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CNET editors' rating:
4.0 stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 6 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for the Wii combines solid online play, sharp controls, and fast-placed gameplay into one of the best first-person shooters for the Wii.
Specifications: ESRB: Teen; Genre: Action; Number of players: 1 Player See full specs
Price range: $29.99 - $38.99
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 11/16/2007
- Released on: 11/13/2007
Given that the last game was released just eight months ago, and considering that it wasn't very good, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Medal of Honor Heroes 2 on the Wii would be just another WWII first-person shooter with the same problems as its predecessor. That couldn't be further from the truth. Although the game doesn't break any new ground with regard to its story or mission structure, it improves on the last game in nearly every other way. In fact, Heroes 2 is so good that even Wii owners who have sworn off the WWII genre would do well to give the game a look.
The motion controls even make tuning a radio fun.
There's a bit of a story to Medal of Honor Heroes 2, and it's told in the form of premission briefings that feature still photos and narrated voice-overs. Nevertheless, the plot is mostly inconsequential. You're an operative in the Special Forces and it's up to you to stop Hitler from deploying his new rocket, the V2. Over the course of eight missions, you'll perform the usual array of activities found in many a WWII-based FPS: You'll plant charges, pick up documents, fight in a church, launch mortar rockets, operate large cannons and stationary machine guns, and kill seemingly endless waves of Nazi soldiers. At this point the developer doesn't even try to explain where these soldiers are coming from. You can see them appear literally from thin air right in front of you on numerous occasions. Don't expect any advanced artificial intelligence from the game, either. Enemy soldiers will run right past you in an effort to get to their preprogrammed destinations. In a tremendous victory for equal-opportunity advocates worldwide, your fellow squadmates are just as inept; they'll stand mere inches from a bad guy without so much as batting an eye. They also love to shoot walls. But despite all of this, the game is still great. How?
Heroes 2 is able to overcome its mostly routine objectives by excelling in other areas. For starters, the game moves extremely fast--much faster than your typical Medal of Honor game. The series has always had an arcade edge to it, so speeding up the gameplay doesn't feel unnatural and serves only to make things more exciting. You won't spend your time traversing long, empty sections of terrain, and you won't have to inch forward to progress through a level. You can't just run through the levels willy-nilly because Nazi soldiers are good shots, but usually you just find some cover so that you can restore your health, quickly take a few guys out, and then scamper to the next group of enemies and mow them down.
The speedy gameplay wouldn't have been possible if this Medal of Honor shared the same poor controls as its predecessor, Vanguard. The controls aren't totally revamped, but they're definitely improved. You move with the analog stick, look around by moving the Wii Remote, and fire with the B button. There's always a reticle onscreen that turns red when it's over an enemy, so you can shoot via that method or press A to raise your weapon and use the sights. You can also tilt the Nunchuk left and right while in this view to lean in and out of cover. These aiming mechanics work just fine, but it's the new auto-aim feature (available only on the lowest difficulty) that works the best. Essentially all you have to do is focus your reticle on an enemy soldier and then press the Z button to lock on. You can then move and fire while remaining locked on to your target. It's not as mindless as many other auto-aim mechanics because it still requires some skill to line up that first shot, and it really works well with the fast-paced gameplay. It's just a shame that it can't be used on all the difficulty settings. There's also a control option that lets you use the soon-to-be-released Wii Zapper, but it's far inferior to the standard controls.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 6 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Where to buy
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (Wii):
$29.99 - $38.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$29.99 | Yes |
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$38.99 | No |
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$38.99 | No |
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$29.99 | Yes |
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