What To Expect From Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond's Multiplayer Modes
VR enthusiasts and fans of the long-dormant Medal of Honor series have been patiently awaiting the return of the series, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, since its 2019 announcement. With the official release date barely a week away, EA has finally released a trailer highlighting what to expect from the game's five multiplayer modes.
In the Dec. 2 trailer, gamers glimpse how they can expect to interact with the tactile VR world of Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. From a first-person perspective, players will be able to peek over ledges while looking for threats, catch grenades out of the air and toss them back, and clamber up a rickety rope ladder while returning fire with one hand.
From there, the video goes more in-depth about what game modes players will have available to them. First is Mad Bomber, described simply as "plant and defuse bombs." On paper, this sounds very similar to Call of Duty's staple Search and Destroy mode, although the footage shown makes it look a bit more frantic than the typically mid-tempo Call of Duty version. Next up are Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, which look relatively standard, although the levels, a naval vessel and an underground bunker, seem appropriately claustrophobic and detailed.
Rounding out the list is Blast Radius, accompanied by the description "explosive king of the hill." How the explosive portion of this mode will differentiate itself from a standard king of the hill game has yet to be seen, but the footage shows players firing and dodging rocket launcher rounds, which should be exciting in VR. The trailer ends with Domination, a "take-and-hold territory points with your team" experience, which, again, looks pretty standard but highlights more exciting VR interaction with the environment, such as using a desk for cover while shooting blind over it.
While it's easy to say that gamers have encountered many of these elements before, it remains interesting to see what a veteran developer like Respawn Entertainment does differently with the VR environment. After all, Respawn Entertainment's track record is impeccable, including Titanfall, Star Wars: Jedi – Fallen Order, and the battle royale redefining Apex Legends.
Beyond that, Medal of Honor is a legacy series that Respawn Entertainment founder Vince Zampella helped establish. Considering how Medal of Honor fell apart in the 2010s after being consistently beaten by the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises, this could be an opportunity for Respawn Entertainment and Zampella to break ground with VR and reposition the series' relevance.
Gamers will have a chance to decide for themselves whether Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond does enough to set itself apart on Dec. 11.