Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford has described Brothers in Arms competitor Medal of Honor as a franchise "in trouble".
"It's a great franchise, and a lot of people love it, but I think somebody really needs to get hold of that franchise who cares about the subject matter and understands what the real promise and the fantasy is", Pitchford told us when we caught up with him earlier today at a press event in London.
EA's Medal of Honor series blew gamers' socks off when Allied Assault launched on PC, but the series has never experienced the same accolade since.
"I think they're confused right now", Pitchford continued. "They're partially speaking not as a dedicated World War II game, but just as a game. I think if you're just going to make a shooter, there's other subject matter you can pick that give them more flexibility to do the kinds of things that they've been wishing to do.
"Like upgrading weapons and things like that? That doesn't belong in an authentic war game."
Development talent isn't the issue, he added, but what the Medal of Honor team really needs to do is focus on the fantasy.
"...there's something just missing about what's in the heart of what the fantasy is of playing these kinds of games and I think somebody needs to get hold of that franchise that really cares and can do that."
Whats this another developer ranting? Jeez enough already guys. Get on with developing your on games. How long we been waiting for BIA Hells Highway? Stop bickering, get tinkering
The EA behemoth commoditises and commercialises an IP such that the original reason for playing the game gets lost amongst a tidal wave of anachronistic upgrades, simplistic challenges and non-sensical rewards?
MOH is not an "authentic war game", it never was and should never be. I loved the first two on PS1, it was like being in a movie, it was WW2 like it is in the Indiana Jones movies, FUN!!!
And then they tried to make it into "Saving Private Ryan", and that was OK, Frontline is one of my favourite PS2 games.
But bring back the original over the top, larger than life "war is fun" style of game, and get rid of the whole "war is hell, and were going to make you feel it through this game" approach!
WWII has been done to death. People know how it ends. The selection of weapons and vehicles is the same as it always was, the sides are the same as they always were, the allies and enemies have the same uniforms they always did - other than updating the graphics and maybe altering the name of the characters around you, what is left to explore?
Unless you want to tell it from the PoV of a Nazi soldier, but that'd get flamed to hell.
FPS market over saturation more like. There are too many out now and for the near future. I am not a big fan anyway, but lets have some variety of games please !!
Look at how refreshing it was to play the Stalingrad and north African levels in COD2, they prove there is so much more to WW2 games than just Europe and D-Day.
I think the actual problem is that WWII games have been done to death. Infinity Ward realized that and moved onto pastures anew rather than soiling the Call of Duty brand name by focusing on the same subject matter over and over again. Medal of Honour needs to do the same thing. Either scrap the WWII theme or take time off to totally reinvent the series similar to what Capcom did with Resi 4.
MOH is not an "authentic war game", it never was and should never be. I loved the first two on PS1, it was like being in a movie, it was WW2 like it is in the Indiana Jones movies, FUN!!!
And then they tried to make it into "Saving Private Ryan", and that was OK, Frontline is one of my favourite PS2 games.
But bring back the original over the top, larger than life "war is fun" style of game, and get rid of the whole "war is hell, and were going to make you feel it through this game" approach!
"War, never been so much fun da-da-da, never been so much fun....."
Cannon Fodder, now there's a game that needs to see an XBL update.
He has some merit in what he's saying, although I don't believe it applies to just the Medal Of Honor series only. As people have been saying, the WW2 genre has been regurgitated so much that bringing something new to the genre is near impossible now.
CoD4 has shown has it needs to evolve and has done so incredibly well in my opinion. But EA are different, they realise that there's a core audience that will always pick up the MoH games, therefore I can't see them bringing anything new to the series for quite some time as there will always be that guarenteed lump sum of cash for the buggers.
MOH is not an "authentic war game", it never was and should never be. I loved the first two on PS1, it was like being in a movie, it was WW2 like it is in the Indiana Jones movies, FUN!!!
And then they tried to make it into "Saving Private Ryan", and that was OK, Frontline is one of my favourite PS2 games.
But bring back the original over the top, larger than life "war is fun" style of game, and get rid of the whole "war is hell, and were going to make you feel it through this game" approach!
"War, never been so much fun da-da-da, never been so much fun....."
Cannon Fodder, now there's a game that needs to see an XBL update.
I am confused of which Cannon Fodder you talk of. You see i remember Cannon Fodder for the Amiga as being one of the greatest games ever and i say if it was ever brought to XBLA it would be ruined butchered . I say this because it needs a mouse not a joypad.
Isn't this the same company whose WWII game was received very poorly? Sounds like someone has had some vinegar with their sour grapes.
WWII games have had their day, it's about time that more modern warfare scenarios are approached. In fact a move away from FPS games would be nice.
i love fps but as crow says, the wwii has had its day and it's time to move on like cod4 did. this is an excellent game in my opinion and had breathed new life into the genre. the lobby is s**te though compared to cod3, why oh why did they mess around with that
On a related note, should I get MOH heroes 2 for my wii?
Yes you should!! Well I'm getting it anyway, I've always enjoyed the MOH games. None have ever matched Allied Assault but they've been good strong cinematic experiences. The last 4 versions I've played (1 Wii, 1 Xbox1, 2 NGC) have been fairly short, the Wii one was pretty tough at the end though and it took me quite a while to do!
I am confused of which Cannon Fodder you talk of. You see i remember Cannon Fodder for the Amiga as being one of the greatest games ever
Cannon Fodder was great with the mouse and it's the only way to play it IMO. It was ported to the SNES, MD and GBA though and adapted to work with a pad. So it could be done. Never played these versions, so I can't say how the pad feels for controlling this gem.
WWII has been done to death. People know how it ends. The selection of weapons and vehicles is the same as it always was, the sides are the same as they always were, the allies and enemies have the same uniforms they always did - other than updating the graphics and maybe altering the name of the characters around you, what is left to explore?
Unless you want to tell it from the PoV of a Nazi soldier, but that'd get flamed to hell.
what a ridiculous statement, its poor ww2 games that have been done to death. how many quality ww2 games are out there,platform games have been done to death but it doesnt stop the latest mario from being great. modern time shooters suffer from anonymous enemies that we arent familiar with or care for. also the huge numbers of soldiers in the field in ww2 lends itself perfectly to big battles in cod, but endless americans/arabs running around in modern scenarios isnt quite right. cod4 is a fantastic game but cod2 carries more emotion in the game and we can all relate to the characters and story in one way or another.
I rather enjoyed Medal of Honor: Airborne. Although I understand that the game needs to find the right balance between the fantasy and the reality. Airborne was fine until the Uber-Soldiers, who could take 3 sniper rounds to the head and carried mounted machine guns around, appeared and turned the whole thing into a Wolfenstein-esque parody.
Still it fixed more problems than it created, the free-leaning feature was inspired, and the mechanics of firing the guns just felt 'right'. Something which CoD3 failed at utterly.
what a ridiculous statement, its poor ww2 games that have been done to death. how many quality ww2 games are out there
uh.. I dont know, 2 or 3 at the most? CoD2 for sure, and I can't really pick one favourite MoH - it's like trying to pick your favourite disease or something because their quality doesn't match that of CoD in my opinion.
platform games have been done to death but it doesnt stop the latest mario from being great.
because innovation is the key there, with Galaxy sticking to the same formula as previous mario games yet innovating. I mean, if you told me 5 or maybe even a couple of years ago that there would be a mario game set in space, I'd have slapped you round the face. Yet the game works, and plays, incredibly well.
modern time shooters suffer from anonymous enemies that we arent familiar with or care for. also the huge numbers of soldiers in the field in ww2 lends itself perfectly to big battles in cod, but endless americans/arabs running around in modern scenarios isnt quite right.
I dont quite get the point your trying to make here.. you've gone off on one. But yeah, most FPS dont really want to know the face of the enemy surely? 'cos then the decisions will be tainted by morals etc, and you only want to feel emotion towards your side, not the enemy's.
Saying that, MOH Heroes 2 on the Wii is getting very good scores all over US gaming sites. Some even say it's better than Metroid Prime 3.
Control-wise fellas, not overall quality of the game itself. The graphics are borderline s**t. But the controls are awesome and the online battles are a load of fun.
Corruption is an awesome game with great controls. MOH H2 is a good game with awesome controls.
Now to try out the Wii Zapper in MOHH2's online mode. Wish me luck!!
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
. I say this because it needs a mouse not a joypad.
Well I'm getting it anyway, I've always enjoyed the MOH games. None have ever matched Allied Assault but they've been good strong cinematic experiences. The last 4 versions I've played (1 Wii, 1 Xbox1, 2 NGC) have been fairly short, the Wii one was pretty tough at the end though and it took me quite a while to do!
