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Medal of Honor Airborne Multiplayer Hands on Preview at Fort Bragg

August 24th, 2007 Rich Reed Leave a comment Go to comments

Medal of Honor Airborne Multi Player Hands on Preview at Fort BraggIn May XBS was invited to the Medal Of Honor Airborne Summit at EA’s LAX Studio’s. I walked away from the single-player summit impressed and already knew that there were plans for a multi-player summit. A few weeks ago I received an invitation for the multi-player summit. The big surprise was not the fact of the summit but where it was going to be held. The event was going to be held at Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne. We also learned that we would be on the base for the entire summit and even have a chance to go through Jump School training if we wanted to. I was not only going to an event I was going to be a part of history since no one has ever hosted an event outside their studio before. Read on to find out why I walked away even more impressed with the game and can start off by saying it will be a hit when it ships!

The summit was from July 18th though the 20th and the weather was great up until the day I left. Thunderstorms came rolling in and delayed all flights going in or out of the airports. Three hours later my flight rolls up to the gate and we board and soon we took off for Atlanta to catch my connecting flight. While on the flight I asked about the flight from Atlanta to Fayetteville and I was told the same flight crew was covering that flight as well. I later learned the same plane was going all the way through if we could get out of Atlanta. We landed and the weather seemed to calm down but the airport was insane with flights canceled, people upset and for some it meant waiting all night for another flight out. It was announced the flight was ready for boarding and I boarded with another person attending the event. He pointed out to me that Drew was also on our flight. Drew films and shoots pictures for the events for EA. We touched down and grabbed our check-in baggage. Drew also had to wait for his equipment. The Fayetteville Airport is very small and it looked like a ghost town except for those on our plane. We quickly arranged for a taxi and we were heading for the front gate to Fort Bragg. We had to be cleared to enter the base and everything went smoothly and soon we met up with Justin Korthof, our host and the community leader, at Moon Hall. We talked for a bit and, while the weather was a little rough, the event was going to be a blast.

Thursday morning we went to the Mess Hall and man how things have changed since my days as a military brat. We were already told ahead of time breakfast and lunch would be served here and I had no complaints. We headed off for the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum where we watched a brief history of the 82nd Airborne and some important history and then looked at the items on display. Everyone there went out of their way to make us feel welcomed. Outside of the Museum there were a few planes. We watched a few airborne members simulate a static line jump. Our next stop was the 34 foot jump tower and a chance to do what few civilians have ever been allowed to do, take part in Jump training. We headed for the tower and it was explained the reason the tower is set at 34 feet is due to the fact tests have shown if you are afraid of heights anything above 30 feet will trigger this fear. While I was not afraid of the height involved, I was a little worried about the staff being able to get my hefty frame stopped in time. Take a look at the first picture of the tower and then look at the rest.

Fort Bragg Jump Tower
Fort Bragg Jump Tower
See all the Fort Bragg Photos

The weather was hot and humid and we sat as the Black Hat went over the safety instructions. We learned how to get in the rig and with some help I was soon properly rigged up and ready to go. The jump tower is important for several reasons. The main reason is it gets you used to the feeling of jumping with a static line connected as well as the jolt and what your body would go through on a real jump. It also helps build confidence and if there is a fear of heights, it’s better to find out on a tower than a fully fueled plane. Three lines are attached so three people can jump one by one. While the pictures do a great job of showing what it is, you really need to experience it. By the time everyone had jumped, we were all hot and in need of a shower.

We thanked the staff and learned they would be stopping by to play us online. I will say this right now even though we were not military; they treated us like we were. Not just for looks they really enjoyed having us experience what they go through everyday. We went back to Moon Hall and Justin said you have 20 minutes to meet back here. After a cold shower and a change of clothes we headed for lunch and sat with the crew who we had the training with. Listening to their stories and comments really gave us all a bit more insight. It is one thing to play a game and play as a character who is an airborne ranger. It’s an all together different feeling when you get to talk and share some time with the real thing. These brave men and women get a whopping 150.00 extra a month for signing up to jump from planes. They are the first called upon and within a 12-24 hour window they can be anywhere and ready for combat. I learned a lot about these men and women and they learned about us. It’s funny they seemed more interested in what we did and our lives. We shared gamertags and then headed off to Sports USA a huge sports complex and bar where we would be playing the multiplayer of MOHA.

MOHA MP Screenshot
MOHA Multi Player Screenshot
see more multiplayer screens

At the last event the PC players flew in a day earlier and left the day we came in. So this event was huge. Not only were there Xbox 360’s to get up and running but 2 full rows of top end PC’s. Justin and Mark flew in a day early to set everything up. After a few small issues mainly blowing fuses with everything running from the room, we got a chance to go at it in multi-player mode. Some of the soldiers came in and sat down and we played a few rounds against them. Yes, we beat them game after game until they learned the controls and then they got their revenge. The Xbox 360 multi-player mode is shaping up nicely. While I can’t go into everything, you can choose to be on the Axis team or a member of the Allies team. There is an objective mode in which you need to locate the three flags and take full control of all three to win the round. Unlike most CTF modes this was actually fun and never got boring since the tables keep turning. There is also a free for all death match mode and you do jump and land if you are on the Allies team. They have three different modes for online play and all of them seemed very solid.

We had to share stations with the added players but watching a few rounds also gave me a chance to watch for reactions and see if their was any frustrations or issues with the multiplayer modes. Getting used to looking up while on a team is new and will take some time to get used to. Although after a few rounds it soon is just part of the game and really a blast. When jumping you can melee kick a member of the other team right before landing and this adds a new element to the game play. Also when on the team jumping you have to be careful not to fly into the enemies sites since one good shot can kill you as you near the landing point.

MOHA Multi Player Screenshot
MOHA Multi Player Screenshot
see more multiplayer screens

The overall feeling online is as solid as offline although the sniper rifle felt like the sights were off. This was addressed in the Q&A session and will be fixed before the final release date. I am not sure how many rounds where played but I never grew tired or bored with the online mode. I know the Xbox 360 players where having a ball. The soldiers coming in and playing would make comments about how realistic certain aspects where and if a game can impress them, it says a lot. No pun intended but my hat goes off to Justin and Mark who arranged and set-up the room. Routers and wires everywhere and besides losing power a few times, it went very well and again one event that will make history. Playing in a studio is one thing, but playing on a real military base with members of the 82nd Airborne enjoying the game gave us all a different perspective. We played straight though dinner and into the night right up until closing time. We did stop for a Q&A session and minor things where addressed. The breakdown of achievements are the same as we where told at the last event 60 percent offline and 40 online.

MOHA MP Screenshot
MOHA MP Screenshot
see more multiplayer screens

Friday came really fast and we took our bags with us so we could leave when needed to catch our flights. After starting playing again, we had to stop for awhile when Vicky Lee came in. She handed out some 82nd airborne goodies and thanked us for attending. She did a terrific job of getting us access to things and planning things out to make the trip hassle free. By now you read the first write-up and yes I was very impressed with the single-player game. I really wanted to see the multi-player first hand before release of the game. After seeing it, I feel that Medal of Honor Airborne is going to be a hit. It has the roots of the series while adding back that spark the first game had. It’s always a privilege to be invited to these events. I have to say I felt honored to be invited to something never before attempted and have a new found respect for the 82nd Airborne. Take a look at the photographs carefully and please go back and view the trailers and the full single-player write-up. In closing the weekend I got back I got a letter from Justin telling us Vicky informed him that everyone who attended will get a certificate making us an honorary member of the 82nd Airborne. I thought that was very nice and an honor I’ll always treasure.

Thanks to:

Justin “BlackHat” Korthof – Community Leader
Executive Producer – Patrick Gilmore
Writer/Design Director – Jon “JPaq” Paquette
Vicky L. Lee – Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobility Fort Bragg
Mark Christianson – http://www.paratrooper.net
The Staff and Troops stationed at Fort Bragg and their families

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