An Un-Winnable Battle: Medal of Honor (360)

Full disclosure, this game is short. Like Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 short. Like LOTR Extended Editions short.

At 4-5 hours its hella short. That aside, I liked it a lot more than Modern Warfare 2. Unlike the Bruckheimer-esque bombastic nonsense narrative of MW 2, MOH has a deliberate and specific pace. While it outright steals mechanics and set-pieces from MW 2, the singular vision of the game is to reveal at least some of the reality of modern combat. Weapons and tactics are reasonably realistic and the game has a couple of truly climatic set-pieces that grip the player in a brief unfettered bout of pure tension.

Switching between Tier 1 operators infiltrating Al Qaeda camps in and around the mountains of Afganistan, Army Rangers sent to secure areas "cleared" by the Tier 1's, and in select few sections, in vehicle missions, the most notable of which is as an Apache gunner, MOH never tries to be anything but a MW 2 clone. The creative direction given the team is clear, in the most Kotick way, that this is intended to exploit the COD audience by giving them more of what they already have.

While there are moments of sheer joy and glimmers of originality in the game, such as a sniping sequence that gives the .50 caliber sniper rifle its due, it never delves too deep. You are given a spotter and told about wind speed and distance, but the only real possible impediment to your aim is how long the player forces the character to hold his breath.

Medal of Honor is a franchise that desperately needed a reboot, and moving the setting and gameplay to an ongoing conflict was a brave choice, but the game suffers as that was the only brave choice. Hopefully MOH earns a chance at a sequel, and an opportunity to develop gameplay that matches the bravura of its setting.

A Trip Worth Taking: Enslaved (360)

Quiet moments are few and far between in most games. Silence is difficult, even in a film, as only the acting can carry the emotion and the story forward. Without that connection between the performers and thus with the audience, silence because awkward pauses and dead air.

Enslaved has many quiet moments, the most powerful of which happens late in the game, structurally where a film would slow just before the beginning of the third act. Told in whispers and closeups, it stands as an example of how games have matured as a medium. In that moment of pure quiet emotion, Enslaved fulfills the promise shown in the bombastic opening sequence.

Spectacular character animation reveals both main characters in the first minutes; Monkey, a brash sinewy brawler, struggles in his bonds, within a pod. Across the hall a similar pod opens with an explosion and a ragged but beautiful young woman,Trip, staggers out into freedom. As she escapes, Monkey's own prison is broken and it becomes apparent whatever Trip did is having widespread effect on what is revealed to be a flying vessel. The basic movement and combat mechanics are revealed through narrative as Monkey moves from set piece to set piece within a disintegrating vessel. Monkey's very movements reveal who and what he is, rather than use rote animation cycles.

Trip and Monkey finally meet face to face, only to have Trip, an electronics genius with no survival skills, enslaves Monkey with a headband that links their hearts. If she dies, he dies. This conceit drives the emotional core of the film as the two characters earn each other's trust, culminating a quiet moment of truth late in the game.

Though the story and characters are nearly unparalleled, the gameplay is repetitive and shallow. A slight RPG layer allows the player to upgrade Monkey's offensive and defensive abilities but the same moves are used over and over. Platforming is one of the gameplay pillars, and while it is rewarding and fun, Enslaved suffers from handholding and over-directing the player.Taking a cue from Uncharted in leading the player through art direction, color and character animations would have benefited this game tremendously.

Enslaved is a pinnacle of character animation and story, hindered by mediocre gameplay. It is a must play if only to see the future of narrative in gaming.