As the last paragraph states, this gem's sound design is exceptional. The is of Hollywood film score caliber, and the sound effects are not only perfectly delivered, but are completely accurate to the weapon or situation. The cold, "you're done" clink of a spent magazine as it flies out of an M1 is indicative of the kind of attention to detail that was paid to this game's production, and that's only one small example. The ambient noise creates tension where it should. The dogs bark, tree branches crack like a rifle shot from the weight of the snow resting on them, which, as you can imagine, can make a chap a bit jumpy, and faint German screaming can sometimes be heard from a melee taking place far in the distance. Immersive hardly seems to explain it. Now for the complaints. The title's is bloodless, and the story lacks any kind of satisfying ending scene. As for the blood, there's not a drop to be found, regardless of injury. This presents a bit of a disappointment in an exceptional title that took such great pains to adhere to realism. This is not meant to suggest that this title should have been as gory as, say, Soldier of Fortune, but when you put a round through the mid section of a soldier standing against a wall, the wall is going to get splattered. Perhaps this will be addressed with a nice little "blood" patch in the future, but the likelihood of that is slim to none. (Hello, mod community!) When you complete the single-player campaign, you've done just that. Game Over. No ending scene. It's a shameful omission, but these two complaints are really all that is wrong with this game... the rest of it is so right, these things get reduced to minor status. The modes are incredibly addictive, (this reviewer spent a whole day with 3 other friends and our own little server) full of axis v. allies combat across many areas of Europe. Again, due to the enhanced QIII engine in this game, the multiplayer aspect functions beautifully and simply. Be sure to download the update patch, however, if you plan on running your own server. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is the best in years. It's exceptional design succeeds where others fail due to its ability to affect you on a gameplay "fun" level, and a visceral "What if I were REALLY in the middle of this?" emotional level. Bear in mind that this is coming from a veteran gamer who has seen and played it all... twice. It takes that certain something within a product to actually raise the hair on the back of my neck and cause me to back off from the mouse for a moment, and this title delivered exactly that. For some of you, playing this title will clue you in as to what Grandpa has been talking about all these years, and others may actually look at the old man in a completely different way.

95%

By Russell Garbutt