There was much critical acclaim and that extended to its score, by a young composer named Michael Giacchino, just making his way in the business.
It was an instant success and inspired countless imitators and sequels (the series to date has thirteen games in it). Composed by Michael Giacchino, Christopher Lennertz and Ramin DjawadiĪ novelty when it was first released in 1999, Medal of Honour (sorry – I will be typing the word so many times, if I attempt to not use the British spelling then my small brain will become fried) was a first-person shooter game which put the player in the throes of battle in Europe towards the end of the Second World War.There's are certain hotspots in many of the game's campaign levels that really flummox the PS3, compounding screen-tear with some heavy drops in frame-rate. It is the nature of those drops that is an issue. Typical for console UE3, the game operates at a capped 30 frames-per-second, but will drop v-sync in order to maintain fluidity in visual feedback when the engine is under stress. We saw it in Enslaved and we're seeing it in the Medal of Honor campaign mode too.
The comparison movie proves that there's effectively nothing between the two games from a graphical perspective, but a difference in performance level is still clearly apparent.
However, there's little doubt that the PS3 rendition of the Epic middleware has improved in recent times and effects-wise the two engines are now basically a match. We know that historically the UE3 tech has favoured the Xbox 360, with smoother frame-rates and a small basket of additional graphical effects available to developers. However, this is small beer - a technical curiosity at most - and the overall conclusion is that Danger Close has done a good job in getting some decent visuals out of UE3, which are essentially like-for-like on both console platforms. Alternatively, there's a triple-format comparison gallery to check out.Īrtwork is essentially identical cross-platform, but there is the odd example of textures being pared back on PS3, though rare examples like this are unlikely to have much impact on the gameplay experience.
Use the full-screen button to get full 720p resolution, or click the EGTV link for a larger window. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, the middleware has a reputation for providing nigh-on identical graphics on both HD consoles. Medal of Honor is literally a game of two halves, so to begin with, let's take a look at a selection of scenes from the single-player campaign mode.
In putting together this Face-Off, it seems that it is the PC version that has the answers, but this is clearly a console-orientated production and we'll be looking at the PS3 and Xbox 360 releases first and foremost. In playing Medal of Honor, it's difficult to ascertain exactly what it is that the developers wanted to achieve with this game over and above creating the slick, enjoyable shooter that it undoubtedly is. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the other hand halves the frame-rate but makes up for it with one of the most advanced engines on the market today: wide open levels, terrain deformation, a stunning destruction model, and ultra-detailed artwork only really scratch the surface of what the Frostbite engine is capable of.īoth are modern warfare based titles, but they are very individual games that have forged their own identities in what must surely be the most competitive area of the market, and many of the core things they do brilliantly are all intimately related to the strengths of the game engines that run them.
This is no problem for its rivals: Call of Duty is defined by its aim to supply ultra-low latency controller response, foregoing advanced rendering techniques in favour of a game that runs extremely smoothly and puts the player firmly in control. Perhaps then it's no surprise that finding something memorable or unique about Medal of Honor is so difficult. Medal of Honor suffers somewhat compared to its competitors as the foundations for both single- and multiplayer modes were basically air-lifted in by Epic and DICE respectively, creating something of a "second hand" experience to what should have been one of EA's biggest and most important games of the year. Design decisions in creating the game engine dictate more than just the look of the game - they're crucial in how it plays. Technology plays a role of enormous importance within the first-person shooter genre.