Reviews// Medal of Honor: Airborne (PS3)

So, out of the aeroplane you go and before you know it you're on the ground. You jump from what seems to be about 500 feet, which doesn't give you a great amount of time to get your bearings and turn to your chosen landing zone (or drop zone as some may prefer). This is a bit of a disappointment, as you never quite get the feeling of serenity one gets as one falls gently with nothing below your toes for hundreds of feet. Still, it's probably best to get out of the skies before you and your chute are ventilated.

EA always claims to painstakingly research and consult with military experts when producing of MoH titles. However, I'm a little unsure about the authenticity of the parachuting part of the game. Did WWII chutes really feature the ability to steer and "flare" for a soft landing, or if you've got some forward speed, a running "greased" landing? Whatever, it's irrelevant because parachuting barely features in the game - we're talking 30 seconds at the start of each operation - so it's no big deal. After all, where's the fun in hanging around, looking at your toes and waiting for the ground rush to kick in? Just steer the thing, avoid trees and other potentially eye-watering hazards; let's get on with shooting people and be damned with this authenticity. Reality is overrated anyway.

On the ground, MoH:A plays like pretty much every one of its predecessors. Initially it seems to be very much a formulaic MoH title - same gameplay, different locations. You have three weapons that you're tooled up with to begin the missions; a side arm and two other weapons, either rifles or machine guns.

However, the difference is soon evident, because unlike previous MoH outings, Airborne is a far less linear game. No longer are you lead down a rigid path, instead you're given the whole operation zone to work within - the natural fallout of allowing the player to chose their starting point. So, instead of the former A-to-B progress of former Honors titles, your objectives are scattered about the zone - take out Ack-Ack installations, prevent the destruction of a key bridge, you get the idea.

Typically you'll aim to land in a safe zone, as detailed in the briefing and indicated during your drop with a green flare, but you could opt for one of the special landing spots, located in tricky positions such as balconies or archways, earning you bonus badges.

With a whole town to sprint around, ambushes await, so it's great that you can get on to roof tops and pick off enemy soldiers from the relative safety of a high vantage point.

Ultimately, pitched battles tend to reach what feels like a stalemate, with a seemingly constant supply of enemy turning up. Eventually they dwindle until you can move forward. Fortunately your own men are replenished like little gifts from the heavens borne of gossamer canopies and spewing automatic weapon death.

Non-player AI, while not truly intelligent, does a fine job of breathing life into each mission. Instead of simply hiding behind cover, exchanging fire, they move around looking for more advantageous positions. Ultimately one blithering idiot will try to make a dash for it and be summarily cut down from numerous angles.

The character animation is astoundingly realistic, in that Hollywood manner we all believe to be "real"; beyond the staple grenade "air ballet", soldiers fall on their faces when killed as they run, crumple clutching their guts when shot in the belly, slump immediately lifeless when taken down with a head shot, or be thrown backwards; tumbling over balustrades (if one is at hand) when shot in the chest.