Medal of Honor gives you the opportunity to fight your way across the craggy, war-torn wasteland that Afghanistan has become. You're not going to climb any icy peaks, nor will you race through a lush jungle on a speedy all-terrain vehicle. This is an ugly, desolate place that bears more than its share of scars. Medal of Honor does justice to the long-suffering third-world nation in the physical department. The violence is also quite realistic; a well-placed shot from a Barrett .50cal will result in a Fallout-esque cranial explosion. Though Medal of Honor runs on DICE's Frostbite Engine, it doesn't look quite as good as Battlefield Bad Company 2. For starters, the destructibility factor and explosions are a bit subdued. Assorted visual weirdness tends to pop up every now and then; shadows bleed through the geometry at times, and textures sometimes take a while to come into focus. Though the character models look fantastic, they sometimes veer off into jaggy territory, especially when you view them from a distance. The framerate can also struggle when the engine is put under too much pressure; again, this isn't exactly a trademark of the Frostbite Engine. None of these problems are severe enough to dampen the excitement, but they're there.
The high point of Medal of Honor's sound design is the sound effects. Guns are distinguishable from one another, and the snap of a silenced pistol is as chilling as it's ever been. When the game gives you a chance to partake in some long-range gunplay, sound effects are delayed as the waves travel across the mountaintops. The music is fantastic, though it isn't integrated into the campaign as much as you'd think. This is probably a good thing; would Saving Private Ryan's beach landing scene have been improved with the inclusion of incidental music? (The correct answer is no.) The soundtrack is at its best when things go pear-shaped, and though it's not memorable, it keeps you engaged.
