Boom, Boom, Ping!

One of the many complaints thrown at the PSP is its inability to play first-person shooters because of its one analog nub. Many 3D action games have felt the wrath of critics and consumers alike by being constantly trampled on by bad reviews and some less-than-stellar sales. Medal of Honor: Heroes, however, changes that notion by having some of the best FPS controls this side of the consoles. Medal of Honor: Heroes is the newest addition to the long-running WWII franchise. Lately, the series went from the top dog to underdog. Games like Call of Duty and Brothers in Arms have left this war-hardened franchise in the dust. MOH has changed a bit to better mimic its more competent competitors in European Assault, and that change has also found its way to the PSP with Heroes. You play as different soldiers across battlefields in Belgium, Holland, and Italy. The missions are all very loosely pieced together and at the beginning of each campaign in a new country, you get a nice montage of WWII stock footage and good narration. The game takes other gameplay mechanics from Call of Duty as well with the ability to aim down the sights and have A.I. controlled teammates by your side. And of course you get the biggest reason why WWII games are so prevalent: the weapons. Favorites such as the M1 Garand, Thompson, MP40, BAR, and other classic weapons we just cant get enough of are here and accounted for. Each level, however, feels much less epic than their inspirational source. Basically you either pick up something, destroy something, or wait near a flag until you have captured it. After that, you really dont have any other fun in campaign mode other than upping you rank or completing a couple of extra objectives. Its extremely shallow and would be considered death on a console. This, however, does just fine for short, pick-up-and-play gaming sessions of tight WWII era combat. Its exactly what a handheld shooter should be. The place where you will be spending most of your time, though, is in the fantastic multiplayer. Every level is set for the optimum amount of WWII action and the gameplay holds up as good as it does on the consoles. The graphics also hold up surprisingly well on the PSP, too. The lighting, details, and textures closely match that of other PS2 titles and are as easily as good as most Dreamcast games. You definitely wont be distracted by ugly graphics on this 3D handheld game. The sound also matches its console counterparts with a great orchestral score and realistic gunshots and explosions. Nothing beats the ping of an M1 Garand. What this game will probably be most noted for is that its the first game to get the FPS controls right on the PSP. Movement and aiming is very precise and becomes second nature with only a few minutes of play. My personal favorite setup is using the face buttons for movement and the analog nub for aiming. Again, its something that makes this game feel closer to a console experience. Unfortunately, however, this game does not last long nor does it have a lot of variety to keep the average gamer going. FPS and history fanatics will undoubtedly want to pick this game up, but for the rest of you, Call of Duty: Roads to Victory is coming soon to the PSP and will most-likely be worth the wait. Its not a great game, but it is a step in the right direction for future handheld FPSs.