Okay, I'll play.
I'll give an honourable shotout to the original CoD and Roads to Victory. Only two CoD games I played, WWII or otherwise, and both were solid outings.
Next up is a game that deserves a hearty pat on the back, is Battlefield 1942, expansions included. It's not the best Battlefield game I've ever played (that would be Battlefield 2), but damn if this isn't a close second. I shouldn't need to explain what makes Battlefield...well, Battlefield, but lets just say that all the series's strengths are in this game. Not perfect - some of the maps are a bit too large and empty, but damn enjoyable.
And finally, the granddaddy of the genre, Medal of Honour. I've played quite a few games in this series, namely the original, Allied Assault and its expansions, Frontline, and Pacific Assault. I don't have much to say about the original, but I will go on to say that while I liked Allied Assault, I don't think it's the best of the bunch.
Make no mistake, Allied Assault is probably the most influential game in the series, and the one most people think of when the word "Medal of Honour" comes up (well, bar the actual medal I guess), but I think others surpass it. It's a good game, but to me, its strengths are outside the D-Day level. More in the European countryside, as you make your way through ruined towns. As you clear out trenches, as you fight in the rain in Sniper's Alley (damn that level, I even wrote a poem about it (1)). Then that's followed by the Ardennes and the magical German snipers that make the whole damn level a game of trial and error and gah! But yes, I enjoyed the game.
I'll give some brief mention to its expansions. First, Spearhead. This game is a weird one, and a lot of it is down to tonal dissonance. Barnes will provide sombre monologues in-between missions. Within missions themselves, you will, among other things, man a gun turret in an action scene as you blast through the snowy fields of Belgium, and interact with Russians in Berlin as you singlehandedly retrieve a tank. Because, as we all know, you can't show non-Yanks taking Berlin, you've gotta have an American to do it. Bear in mind, I have nothing against playing as US soldiers in a WWII game, but this, among other things, just struck me as weird, as if the idea of playing a non-US soldier, even on the Eastern Front, just couldn't work. Maybe it's in the title itself, but, well, yeah. But despite this, I like Spearhead more than Allied Assault, in that the gameplay is less frustrating.
And then there's Breakthrough. Ugh. The game starts in North Africa, and peters out in Italy. Coupled withoutright insane difficulty and...yeah. It's nice to fight in Italy, make no mistake, but as far as WWII games that show the Italian front, I feel "The Road to Rome" did it better.
So, moving onto the second best MoH game, Pacific Assault. Why do I think this is better than Allied Assault? Well, a number of reasons. First, its story. Bear in mind, none of the MoH games I've played really excel in story, but Pacific Assault by far has the most coherent one. You play as one soldier among a squad that, while not fleshed out, are at least there beside you for the whole game. Secondly, the gameplay. It's hard. Very hard. But unlike Allied Assault, it's fair. A lot of time is spent flanking the enemy - ammo is scare, and often you have to use the Japanese rifles, which, unlike the M1, don't have an automatic bolt action. This may seem like a small difference, but it really emphasizes how tactical you have to be when you have to make every shot count. And when you're not flanking your enemy, you're on Tarawa. An absolute hellhole. I'm not saying that fictionalized WWII media could ever do the conflict full justice, but damn if this wasn't effective.
But what really elevates Pacific Assault in my eyes is, strangely enough, its patrotism. Now, bear in mind, I'm not American (I'm Australian), so this isn't a game that speaks to any sense of personal national identity I possess. However, Pacific Assault is a game that impresses me because while it's a patriotic game, it never slides into jingoism. It remains focused on US soldiers within the war. It speaks, unironically, of the Marine Corps "defending freedom." And yet, the Japanese are never demonized. In fact, if anything, they're humanized. There's a death animation where, if you die near Japanese soldiers, a scene will play where they'll come up to your character and execute you. Sometimes, an officer will draw out a revolver, point it down, look away, the screen will go black, and a gunshot will be heard. That, to me, speaks volumes. The Japanese are the enemy. But they're still human. And most human beings find it very uncomfortable to take another person's life. Even when that person is the enemy in a savage war. So yes, in addition to its gameplay, Pacific Assault is a game that, ahem, "honours" US soldiers, while showing respect for the Japanese as well.
And now, finally, the best MoH game I've played, and #9 in my top 10 FPS games, Medal of Honour: Frontline. A game that I hear you say "What? Frontline? You mean that game meant for the console peasants as PC gamers played Allied Assault? How could you like THIS game so much?" To which I say, "because it manages to do everything right." Or more specifically, Frontline is a jack of all trades that makes it damn enjoyable. Mass infantry combat? D-Day, in a version I think is better than Allied Assault. A sense of adventure as you take out the Nazi scum in their subs and fancy mansions? Yep, you do that. A fairly coherent story with a core antagonist? Got that. A sense of melencholia as you cross the fields of Holland and fight alongside the 101st Airborne in Normandy? Got that. A depiction of the savagery of urban combat as you fight alongside British forces in Arnhem, that also has the soundtrack Arnhem Knights? (2) Yep, got that too.
Frontline is my personal favorite of the series. It's a bit of an odd choice, but I feel Frontline manages to do a bit of everything in regards to tone, gameplay, and story, yet somehow makes it all coherent. And it helps that the game is fun too. In all honesty, I do wonder if Pacific Assault might be the better game, but Frontline I have more memories of. And it, to me, is my personal favorite WWII FPS.
(1) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8510831/1/
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLiRgNFvfGw
