History Videogame / MedalOfHonor

A new reboot is in the works at Respawn Entertainment (''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'', ''VideoGame/ApexLegends''). This new game, titled ''Above and Beyond'', is a VR game that will return to World War II.

* ''Medal of Honor: European Assault'' (2005): A consoles' exclusive with more arcade-y, open-ended gameplay with limited squad commands. The game features various fronts of the war and ends with the Battle of the Bulge.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'' (2007): The last game released for the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 2}} and the first released on the Wii. The game is a back-to-basics instalment more in line with ''Rising Sun'' and is set from the point of view of a soldier from the American Airborne fighting from Sicily to Germany.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'' (2007): The first HD instalment of the series. Unlike past titles, the game has more emphasis on open-ended objectives and big battles with light-RPG elements such as your weapons levelling up for increased damage and clip ammo. Like ''Vanguard'', the game is also set from the point of view of a soldier from the American Airborne.

Though notable in its own right, ''Medal of Honor'' is also known for having spawned Infinity Ward, who went on to make the more popular ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series. A distinct difference between the two is its narrative focus:

* In ''Call of Duty'', playership is usually divided between a number of nationals and fronts, with the tone being more cynical and dark than in ''Medal of Honor''. The games have more focus on the player being part of a squad and following orders or instructions. The series, especially the later games, tends to have a far more fast-paced, aggressive and arcade-y feel to them, especially apparent in its ''VideoGame/NaziZombies'' survival game mode. Later games would focus more on just one playable protagonist, personal stories and special/secret operations.

A new reboot is in the works at Respawn Entertainment (''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'', ''VideoGame/ApexLegends''). This new game, titled ''Above and Beyond'', is a VR game that will return to World War II and be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/OculusRift.

A new reboot is in the works at Respawn Entertainment (''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'', ''VideoGame/ApexLegends''). This new game, titled ''Above and Beyond'', is a VR game that will return to the series' World War II setting and be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/OculusRift.

A new reboot is in the works at Respawn Entertainment (''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'', ''VideoGame/ApexLegends''). This new game, titled ''Above and Beyond'', is a VR game that will return to the series's World War II setting and be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/OculusRift.

A new reboot is in the works at Respawn Entertainment (''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'', ''VideoGame/ApexLegends''). This new game, titled ''Above and Beyond'', is a VR game that will return back to the series's World War II setting and be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/OculusRift.

In 2010, [[FollowTheLeader following]] the runaway success of the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series, the ''Medal of Honor'' series was rebooted and brought into a modern-day setting, with gameplay re-tooled to be closer to the style of ''Modern Warfare''. The new ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor2010'' games distinguish themselves from the new ''Call of Duty'' games (as well as the newer ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' games) in that the plot and atmosphere are intended to be much more "true to life", focusing on the Invasion of Afghanistan and later TheWarOnTerror, without Hollywood embellishments such as runaway nukes or rogue Russian special forces divisions with genocidal ambitions.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'' (add-ons ''Spearhead'' and ''Breakthrough''): A PC exclusive set in Europe and North Africa. Unlike previous titles, this one places more emphasis on frontline combat, and is in general, more action-oriented.

* ''Medal of Honor: Underground'': A MissionPackSequel set in German-occupied France from the point of view of a female spy of the French resistance named Manon.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline'' (2002): A consoles' exclusive and the first game released for sixth generation consoles with emphasis on being part of combined assaults and cinematic battles while also being a spy-thriller.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'' (2007): The last game released for the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 2}} and the first released on the Wii. The game is a back-to-basics installment more in line with ''Rising Sun'' and is set from the point of view of a soldier from the American Airborne fighting from Sicily to Germany.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'' (2007): The first HD installment of the series. Unlike past titles, the game has more emphasis on open-ended objetives and big battles with light-RPG elements such as your weapons leveling up for increased damage and clip ammo. Like ''Vanguard'', the game is also set from the point of view of a soldier from the American Airborne.

* In ''Medal of Honor'', you often play as a pivotal American frontline soldier in a particular theater of battle. Though MoreDakka is generously provided, you often fight alone (main exceptions being ''Pacific Assault'' where you control a team of at least three allies, ''Airborne'' and ''Vanguard'' where you always have a few paratroopers on your side, although apparently they can run out, and the 2010 game, where most missions find you with at least 1 companion). In any case, most of the action serves to drive you from one iconic action scene to another. The series is noted for having an idealistic tone, great realism and respect for real soldiers in real wars. Also there was an abundance of [[ContinuityNod continuity nods]] as past protagonists would be referenced or would make cameos across some of the games.

* BloodlessCarnage: Why they're some of the only T-rated FPS out there.

* StormingTheCastle: ''Underground'' had Manon infiltrate an SS castle. Also, the bonus mission.

* UniversalAmmunition: Played straight in most of the early games, where picking up a Karabiner 98k rifle meant more rounds for your M1 Garand. The series dropped it when they started copying CallOfDuty's modus operandi.
* UniqueEnemy: The first game had German Shepard patrol dogs in the final level of the first mission, and nowhere else. The second game had literal KnightsInShiningArmor in another level and nowhere else. Frontline had Sturmgeist's personal guards in two levels. Rising Sun, being set in the Pacific campaign, had a handful of German troops in one mission, and nowhere else.

* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: Played straight in most of the games, averted in Rising Sun and Airborne to some degree.
** Vanguard as well. Some areas you can only get into if you land in them.
* NoticeThis: Important items and objects are highlighted. Other items may be glowing depending on the game (Allied Assault marks health but not weapons.)

* OneManArmy: In the first game, very specifically done as an agent of the OSS. You stop a rail gun, sink a prototype U-Boat, kill Hitler's favorite colonel and destroy his mustard gas facility-slash-fortress, and then wreck his rocket facility.
** And that's just the first game. There's a reason why ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' for the most part averts this trope since because it was considered very unrealistic. War cannot be won by one person alone.

* SillinessSwitch: ''Panzerknacker Unleashed!'' for ''Underground'' featured dogs dancing, driving jeeps, and wielding guns, German knights, zombies, and evil terminator nutcrackers. Did I mention the dancing dogs?

* SnipingMission: ''Rising Sun'' - On an elephant. With a turret.

* [[SouthernFriedPrivate Southern Fried Marine]]: Willy Gaines in Pacific Assault.

* DrivenToSuicide: On Nijmegen Bridge, if you shoot all but one of the snipers off the top of the bridge, the lone sniper will take his chances and jump off the bridge.
** Sometimes he'll start shooting at the Germans below instead!
* DuringTheWar (UsefulNotes/WorldWarII)

* EliteMooks: The Waffen-SS and Fallschirmjäger in the first game.

* HyperspaceArsenal: The early games give you multiple weapons slots, allowing the player to carry a pistol, rifle, [=SMG=], machine gun, grenades, and a rocket launcher.

* HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: In the first game there was a cheat that allowed for bouncing bullets and bouncing grenades.
** Make sure you have GodMode employed when using it though, otherwise it becomes a HoistByHisOwnPetard situation.

* MinecartMadness: The level "Enemy Mine" (no relation to the EnemyMine trope) in ''Frontline''.
** Which was a ShoutOut to the mine cart sequence from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''.

* NonIndicativeName: Most of ''Medal of Honor: Frontline'' actually doesn't take place at the front lines of the battlefield. The player spends the bulk of the game as an OSS operative (not a frontline soldier) doing covert missions behind enemy lines, and stealth comes into play in several levels.
** Several of the missions did take place on the front, which was an infinite amount more then the previous two console games.

* AcePilot: Lt. Jimmy Patterson. The reason why he's an officer is because he was a pilot in the army. This never comes up in the games themselves except for the very final mission in Frontlines.
* ActionGirl: Manon in Underground.
* AirVentPassageway: Rather notably, if the Germans find out you're in there they will actually try to follow you in.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Sturmgeist in ''Frontline'' and the Nemesis Officers and Von Schrader in ''European Assault'' can all take significantly more damage that the basic {{Mooks}} under their command.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: On the Nijmegen Bridge level in Frontline, a German sniper will jump to his death from the top of the bridge rather than be shot by Jimmy.

* BilingualBonus: The Nazis all speak and taunt in German, though a cheat in the first game caused them to speak in English. The cheat code itself lampshaded this.
** The enemies in Rising Sun and Pacific Assault mainly speak Japanese, for obvious reasons.

* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Grenades (and large caliber bullets in the later games) caused flying bodies.

* DistressCall: In the first game, the objective of the first mission is to follow a distress call from a G3 officer who had survived a crash, following him all over enemy territory to try and rescue him.

* DoNotDropYourWeapon
* DownerEnding:
** ''Rising Sun''. [[spoiler:The BigBad slits the throat of fellow soldier Tanaka right after he frees you from captivity aboard a supercarrier. He also manages to escape with your kidnapped brother.]]
* TheDreaded: By the end of the first game, the Germans know Jimmy Patterson by name, and in Frontline, have actually put up posters offering a rewards for his capture and/or death.

* DrillSergeantNasty / {{Expy}}: In ''Pacific Assault'', there's a drill sergeant who looks and acts suspiciously like R. Lee Ermey.
** Rising Sun also has a similar gunnery sergeant.

* TropicalIslandAdventure: ''Rising Sun'' and ''Pacific Assault'' take place in the Pacific Theater of World War II, with the former having missions in the Philippines and Singapore, the latter having missions in Kiribati, and both having missions in Hawaii and the Solomon Islands. ''Warfighter'' also has a mission about taking down Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the Philippines.

* TropicalIslandAdventure: ''Rising Sun'' and ''Pacific Assault'' take place in the Pacific Theater of World War II, with the former having missions in the Philippines and Singapore, the latter having missions in Kiribati, and both having missions in Hawaii and the Solomon Islands.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'' (2007): The first HD installment of the series. Unlike past titles, the game has more emphasis on open-ended objetives and big battles with light-RPG elements such as your weapons leveling up for increased damaged and clip ammo. Like ''Vanguard'', the game is also set from the point of view of a soldier from the American Airborne.

* In ''Medal of Honor'', you often play as a pivotal American frontline soldier in a particular theater of battle. Though MoreDakka is generously provided, you often fight alone (main exceptions being ''Pacific Assault'' where you control a team of at least three allies, ''Airborne'' and ''Vanguard'' where you always have a few paratroopers on your side, although apparently they can run out, and the 2010 game, where most missions find you with at least 1 companion). In any case, most of the action serves to drive you from one iconic action scene to another. The series is noted for having an idealist tone, great realism and respect for real soldiers in real wars. Also there was an abundance of [[ContinuityNod continuity nods]] as past protagonists would be referenced or would make cameos across some of the games.

** BiggerBad: While never made ​​a true appearance in the game, Hitler himself can be seen like this.

In 2010, [[FollowTheLeader following]] the runaway success of the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series, the ''Medal of Honor'' series was rebooted and brought into a modern-day setting, with gameplay re-tooled to be closer to the style of ''Modern Warfare''. The new ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor2010'' games distinguish themselves from the new ''Call of Duty'' games (as well as the newer ''Franchise/{{Battlefield}}'' games) in that the plot and atmosphere are intended to be much more "true to life", focusing on the Invasion of Afghanistan and later TheWarOnTerror, without Hollywood embellishments such as runaway nukes or rogue Russian special forces divisions with genocidal ambitions.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault'' (2005): A PC exclusive set in the Pacific Theater with emphasis on squad commands, has no story ties with ''Rising Sun''.

* In ''Medal of Honor'', you often play as a pivotal American frontline soldier in a particular theater of battle. Though MoreDakka is generously provided, you often fight alone (main exceptions being ''Pacific Assault'' where you control a team of at least three allies, ''Airborne'' and ''Vanguard'' where you always have a few paratroopers on your side, although apparently they can run out, and the 2010 game, where most missions find you with at least 1 companion). In any case, most of the action serves to drive you from one iconic action scene to another. The series is noted for having an idealist tone, great realism and respect for real soldiers in real wars. Also there was an abundance of ContinuityNods as past protagonists would be referenced or would make cameos across the games.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'' (add-ons ''Spearhead'' and ''Breakthrough''): A PC exclusive set in North Africa and Europe. Unlike previous titles, this one places more emphasis on frontline combat, and is in general, more action-oriented.

* ''Medal of Honor: Heroes'' and ''Heroes 2'': Originally meant to be a portable spin-off series, the success of the first game led to its sequel also releasing on the Wii. The games are more action-packed, condensed and less realistic in comparison to the rest of the series.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'' (2007): The last game released for the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 2}} and the first released on the Wii. The game is a back-to-basics installment and is set from the point of view of a soldier from the American Airborne fighting from Sicily to Germany.

* In ''Medal of Honor'', you often play as a pivotal American frontline soldier in a particular theater of battle. Though MoreDakka is generously provided, you often fight alone (main exceptions being ''Pacific Assault'' where you control a team of at least three allies, ''Airborne'' and ''Vanguard'' where you always have a few paratroopers on your side, although apparently they can run out, and the 2010 game, where most missions find you with at least 1 companion). In any case, most of the action serves to drive you from one iconic action scene to another. The series is noted for having an idealist tone, great realism and respect for real soldiers in real wars.
* In ''Call of Duty'', playership is usually divided between a number of nationals and fronts, with the tone being more cynical and dark than in ''Medal of Honor''. The games have more focus on the player being part of a squad and following orders or instructions. The series, especially the later games, tends to have a far more fast-paced, aggressive and arcade-y feel to them, especially apparent in its ''VideoGame/NaziZombies'' survival game mode.

* LesColaborateurs: In some missions in ''Undeground'', you'll fight the Vichy Militia.

* ''Medal of Honor'' (1999): The original game produced by ''Creator/StevenSpielberg'' released for the original UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}}. The game is an action-packed ''UsefulNotes/WorldWarII'' spy-thriller with gameplay similar to the videogame adaptation of ''007 GoldenEye''.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'' (2007): The last game released for the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 2}} and the first released on the Wii. The game is a back-to-basics installment and is set from the point of view of the American Airborne fighting from Sicily to Germany.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'' (2007): The first HD installment of the series. Unlike past titles, the game has more emphasis on open-ended objetives and big battles with light-RPG elements such as your weapons leveling up for increased damaged and clip ammo. Like ''Vanguard'', the game is also set from the point of view of the American Airborne.

* ''Medal of Honor'' (1999): The original game produced by ''Creator/StevenSpielberg'' released for the original UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}}, an action-packed ''UsefulNotes/WorldWarII'' spy-thriller.
* ''Medal of Honor: Underground'': A MissionPackSequel set in German-occupied France from the point of view of a female spy of the French resistance.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline'' (2002): A consoles' exclusive and something of a loose adaptation of ''Allied Assault'' with emphasis on being part of combined assaults and cinematic battles while also being a spy-thriller.

* ''Medal of Honor: Infiltrator'': A GBA exclusive with a from-the-top view and fast-paced action.

* In ''Medal of Honor'', you often play as a pivotal American frontline soldier in a particular theater of battle. Though MoreDakka is generously provided, you often fight alone (main exceptions being ''Pacific Assault'' where you control a team of at least three allies, ''Airborne'' and ''Vanguard'' where you always have a few paratroopers on your side, although apparently they can run out, and the 2010 game, where most missions find you with at least 1 companion). In any case, most of the action serves to drive you from one iconic action scene to another. The series is noted for great realism and respect for real soldiers in real wars.
* In ''Call of Duty'', playership is usually divided between a number of nationals, and any number of compatriots fighting alongside you, with gameplay being heavily focused on squad-based combat. Though just as pivotal in terms of gameplay, more focus is put on your comrades and where you fit into this particular unit. The series, especially the later games, tends to have a far more "arcadey" feel to it, especially apparent in its somewhat bizarre ''VideoGame/NaziZombies'' survival game mode.