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Getting enough BANG for your gaming BUCK!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 21 / 23
Date: December 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

TEST SYSTEM:
Gateway 1.8Ghz P4 (System)
512MB SDRAM (Memory)
64MB GeForce MX400 (Video)

I consider the original Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (MOHAA) to be one of the best First-Person-Shooter (FPS) gaming experiences ever to be put to market. Gaming primarily on my PC, I, like many others, was livid upon learning that Frontline would be released for console ONLY. Luckily the Spearhead Expansion pack came along to quench our thirst for more mind-blowing WW2 combat.

As someone who pays attention to his return on investment, I am often left to question the playable value of the games I have purchased. MOHAA took about a day to play through, but had significant replay value. I have played through MOHAA 6X at varying levels of difficulty, employing different tactical strategies each time. Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW), and other titles in the FPS genre did not incur this kind of addiction and necessitated only 2 plays, the second typically to determine if the game was IN FACT as bad as it seemed the 1st time. MOHAA was well worth the $50.00 price tag and has provided more hours of enjoyment than most of my other FPS's combined.

Spearhead adds several new mission, weapon, and plot elements to the original, not to mention additional multiplayer options and maps drastically improving on MOHAA's original multiplayer that was outdone by RTCW's. The additional game-play added to an already exceptional title provides an excellent purchase incentive, but leaves this gamer feeling a little miffed when it comes to his checkbook. The new weaponry is satisfying and appropriate to WW2 historical records, and the addition of colored smoke grenades to your arsenal adds a distinct battle element that is especially useful in multiplayer. I was also thrilled that EA adds secondary attack capability to almost all small arms (pistol whipping and such), an element absent from MOHAA. However, I was able to complete all 9 single-player missions in one evening. Though enjoyable and appealing enough to necessitate a replay, the short length left me feeling a little shafted by EA, and I can't help but think the EA used MOH's name recognition to bump the price tag up from a typical $20.00 to almost $30.00.

The Good:
- 9 more single-player missions of typical MOH excellence
- Enhanced Multiplayer features
- Additional Weapons including Smoke Grenades
- The addition of game-play elements absent from the original(pistol whips, vehicle and gun turret acquisitions)
- Slightly enhanced graphic elements & action sequences
- In-game cut scenes

The Bad:
- ONLY 9 more single-player missions (3 hours - tops)
- OVERPRICED!!!

The Bottom Line:
Despite the substandard return on investment as compared to the original MOHAA, I would still have bought Spearhead, despite the price tag. As an outspoken advocate of the original title there was no decision to be made when it came to shelling out $30.00 for the expansion. Although, I firmly believe that other MOHAA advocates will question the value of their purchase as well. If you were not impressed by MOHAA, Spearhead will do nothing but add to that disappointment. I recommend you individuals, as misguided as you may be, skip this title. However, fans of the series who don't want to miss out on any action should be advised of the expansion's actual content while they are debating waiting for a price drop.

Invest wisely my friends. See you on the battlefield.

Great improvements nearly negated by big flaws.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 25 / 30
Date: November 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've always loved the Medal of Honor series, and Allied Assault is one of my favourite games of the past year. Spearhead has made some good improvements on Allied Assault, but those improvements are offset by some highly substantial flaws.

First of all, the price. Whether three new missions and a handful of new weapons are worth the price is up to you. I can say that it's amusing being able to commandeer a Nebelwerfer (the kind you only got to blow up in Allied Assault), and the new revolvers are fun to use, but only three new missions for a purchase price comparable to the original game?

Secondly, the system mechanics. Depending on what version of Allied Assault you have, the installation of Spearhead may cause all your old saved games to become unreadable.

Finally, gameplay. There are plusses and minuses. The graphics took a big leap forward, but with that comes a price -- controls are harder because of all the eye candy. When enemies get close, they often become flurries because of the graphical details. A great improvement is the ability to use physical attacks (the "pistol whip") with weapons other than pistols. Finally, after three games, they give you this very simple, very useful option. My biggest complaint is in some of the level designs. Not only did Electronic Arts not learn from the negative feedback given to Allied Assault's "sniper" level (also known as the "fighting 100 enemies you can't see" level), but they make it even worse with two of the levels in this game. If you fancy fighting enemies who hit you from all over but whom you can't even see, this is the game for you. Not all levels are like that, but for me, it's a major slip-up in game testing that I have to actually fire blindly into the distance without being able to see my enemies.

My biggest complaint is still the price. Frankly, if I'd known there were so few new levels, I wouldn't have bought this game at all. Perhaps the new multiplayer features make it worthwhile? I don't play multiplayer so I don't know. But the package is definitely overpriced. Whereas expansion packs like those for The Sims (Livin' Large being especially impressive) and Armored Core make their original games twice as broad, Spearhead falls far below my expectations.

SATYSFING EXPANSION TO A SATYSFING GAME!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

FEATURES:

-There are twelve new multiplayer maps that are added on to the old seven. There are also three more single player missions. Even though there are some pretty hard missions, since there is only three of them it will take you less then a day to beat a Campaign.

-For multiplayer there is a new mode called Tug-Of-War. In this mode for each map there are five objectives that each team needs to accomplish to win the game. After you win the game EA shows off its Quake III graphics with a movie.

-The expansion pack uses the incredible new quake III 3-D graphic engine. This makes the graphics better but are not very noticeable. In the single player Campaign though you can barely see the better clarity of characters that you encounter then in the original Allied Assault.

-The Award winning Sound Engineers of EA games made many new voices for Spearhead and updated the amazing sounds of world war II combat. The whispering of soldiers and bullets whining around you sound unbelievably realistic. Try putting your sound on high quality to hear how good the sound is.

-A couple of new edition guns to the expansion pack are the British Enfield Mark 1 Rifle, British Sten submachine gun, the soviet PPSH-4 submachine gun, the German rifle that can also shoot a grenade, and a different sniper rifle for each nationality. In multiplayer to access these different guns you have to choose the uniform of certain country. If you are British you will use the British Enfield Mark 1 Rifle, Sten Submachine gun, and a certain sniper rifle. If you are Russian you will use a German like rifle, soviet PPSH-1 submachine gun, and a certain sniper rifle. If you are American you will have all the regular allied guns in the original Allied Assault. If you are German you will have all the guns from the original Allied Assault but instead of the shotgun you have the rifle that can also shoot a grenade. To shoot a grenade with the German special rifle you right click to load in a grenade an either right click or left click to fire it.

-Another new cool edition to the expansion pack is the use of planted guns. There are a lot more MG42s planted throughout all of the maps along with mortars, anti air guns, and Neberwulfers (Artillery piece). These guns are accessible in single player and multiplayer maps. There is also another gun that can only be accessed certain maps but the cool thing with this gun is that you can carry it around with you. This is a portable MG42 heavy machine gun that has fifty rounds in it (each time you undeploy the gun the ammo is replenished). To pick it off the ground you press use. To deploy it you right click and to fire you left click. To undeploy it again you right click. Find a good spot to plant this gun and don't get into a fire fight while running around with it. You can only fire the gun when it is deployed.

OVERVIEW:

-I must warn everyone that Spearhead seems to be more demanding on computers then the original Allied Assault game. So if your computer has anything less then a 700MHZ processor and 32MB video card [you won't be able to appreciate this game].

-The Single player Campaign, even though is short, I will give mad props. The last mission in Berlin you get to drive a tank and instead of following a certain course you can drive the tank where ever you want to (within the limits of the map of course). When you are driving the tank you can switch between the big tank cannon and a heavy machine gun. Another cool addition to Spearhead is that if you fire a cannon of a tank at a building or throw a grenade at a building. The building wall will blow off! This is makes the realism of the game much better.

-The AIs in Spearhead are more realistic then in Allied Assault because they are always not aware of your position and you can sneak up behind them easier. This may make the game a little easier but much less frustrating then when you would in Allied Assault step out in the open to snipe a German and get your head blown off before you can even get into your scope mode.

-Now there are four different types of grenades in Spearhead. One different looking grenade for each country with the same amount of power and a smoke grenade. Each country has a different colored smoke grenade which can be accessed by pressing "five" for grenades twice. These grenades are not very effective unless you are in the mist of it. They also only take up the space of two small rooms.

-In Spearhead along with he new guns is the ability to whip almost any gun at your enemy by right clicking. This is highly effective in short range battle, especially with an empty primary gun. But don't go crazy with the whipping, it is much more effective to pull out a pistol and plug your enemy then try to whip him to death.

-It seems that in Spearhead, especially with submachine guns and sniper rifles, you have to shoot your enemy twice as many times to kill him then you did in Allied Assault. Another weird thing added to Spearhead that adds more to the realism of the game is the kickback you receive with the high powered sniper rifles. Unfortunately the sniper rifles aren't so powerful as they used to be. Spearhead is really hard on snipers (me being one of them).

-One huge glitch that I have noticed on the multiplayer part of Spearhead is that when you sometimes nail an enemy with rapid fire they will slide around across the screen on their ****! I dunno why this happens but it sometimes can be a nuisance.

Way too short...too much focus on cosmetics

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 16
Date: November 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed MOHAA, however, the Spearhead expansion pack is a major disappointment. First off, the game is very short...about 5 hours of game play at the most...even for a casual gamer. Secondly, there are some real frustrating moments. The enemy snipers can now actually be seen, however, there are some other areas that rely on "save and reload" methods once you've mapped out the level...this really detracts from the "fun factor". If the game were longer I could live with this, but considering the game contains only 9 missions, I can't. Thirdly, the graphics and sound are top notch, however, you'll need a decent system to enjoy this game. I'm running an Athlon 1800+, 512M RAM, and a GF4ti and still had hiccups and slowdows. Nothing unacceptable, but I wouldn't expect this (I didn't have as many of these with MOHAA).

There are some fun moments in this game, but it ends too soon. If you put a high value on fancy graphics and production values this is probably the game for you. If you expect more than that, I'd pass on this title.

2 Stars were generous for this sub-par effort

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: January 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The words "EA Games" should be enough to summarize my entire review. Another typical EA entry but this time it truly showed who was behind the game. Unlike the original Medal of Honor Allied Assault (MOHAA), which was developed by 2015 studios, Spearhead was entirely created by a special wing of EA Games; quite possibly the recipe for complete disaster.
Tragically the single player was a disaster. "How can he say this about a Medal of Honor game?" you ask. Well, actually it is quite simple. Compared to the original, this expansion lacks in every way possible. The typical approach by a company more concerned about the bottom line than how the game turns out. Playing off the inherent popularity of MOHAA, EA thought that they could save money by doing the entire game on their own this time. What occurred was simply a travesty of the MOHAA name, a series that once boasted about being very "playable". Instead of making a large number of missions that are challenging, but still able to beat in one or two tries; EA reduced the number of missions (and sub-missions) drastically. In order to compensate for this, they turned up the amount and frequency of computer controlled enemies. What they were left with was a horrible (and often unbearable) single player game. Where the player is often forced to run gauntlet after gauntlet of enemy fire...
Conversely, the multiplayer was a very pleasant surprise for me. While the single player left me seething, the multiplayer was a welcome and refreshing change. It is quite obvious where the work was put into this game. Unlike most expansions, Spearhead has undergone a complete facelift and even a little tinkering behind the scenes. The maps are much bigger, and the overall game play is more than satisfying.
In short, if you have a fast internet connection and are willing to shell out for the game you won't be disappointed. However, if you are among those who have played the single player campaign of MOHAA (and are expecting this one to compare) and do not have an internet connection, you will most likely feel cheated out of your money.

One Of First To Test

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 39
Date: September 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I was a lucky one to test this. I like this game!!! No i LOVE THIS GAME! If you have Medal of Honor :Allied Assault buy this! The extra levels and other new things are so great! The new single player missions are amazing. Buy this!!

Good graphics, poor gameplay

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought Spearhead as soon as I could. I should have waited. I don't do a lot of multiplayer (high-speed net access is unavailable) so I really wanted to play the singleplayer missions. I finished them in one weekend. I know, it's an expansion pack, but I hoped it would have "expanded" the MOH playing experience. It didn't. Spearhead is basically a sequel, not an expansion like Clone Wars was for Galatic Battlegrounds or all the Sims expansions. Too bad.

Too Short...Too Annoying

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: November 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I loved the original game. I've had it for several months, and still play it. Unfortunately, this expansion doesn't live up to the original. I bought and finished this expansion on the same day. It took about 2.5-3 hours total. Most of that time was spent on one really annoying level. It's a level where your unit is being shelled by enemy artillery. You have to move back and forth between fox holes between bombardments. You're supposed to hide in the fox holes and move between them during lulls in the shelling. Unfortunately, some shells fall in the fox holes and kill you automatically while you're taking cover. No hit for damage, no nothing. One minute you're crouching in the hole, the next it cuts to an animation of your squad members praying over your body. "Please start again" Basically, you'll know which fox holes not to go to after dying about 40 times. It was much more annoying than the beach landing in the original game.

As for additions to the game, it adds new weapons and the ability to lean around corners. Most of the new weapons are so similiar to the originals that they might as well have been left out. Others are useless. For instance, in one mission your trusty M-1 gets replaced by a British Enfield rifle. the Enfield is a bolt action rifle. Think sniper rifle with no scope. Slow firing time makes it far inferior to the M-1...

Nice expansion

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a great expansion to classic first-person shooter game, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. It includes missions left out by the original, such as Bastogne, and parachuting into Normandy on D-Day. This is because it does not follow the life of Mike Powell, a Ranger in the original. It follows a new guy, a paratrooper. He jumps into Normandy on the eve of the invasion, goes to Bastogne, and at the end Berlin. All missions include exciting graphics and realism.

The expansion features new nationalities, the Brits and the Russians, all of which you encounter during in-game scenarios, as well as their all-new weapons. Along with the new missions and small-arms the expansion pack offers, it now allows you to man anti-aircraft artillary, 88's, and Nebelwerfers to use as you wish. Spearhead also comes with a batch of new multiplayer maps that will keep you entertained for hours.

One problem that I had with the Spearhead expansion was that the single-player tour of duty seemed very short and much-vaunted in the "realism-department." It could have used more missions, and it's questionable that a single American soldier would be thrown in with a squad of British troops and then again with a squad of Russians.

PROS:
-More than 15 new weapons
-Player has the new ability to man artillary
-New, immersive multiplayer maps and features

CONS:
-Could have been more single-player missions
-Some multiplayer maps will be laggy on most systems
-Might not be completely historically accurate

It's good, but short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: November 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I address in this review only to the single player game. I'll leave it to others to address multi-player aspects of the MOH expansion.

First off, MOHAA is one of my favorite games. I've played it over and over again -- one of the few first person shooters I can say that about. I jumped at the chance to get more of it.

Is is worth it? Um, well, yes, kind of. The missions are stunning, starting with a thrilling sequence of parachuting into D-day, continuing with a great campaign in the Ardennes and ending with a shootout in Berlin. However, the expansion is way too small -- three levels, nine missions? There is not the coherence of MOHAA -- the intermission briefings are gone. You're just sort of dropped off and do random things until the mission is over. And none of the missions are as long or as satisyfing as those in MOHAA. I finished this in one day.

There are some cool new weapons, and some new effects (cannons knock down trees for example). However, for some reason, I started out with all the medals, which was extremely lame.

Additionally, much of the fighting takes place at night or in rain/snow. And it's impossible to see. I found myself squinting a lot. This was definitely NOT the case with the original as I could see fine in night and rain and snow. I don't know what's wrong.

Really, this looks like something slapped together to cash in on the success and acclaim of MOHAA. It's probably a four star game if you liked MOHAA as much as I did, but a three-star game if you're not an addict...

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