Medal of Honor Frontline update

Electronic Arts has sent over a new set of screenshots from its upcoming PlayStation 2 game Medal of Honor Frontline and updated us on the status of the game's development. The first-person shooter, which takes place in the time between the third and fourth missions of the original Medal of Honor for the PlayStation, is currently 50 to 60 percent complete. Visually, the game will be quite robust, as the environments in the game are cluttered with buildings, vehicles, signage, working windmills, and other assorted geometry. Unlike the PlayStation originals, which only allowed for a maximum of two to three enemies onscreen at once, Medal of Honor Frontline will have the player squaring off against many more Nazi troops at one time. According to EA, there can be over fifteen enemies on screen at once in the game. Additionally, the development team has devised a variety of facial textures for the enemies. At this stage, as evidenced by the screenshots, only one of these facial textures is being implemented, but in the final game, there will be around seven different facial textures for the enemies in the game. In terms of actual development, the team is currently in the process placing enmies and tweaking AI.

In the game, players assume the role of Lt. Jimmy Patterson as he infiltrates the German front line and extracts the experimental Nazi flying wing code-named HO-IX. The game will consist of five missions, each containing three individual levels. Lt. Patterson will have weapons such as the liberator pistol, panzerschreck, and MG42 mounted machine gun at his disposal, and he will also have access to a small squad of soldiers. The game will make use of a number of visual effects, taking advantage of the power of the PlayStation 2. The game's developer will incorporate advanced lighting effects and particle effects in the game to accentuate the realism further.

In the development of Frontline, Electronic Arts has enlisted the aid of the Smithsonian's HO-IX expert Russ Lee, while Capt. Dale Dye will return as a consultant for the project. Medal of Honor Frontline is on track to be released in March of next year for the PlayStation 2. Electronic Arts is also developing Medal of Honor: Fighter Command, which is a flight-combat simulator, for the PS2.