t has been three long years since World War II fanatics have had a Medal of Honor game worthy of its namesake. In the midst of its repeated failed campaigns, Call of Duty arrived with a brilliant strategy to take over the war. EA is now parachuting in reinforcements to even the score, but can this airborne unit turn the tide? Let’s just say Eisenhower would have more faith in the real 82nd. 

The big draw of Airborne is the open environments. Each mission begins with you parachuting down to a location of your choice on the battlefield. As you would guess, the game takes you through the most memorable airborne missions during World War II, including the big drop at Market Garden. Once you’ve cut the cord, it’s up to you to tackle the mission objectives as you see fit. You’ll be the soldier leading the charge, too, because your fellow soldier AI more often resembles Jeremy Davies’ cowardly character from Saving Private Ryan than it does a brave airborne division. The 82nd inconsistently participates in firefights and is nearly worthless in many of the tougher circumstances.

As a virtual WWII vet, I expected to grab my trusty M1 Garand, drop into the fight, and smoke some Nazi scum with some well-placed headshots. If only that were the case. In an apparent focus group decision gone wrong, EA decided to cripple your accuracy from the beginning, which allowed them to create an upgrade system that rewards you with better accuracy, faster reloads, and larger ammo clips as you use the weapons. These are WWII guns, folks. Mid-firefight modifications feel as out of place as The Terminator would on the beaches of Normandy.

An accurate weapon is definitely necessary for dispatching the uncannily bright enemy AI. I loved how well they used cover and moved to flank me, but sometimes their smarts bordered on omniscience. I have no idea how a soldier preoccupied with suppressing fire coming from 12 o’clock would immediately know to shoot at 3 o’clock when I deftly lean from behind cover to line up a shot.  

The multiplayer may as well have gone AWOL, as the three modes and six maps don’t do this shooter any favors. To make matters worse, the maps are basically the same six from the single-player campaign.

Medal of Honor: Airborne sprinkles minor moments of brilliance though a minefield of questionable game design. Fans of the series will experience some memorable gunfights, but if you’re a casual gamer looking for a great World War II title, stick with Call of Duty.