Medal of Honor: Frontline

Medal of Honor: Frontline was released on PlayStation 2 in 2002 and was among the titles that brought console players a World War II first-person shooter experience similar to what Medal of Honor: Allied Assault had done on PC. The game guided an American soldier through several key moments of the Western Front, from the landing at Normandy through the French countryside to the fortifications of the occupied coast. The player advanced through linear, scripted levels, destroying machine-gun nests, taking out soldiers dug in behind cover, and completing sub-objectives such as sabotaging guns or rescuing allies, with the game placing more emphasis on cinematic pacing and atmosphere than on freedom of movement.

Technically, it was one of the more visually impressive titles of the early PlayStation 2 era — a richly detailed battlefield, dense gunfire, and explosions gave the battles a very convincing weight for the time. The music by composer Michael Giacchino deserved special mention, its symphonic, dramatic motifs heightening the sense of pathos and heroism, and it was among the most highly praised aspects the game offered. The controls were adapted for the gamepad, and despite the absence of the analog aiming typical of later shooters, the game played smoothly and clearly. The individual missions were also interwoven with short cinematic sequences that added urgency and drama to the story.

Frontline was very well received critically at the time of release and helped establish the war shooter genre as a solid fixture of console offerings, paving the way for further entries in the series as well as rival titles like Call of Duty. Today the game feels more like a linear, guided experience with an emphasis on atmosphere and music rather than a technically demanding shooter, but as a historical milestone of the genre and a reminder of the early era of console FPS games, it still holds value, mainly thanks to its unmistakable music and cinematically constructed missions.

Why play it: Anyone looking for a historical milestone of the war-shooter genre with unmistakable music and cinematically constructed missions will appreciate Frontline as the title that paved the way for Call of Duty and other rivals.