Electronic Arts hopes that its upcoming Medal of Honor: Airborne will entertain players with a few innovative concepts that shake up the stagnant World War II action genre. We had a chance to play this exciting first person shooter firsthand, and came away very impressed.

As the name implies, gamers don't start out in a safe zone and make their way to the action. Rather, they parachute right smack dab into the middle of it. After all, they're a member of the gutsiest fighting force in history: the Airborne. Each mission starts inside of an airplane, and if they don't jump out quickly enough, their fellow army buddies give them a little nudge for encouragement. All this adds up to the most important new game play element: non-linear level design. Wherever people land is where they start, so choose wisely.

Of course, there are some safe zones to land in which will be outlined during mission briefings, but the real fun is finding new spots to surprise those pesky Nazis. There are also special skill drop points that will unlock achievements. Be warned: landings can be botched, leaving gamers fumbling for their guns, and the enemy with a clear shot of their behinds.

A landing site can put players in an advantageous position. Landing on the a string of rooftops gives players a chance to use the game's vertical terrain. This is an example of how the open level design can allow gamers to flank the enemy both horizontally and vertically. In this case, they can drop grenades down on their foes from above and clear a path before they even see them.

Each level offers a number of ways, which makes Airborne stand out from previous MoH's. Instead of a scripted linear story, this game lets gamers complete levels in any order. They can choose to be a lone wolf or support their buddies. They're given a set of 'first tier objectives' that will have them seize, clear and secure the landing zone, and then more specific orders as they move on. However, there isn't a specific plan for completing these objectives; they must do whatever it takes to git 'er done.

In order to break the shooter game mold, EA designed a new artificial intelligence system called the Affordance Engine. This helps enemy soldiers calculate what they should do in case gamers come in the back door instead of the front. The new technology was necessary to get through the design hurdles that the open level design created.

The Affordance Engine, along with the realistic city design creates a sense of freedom not seen before, but it's the little details that draw the player in. The game makers describe the death physics as 'rag doll 2.0.' No pre-rendered animations here; every detail is factored in to make sure no two kills are the same. Grenades send corpses flying across the cityscape, sometimes flailing humorously as they go by.

Adding to the immersion is a new set of upgrades and unlocks for weaponry. With a steady hand, players gain weapon experience quickly and get new accessories like a pistol grip for their Thompson or an M1 Garand grenade launcher. These add-ons make the weapons difficult to part with.

In all, the game looks very impressive. The "go anywhere, do anything" dynamics allow for lots of replay value, and getting killed just gives players an opportunity to do it differently next time. Though multiplayer modes have not been outlined yet, there's a huge amount of potential. Medal of Honor: Airborne continues to impress, and GameDaily will post more info leading up to its August release.

Related Links

Medal of Honor Airborne Game Guide