You’d think that EA would be doing its best to separate Medal of Honor from the pack in a very crowded first-person shooter market. The team at EA Los Angeles is, indeed, working to make the game stand out, but the experience is not likely to be the most innovative shooter you’ve ever played. Executive producer Greg Goodrich explained that the intent is to build a highly polished game:
What we’re focusing on is making a great first-person shooter. [If we don’t] put out [a game] that revolutionize[s] the genre, so be it, but we’re showing up to do a great game — a great experience that fans will love.
He went on to express his belief that Medal of Honor will innovate in the way it tells its story, and by including the experiences of a Tier 1 operator, the game is already doing something no other shooter has done. In addition, as seen in the debut teaser trailer, your enemies will employ “unexpected” and unconventional tactics. “But at the end of the day,” Goodrich told me, “it’s all about making a great shooter, and not necessarily pushing the genre forward.”
That said, the developers are certainly aware of the competition and that the stakes are high, and they’re aiming for the top. “Nowadays, especially in the shooter genre, if you show up to the table, you have to show up with quality — you have to show up with a product that’s meant to be at the forefront of this genre,” said Goodrich. “Because if you show up with a product that’s not of quality, you might as well just not show up — there’s no point.”
For the lowdown on Medal of Honor’s single-player campaign, check out my full preview, which is going up at 9:20 AM EST.
