EA hopes to improve on their popular Medal of Honor franchise with their latest version, European Assault. Like all other MOH games, European Assault is set during World War II. Although this is a good time period to base a war game is, it has been done many, many times before. There have been better WWII games made in the past, but that doesn’t mean European Assault isn’t good.

European Assault improves on all the problems games had with Rising Sun. The biggest improvement is the new optional side missions on a map. If you like, you can go off on these side missions to earn extra medals and an improved ranking. The hard part is finding these, since it usually requires you to walk around an entire level to find them. I would have liked it better if they appeared during the main mission and you can then go off to accomplish them instead of having to look for them.

Another new addition is the ability to control your teammates. While this was needed for this game to match up with the other WWII shooters out there, it doesn’t seem to work as well. Your teammates will not always go or do exactly what you want them to. You will find yourself ignoring their presence most of the time and just let them have your back since they do a good job at that.

The game also incorporates a revive system so you can come back to life exactly where you died. This is a huge help gameplay wise as opposed to the old games where you would have to restart from a checkpoint when you died. But if you do run out of revives, there aren’t any checkpoints, you must start from the very beginning of the level. The revive system makes it both easier and harder at the same time. To help you from dieing, the game now is based more on taking cover instead of going in guns ablaze like the past games. There is also a new adrenaline meter, which along with the new nemesis enemies that take loads of damage, make the game more fun, but also take away from the realism.

The graphics are pretty good, but nothing spectacular. The game does include an awesome soundtrack that makes you feel the drama of war. Many people will be disappointed that there is no online play, but ask yourself, will you really play this game online instead of all the other games out there? I think the developers made a good decision when they decided online play was not needed for this game.

At only $40, this is a good game for anyone looking for a fun and exciting WWII experience that they can play with their friends once the single player is over. If you are looking for a new shooter with very little flaws, I suggest Medal of Honor European Assault.

Beat the game on Hero mode and win $10,000. More details here: Official Medal of Honor website