Reviews// Medal of Honor: Airborne (PS3)

It's telling that the last time I played a game that involved parachuting into enemy territory to carry out missions of daring do was Airborne Ranger, some 20 years ago on the Commodore 64. While this clearly shows my age, it seems to suggest there's not much demand for games where players leap from aircraft with little more than a big bag over their heads to save them from a really big bounce.

On the subject of aged things, it's hard to believe that it's the better slice of a decade since the first Medal of Honor (It really grates that the spelling hasn't been Anglicised. Ed) graced the old PS1, or PlayStation as we called it then. If you've never heard of the Medal of Honor (MoH) titles, you're clearly no fan of the first person shooter (FPS). Shame on you!

MoH introduced believable WWII infantry combat to a world of alien-filled shooters, giving us the chance to pepper those stinking stormtroopers and Nazis with the hot lead of Allied justice, plus a handful of grenades lobbed in for good measure. This was all very exciting, as their lifeless bodies were tossed aloft in a time before the term "ragdoll" had become a trading commodity in games.

Medal of Honor: Airborne throws you once more behind enemy lines during World War II. Set again in Europe, you take hold of the strings of Private Boyd Travers, member for the 82nd Airborne Division. We Brits would call them the Parachute Regiment, for that is what they are, not birds in bloody flight, but I digress. Your job is to jump from the aforementioned, perfectly good airplane and deal the Hun a jolly good hand of "love from above".

As with the rest of the game, your first mission is based on actual WWII action, in this case Operation Husky. You're deployed over Sicily with orders to take out anti-aircraft batteries. To be honest it's certainly a trial by fire. You see, if like me you're an impatient little schweinhund, you'll just land your chute - probably turning an ankle for good measure - and start blasting away at Gerry. Trouble being, I didn't listen during the briefing, and managed to set down in the middle of a little "get together".

Therein lies a lesson: pay attention to what the boss has to say during your mission briefing. He'll tell you where's hot, and where's not.