Medal of Honor: European Assault
Encyclopedia
Medal of Honor: European Assault is the 6th installment in the long running Medal of Honor series
. European Assault was released for PlayStation 2
, Xbox
and GameCube
in June 2005. The game's story was written by John Milius
, the writer of Apocalypse Now
. The plot is based on Lieutenant
William Holt, an operative in the Office of Strategic Services
, and follows his deployments to allied forces in France, North Africa, the Soviet Union and Belgium.
Medal of Honor: European Assault was formerly titled Medal of Honor: Dogs of War, however, this was changed due to the implied connotation of mercenaries
. The name was changed to European Assault, which is fitting considering that gameplay takes place in the European Theatre (which included Europe and North Africa).
; however, the weapons and interface have been slightly upgraded to be more player-friendly. Most notably the HUD has been upgraded to indicate primary and secondary target and show other squad members, and ironsights were added. The addition of Adrenaline Mode, activated by killing numerous enemies or scoring headshots, allows the player to be invincible and have unlimited ammo for a short period of time.
As with all Medal of Honor games, the player is presented with a wide variety of weapons and stages pertaining to World War II
.
William Holt) will be sent to: France
, North Africa
, the Soviet Union
and Belgium
. Each area has a set of missions for the player to complete. While some objectives will be detailed from the start, exploration of the area will cause Holt to discover more missions. Each mission consists of five elements: a primary objective, secondary objectives, killing a German officer (Nemesis battle in the game), obtaining documents from the officer and escaping. If all are completed, a gold medallion will be given. Missing one or two will gain a silver or bronze.
Most missions involve Holt fighting alongside allied NPC
s and working towards a common objective, often based on historical events during WWII. However, as a member of the OSS
, Holt also has secondary objectives for each level, including finding documents and eliminating important German officers, such as henchmen belonging to the antagonist Graf Von Schrader.
as no Americans took part in the original raid, Holt and the British force are heading to the vital submarine pens at St. Nazaire. They approach the Nazi Germany
held port in the HMS Campbeltown
. However, the ship begins to take fire and soon raises the British Union Jack after they lose their cover. Upon landing, Holt is told to meet an officer that has the only radio after their radio officer is killed, at another side of the dock, which is denoted by a green flare. Upon meeting the officer, Holt has to head back to the ship to take cover from the airstrike the officer called, thus finishing the first mission. Then Holt goes with the British commandos on the St. Nazaire Raid
, where he destroys a fuel tank and eliminates a German officer named Klaus Mueller. Holt also has the option to destroy an Flakvierling AA gun, and a shore gun. Holt later travels through the docks in order to destroy an electric power plant and a U-boat, shutting off power to the city and eliminating another German officer by the name of Horst Brenner. Early the next morning, Holt and his British comrades receive word that no reinforcements will be coming, forcing them to fight their way through two German Panzer
s. They must battle officer Erich Koster and his forces throughout the city to escape into the French countryside.
prototypes. One of Holt's optional targets is a Nazi officer named Adabold Brecht. Optional objectives include blowing up a radar dish and destroying a panzer inside a destroyed village
. After initial fighting, Holt makes his way inside a German compound and attempts to rescue captured SAS
commandos and kill another of Von Schrader's men, Hans Schneider. With their help, Holt manages to get his hands on film which was recorded by Von Schrader, and ends up destroying a prototype V2 rocket.
. The first mission is On the Road to Stalingrad. Holt
's main objective is to destroy a rail gun
on the other side of a river
that runs through a small town. Holt also has an option to destroy 3 Panzer Tanks
. The final part of the mission is to secure and then defend a fortified Church on the edge of town, and eliminate Walter Neumann. The second, and final, Soviet mission is Climbing Mamayev Hill
. Holt, along with his squad and a Soviet battalion, lead a charge through a small village, driving the Germans back across a river. Holt must then follow them across the river and signal a rocket strike to clear the path. Once the area is secure, Holt's allies set themselves up around the entrance to a fort, on top of the hill. Once Holt blows the doors open, there is a fierce firefight. After destroying three artillery guns, Holt must eliminate Franz Greubner, and then Transmit Virus House Intel to the OSS (the Main Objective), before finally destroying the documents.
. Holt is sent in with the 101st Airborne Division
, surrounded within the Ardennes
forest in Belgium and participates in the battle to liberate the Bastogne Pocket. The Mission starts with an intense German offensive. Holt, with the help of paratroopers from the 101st Airborne manages to stop the initial assault by killing Folker Kappelhorf and blows up a strategically important bridge. Then Holt is sent to a Belgian farm to rescue Manon Batiste, a female OSS operative and the main character of Medal of Honor: Underground
(although renamed to Manon Du Champs in European Assault), who was captured by Von Schrader's most loyal man, Freder Engel. After defeating Engel, Holt frees the operative. In the final mission, Holt, accompanied with a platoon of US soldiers, makes the critical assault on Von Schrader's Virus House. With one final suicide battle, Holt eliminates Von Schrader and destroys the dirty bomb he developed by dropping it into the underground bunker at the last moment and survives with some minor wounds.
The game received average to good reviews, with many rating it significantly higher than its predecessor, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
. It was praised by several gaming websites and magazines like x-Play, IGN and Nintendo Power for its realistic battle situations and historic accuracy. However, critics criticized the game for its bland graphics and lack of online multiplayer.
Medal of Honor (series)
Medal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
. European Assault was released for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
in June 2005. The game's story was written by John Milius
John Milius
John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
, the writer of Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
. The plot is based on Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
William Holt, an operative in the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, and follows his deployments to allied forces in France, North Africa, the Soviet Union and Belgium.
Medal of Honor: European Assault was formerly titled Medal of Honor: Dogs of War, however, this was changed due to the implied connotation of mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
. The name was changed to European Assault, which is fitting considering that gameplay takes place in the European Theatre (which included Europe and North Africa).
Gameplay
The gameplay of European Assault is essentially the same as of its predecessor, a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
; however, the weapons and interface have been slightly upgraded to be more player-friendly. Most notably the HUD has been upgraded to indicate primary and secondary target and show other squad members, and ironsights were added. The addition of Adrenaline Mode, activated by killing numerous enemies or scoring headshots, allows the player to be invincible and have unlimited ammo for a short period of time.
As with all Medal of Honor games, the player is presented with a wide variety of weapons and stages pertaining to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Campaign
There are four overall areas the player (as Lt.Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
William Holt) will be sent to: France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Each area has a set of missions for the player to complete. While some objectives will be detailed from the start, exploration of the area will cause Holt to discover more missions. Each mission consists of five elements: a primary objective, secondary objectives, killing a German officer (Nemesis battle in the game), obtaining documents from the officer and escaping. If all are completed, a gold medallion will be given. Missing one or two will gain a silver or bronze.
Most missions involve Holt fighting alongside allied NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s and working towards a common objective, often based on historical events during WWII. However, as a member of the OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, Holt also has secondary objectives for each level, including finding documents and eliminating important German officers, such as henchmen belonging to the antagonist Graf Von Schrader.
St. Nazaire, France
In the beginning of the game, in a wholly fictionalized storyline based on Operation ChariotSt. Nazaire Raid
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined...
as no Americans took part in the original raid, Holt and the British force are heading to the vital submarine pens at St. Nazaire. They approach the Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
held port in the HMS Campbeltown
HMS Campbeltown
There have been two ships of the Royal Navy named HMS Campbeltown, after Campbeltown in Scotland:* The first Campbeltown , was a destroyer given to the Royal Navy by the United States Navy as part of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement. She had previously been USS Buchanan. Campbeltown...
. However, the ship begins to take fire and soon raises the British Union Jack after they lose their cover. Upon landing, Holt is told to meet an officer that has the only radio after their radio officer is killed, at another side of the dock, which is denoted by a green flare. Upon meeting the officer, Holt has to head back to the ship to take cover from the airstrike the officer called, thus finishing the first mission. Then Holt goes with the British commandos on the St. Nazaire Raid
St. Nazaire Raid
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined...
, where he destroys a fuel tank and eliminates a German officer named Klaus Mueller. Holt also has the option to destroy an Flakvierling AA gun, and a shore gun. Holt later travels through the docks in order to destroy an electric power plant and a U-boat, shutting off power to the city and eliminating another German officer by the name of Horst Brenner. Early the next morning, Holt and his British comrades receive word that no reinforcements will be coming, forcing them to fight their way through two German Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
s. They must battle officer Erich Koster and his forces throughout the city to escape into the French countryside.
North Africa
Mission 1 in Northern Africa is to destroy Tiger tankTiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
prototypes. One of Holt's optional targets is a Nazi officer named Adabold Brecht. Optional objectives include blowing up a radar dish and destroying a panzer inside a destroyed village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
. After initial fighting, Holt makes his way inside a German compound and attempts to rescue captured SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
commandos and kill another of Von Schrader's men, Hans Schneider. With their help, Holt manages to get his hands on film which was recorded by Von Schrader, and ends up destroying a prototype V2 rocket.
Soviet Union
There are 2 missions in the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The first mission is On the Road to Stalingrad. Holt
Holt
- Natural world :* Holt, an otter den* Holt, an occasional name for a fox den* Holt, an area of woodland, e.g. a grove or copse, especially as a place-name in Great Britain, Scandinavia, Iceland, and Germany...
's main objective is to destroy a rail gun
Railway gun
A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval ordnance, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World...
on the other side of a river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
that runs through a small town. Holt also has an option to destroy 3 Panzer Tanks
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
. The final part of the mission is to secure and then defend a fortified Church on the edge of town, and eliminate Walter Neumann. The second, and final, Soviet mission is Climbing Mamayev Hill
Mamayev Kurgan
Mamayev Kurgan is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd in Southern Russia. The name in Russian means "tumulus of Mamai"....
. Holt, along with his squad and a Soviet battalion, lead a charge through a small village, driving the Germans back across a river. Holt must then follow them across the river and signal a rocket strike to clear the path. Once the area is secure, Holt's allies set themselves up around the entrance to a fort, on top of the hill. Once Holt blows the doors open, there is a fierce firefight. After destroying three artillery guns, Holt must eliminate Franz Greubner, and then Transmit Virus House Intel to the OSS (the Main Objective), before finally destroying the documents.
Belgium
The final mission of the game involves the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. Holt is sent in with the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
, surrounded within the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
forest in Belgium and participates in the battle to liberate the Bastogne Pocket. The Mission starts with an intense German offensive. Holt, with the help of paratroopers from the 101st Airborne manages to stop the initial assault by killing Folker Kappelhorf and blows up a strategically important bridge. Then Holt is sent to a Belgian farm to rescue Manon Batiste, a female OSS operative and the main character of Medal of Honor: Underground
Medal of Honor: Underground
Medal of Honor: Underground is a videogame that is the prequel to the World War II hit Medal of Honor. In Underground, the player takes the role of Manon Batiste , a French woman who appeared in the first game as an advisor...
(although renamed to Manon Du Champs in European Assault), who was captured by Von Schrader's most loyal man, Freder Engel. After defeating Engel, Holt frees the operative. In the final mission, Holt, accompanied with a platoon of US soldiers, makes the critical assault on Von Schrader's Virus House. With one final suicide battle, Holt eliminates Von Schrader and destroys the dirty bomb he developed by dropping it into the underground bunker at the last moment and survives with some minor wounds.
Multiplayer
Like most of the games in the series, Medal of Honor: European Assault features a multiplayer mode. The game contains three different modes of games (Death Match, Axis vs. Allies, Free-for-All), about a dozen maps, and differing game types (e.g. Survival). It supports 2-8 players and has the option to create custom games with varying options depending on the mode.The game received average to good reviews, with many rating it significantly higher than its predecessor, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is the fifth installment of the Medal of Honor series, released by Electronic Arts in November 2003. Like its predecessors, Rising Sun is a first-person shooter set in World War II. Unlike predecessors,Rising Sun is set during the Pacific War. It features single-player...
. It was praised by several gaming websites and magazines like x-Play, IGN and Nintendo Power for its realistic battle situations and historic accuracy. However, critics criticized the game for its bland graphics and lack of online multiplayer.