If you mention the term "FPS" to a typical Wii gamer, you’ll probably get a reaction of "huh?" The reason being is that many people who own a Wii are considered to be in that relatively new category of gamer called "casual." EA is trying to reach this crowd with the introduction of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for the Wii.
I was able to see the demo first hand while speaking with EA’s Brice Yang about the concept and design behind this latest iteration of MoH. The first thing I noticed about the arcade mode of the game was that it was on "rails." If you’ve played the toilet plunger shooting mini-game in Rayman Raving Rabbids, you’ll understand this concept. You are pushed along on a pre-determined route and the baddies pop up for you to shoot.
This will probably be somewhat of a shock for die-hard shooter fans, but the system works well and will be fun for the casual gamers. My EA rep said this section of Medal of Honor,"…is very different from the traditional Medal of Honor. This game is really specifically designed for Nintendo Wii. It’ll be more successful [in game play] for the casual gamer. So for someone that might not be the biggest shooter fan in the world-it’s designed to get them into the game."
The AI in the arcade mode isn’t sharp as a tack, but the whole concept of this mode is to have some quick fun without getting too involved in the plot or worrying about what your objective is because there’s really only one: kill the enemy and kill him fast.
For the more serious shooter fan, he said, "There’s a regular full fledged single player campaign which is pretty roaming like a traditional FPS for more advanced players and will…offer 32 player multiplayer. For the Wii, it’s a first." They’ve made sure that the regular mode is story driven with cutscenes that describe what the missions are all about. Yang said that this portion of the game would be more "free roaming."
EA has really tried to make sure that new FPS gamers won’t get lost in how to play. "In the arcade mode, we’ve got little things to help players transition to the regular FPS mode…we’ve got aim assist, you can adjust the aiming sensitivity…there’s a lot that is customizable."
As mentioned before by Yang, the game was especially geared towards the casual crowd. In order to maintain a good amount of involvement in the game, the Wii designers have incorporated 10 unique "Wii-moves" that operate various weapons such as M1 rifles, shotguns, bazookas hand grenades and more.
So is this the game for the Wii that will finally define what a true shooting experience for the Medal of Honor series is all about? We’ll all find out when it comes out in November.
