What's that you are saying? Another popular PC game on the Xbox... sweet! Well, before you jump the gun I must warn you that Medal of Honor Frontline, although enjoyable in small doses, will not quench that First Person Shooter thirst you are so desperately suffering from. Electronic Arts has basically slapped together a direct port of the PlayStation 2 version with an added sub-par multiplayer component, and expects gamers will fork over 50 bones for it. I will contend Frontline breaks the tradition of the classic brainless shoot-everything-in-sight FPS, but there still isn't nearly enough originality or innovation to contend with the likes of Red Faction or Halo.

Perhaps Frontline's greatest draw is its single player missions, which throw you into the heart of World War 2 with only a rifle. You start your quest on the beaches of Normandy, surrounded by an atmosphere that seems to be taken from the film Saving Private Ryan. The first mission is arguably the most captivating, with bullets whizzing by your head and explosions blasting by your side. You truly get the feel of fighting in the battlefield of a real war. Sadly, this feeling is short lived. By the third mission, your character is more involved in espionage and sneaking around than in battlefield warfare. You become involved in more and more missions where you have to defy all odds, killing hundreds of enemies while escaping an impossible situation. For a game that uses realistic weapons and environments, the missions are none too believable.

First Person Shooters need to combine many different elements to be successful. One of those elements is weaponry, which is one area I found to be a positive, though some may view it as a negative. The guns that are available are all plain; in other words, you won't see any triple chambered rocket launchers. What you will see are pistols, rifles, and a small selection of automatics. While this selection of weapons may seem bland and boring, it accurately depicts what would be found on the battlefield during World War 2.

Practically the only new thing incorporated into the Xbox version of Frontline from the PlayStation 2 counterpart is the option to play against friends in multiplayer. Even so, there are no Xbox Live or system link modes to speak of, meaning you are limited to the same old split-screen shenanigans. I appreciate the fact EA was kind enough to add multiplayer to Frontline, but it does not add much to the replay value of the game. The biggest drawback here is the limitation to only a few multiplayer maps, each of which are small and uninspired. Some maps feel like they would be crowded for two players, let alone four, and, factoring in the annoying fact that players can look at one another's screens, you have yourself a poor gaming experience.

The other problem the multiplayer suffers from is its options, or lack thereof. Players are given the option to choose between only Death Match and Team games, both of which quickly grow tiresome. Configuration of these two matches isn't exactly deep either. Minor details like weapon sets and friendly fire can be toggled on and off, but other options we have grown to expect such as game customization and respawn points are absent. The multiplayer components of Frontline are not terrible, but they add very little to the overall replay value of the game, which isn't much to begin with.

Visually, Frontline made me want to keel over in agony. The graphics are so blatantly ported from the PlayStation 2, it's a wonder that Electronic Arts did not decide to put a PS2 sticker on the packaging. Everything from the characters to the environments appears sloppy and blocky. EA put little time improving and tweaking the graphics to make use of the Xbox's power. You will not find any bump mapping, or other technical highlights that showcase the power of the XBOX. When characters speak their mouths simply move up and down instead of actually articulating the movements mouths make during speech. Frontline does not boast a single triumph in the graphics department; the game could just as easily have passed off on the N64.

On the other hand, the audio crew impresses with their efforts. The classical music that plays during the menus and occasionally during the missions is appropriate and sounds good. Plus, as I mentioned before, some of the early missions enthrall you by creating surroundings that make you feel as if in a raging combat situation. This effect is produced largely by the sound effects, which include machine guns blaring and bombs exploding. Dialogue is a little on the boring side, but it can be overlooked by an otherwise bang up job by the sound team.

Playing Frontline was both refreshing and disappointing. Refreshing in the fact this game veers away from the "classic" FPS where everything is bent on massive guns and gruesome monsters. The game tries to stay on the more realistic side, meaning enemies can be taken down with a single well-placed shot. However, it was also disappointing because yet another FPS has fallen by the wayside on what had so much potential. If EA had actually taken some time to polish the gameplay options and the graphics, Frontline may have been a classic. Nearly all the elements that make a game great were present here, but sadly they could not pull everything together.

A twister of emotions swirled throughout my body while playing through the game. As I stormed the Beaches of Normandy it was a tense and exhilarating experience. Then I was appalled at the AI of the German people (soldiers and civilians) and how they were all single-minded kill-bots. Lastly, I was filled with displeasure, knowing that another shooter had failed to do what it had set out, which is enthralling its audience. Unreal Championship, for example, had no plot, bizarre characters, and often lame environments, yet it managed to amaze most players because of its addictive nature and playability. Medal of Honor Frontline failed to do that.

In the end, I guess it wasn't such a treat after all to have a PC blockbuster stop off on the Xbox. Medal of Honor Frontline is like a new television show: you play it for a little while but then you will find yourself reverting back to your old favorites such as Halo and Unreal Championship. I honestly cannot say it merits a $50 dollar price tag; perhaps it would be excusable if the price tag were half as much. What I can recommend is that for those of you who, despite my criticism, still want to give Frontline a try, head on over to your local rental store and take out the game for a few days. That should provide sufficient time to pass the solo missions and get a taste for the bland multiplayer missions. First Bond and now Frontline, Electronic Arts desperately needs to readjust their formula for creating shooters or else they are going to find themselves the laughing stock of the market.