AI system means that the player never need worry about his squad if he doesn’t want to—the AI system will automatically provide covering fire and take other tactically intelligent actions, while at the same time, the squad will respond to and adroitly execute orders given by the player."

Q: Will the game be as heavily scripted as previous Medal of Honor games?

"Our focus is on creating and maintaining an emotional authenticity while preserving the critical elements of player choice and replayability. We have pushed the envelope of scripting technologies to break up our content into bite-sized pieces that can be assembled in any order and still allow the player to lose himself in the story. In some cases that means branching paths, in others it requires building scenes so that they make sense when viewed from different angles at different times. It wouldn’t be MOH without amazing cinematic experiences—but it won’t be MOH:EA without player choice."

Q: What will set European Assault apart from Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms and previous MOH games?

"Authenticity has always been the key tenet for Medal of Honor. We do not pay our World War II setting mere lip service. Exhaustive internal research takes place on every element of the game, including weapon behavior, uniform details, and soldier psychology and training. Team members have taken research trips all across Europe, often finding remnants of actual battles in remote forests and ruined bunkers.

"Other trips include live firing of period weapons, with careful digital recording of their motions, sounds and behaviors. The storyline is carved from actual historical events and campaigns, and the character arcs and even some characters mimic the lives of real people. In addition to internal efforts, significant time is spent cultivating external experts, such as noted military consultant Capt. Dale Dye-all of whom help guide the player’s experience towards authenticity."

Q: Pre-release information states there'll be a 'new way of playing' the new title. What does this mean exactly?

"The previous model used by the Medal of Honor series, as well as most other shooters to date, has been the amusement-park ride; in other words, a thrill-filled but ultimately linear experience that can neither tailor itself to individual tastes of the mass market, nor appeal to the hardcore gamer’s desire for replayability. Medal of Honor: European Assault advances that model significantly with what we call the Living Battlefield. The new model is not just a rollercoaster, but an entire theme park filled with rides designed to appeal to everyone from the novice to the hardcore.

"Player choice is at the centre of our philosophy. Our goal is to deliver the MOH standard of emotional intensity while allowing the player to choose his path through the game and personalizing the experience. For example, major objectives have different methods of approach based upon choices the player will make explicitly before beginning the mission, and implicitly during the mission itself."

Q: What new weapons are there?

"Weapons are critical to any shooter, and the MOH series has always prided itself on authentic weapons that look and feel like their historical models. With that said, we have overhauled and rebuilt every weapon in the game, making sure that weapons like the Thompson M1 and the MP40 are not only fun to look at but also fun to shoot. We have also completely overhauled our signature Aim mode, allowing the player to line up shots using the physical sights on the weapon itself. "

"There are weapons that are new to the series, but revealing what they are would reveal a little bit too much about the plot..."

Q: What are your plans for multiplayer?

"Multiplayer and online multiplayer are very much a part of MOH:EA In fact, we are planning an objective-based mode only available for multiplayer play that will combine the authenticity of MOH with the intensity that only multiplayer can offer. Of course, players will still be able to enjoy good old-fashioned deathmatch and team deathmatch for those times when their mood runs to fragging friends."

Q: Will you ever make a game in which you fight as the Germans in story mode?

"No. Medal of Honor is not just the name of our games; it’s a charter that we take quite seriously, and we work with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society to ensure that our games reflect military ideals as high as that represented by the Medal itself."

Q: Are there going to be any dedicated online mission/games?

"Yes. The objective-based multiplayer mode is unique to multiplayer. It uses levels and objectives quite different from the single-player experience. The two modes will require very different player skills to succeed in each."

Q: The press releases mentions a 'team' - will there be any significant gameplay changes to Rainbow Six style team play?

"As noted above, Lt. Holt will often be accompanied by a squad of allies who are under his command. That’s not to say that there won’t be times when Holt has to rely on his own resources to succeed, rather than calling on his colleagues."

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about which battles you plan to focus on and how this effects level design - what type of levels can we expect to see?

"Well, our focus on research allows us to identify authentic portions of WWII that others miss, and tell compelling stories in those spaces. For example, most games ignore the entire early war, when Britain stood alone against the looming Wehrmacht. MOH:EA tells stories others forget, like the perilous Raid on St. Nazaire. Early in 1942, British commandos targeted a vital port in German-occupied France and launched an audacious 600-man raid.

"Real life hands us the moments, like desperate commandos ramming a destroyer packed with hidden explosives into a dry dock at full speed. We abstract the great stories that history gives us and create compelling gameplay in these authentic situations. While we are only discussing St. Nazaire now, we will disclose later locations in the months to come. "

Q: Will any familiar characters feature in European Assault?

"Absolutely. We don’t want to spoil any surprises, of course, but when constructing the story for MOH:EA we were very careful to weave it into the existing MOH narrative. Fans of the series will recognize more than a few names, and even see favorite characters from the past in entirely new lights."

As with the original Medal of Honor, the producers of this game sought counsel from numerous expert sources to make certain the game is historically accurate and as realistic as possible. The Electronic Arts (EA) Los Angeles development team continued to work closely with the United States’ Congressional Medal of Honor Society to ensure that Medal of Honor European Assault reflects the ideals and integrity of the prestigious real-life Medal of Honor. In addition, Capt. Dale Dye, who served as Military Technical Advisor on the previous titles in the Medal of Honor franchise, continues his efforts with ‘European Assault to ensure the authenticity of the gaming experience.

Key game features on Medal of Honor European Assault include:

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