Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Shooter

Time to beat: about 8.5 hours

Overview

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a 2002 first-person shooter game developed by 2015 and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Windows and Mac OS X as the third game in the Medal of Honor video game series. The game uses the id Tech 3 engine, with modifications from Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.², to simulate infantry combat in the European and North African theaters during World War II.

In Allied Assault, the player takes on the role of Lt. Mike Powell of the United States Army Rangers who works for the Office of Strategic Services. Single-player missions include assaulting Nazi bases in Algiers and Norway, storming Omaha Beach on D-Day, and rescuing comrades behind enemy lines in occupied France. The game's levels are often compared to Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan; many of the levels are direct quotations of the scenery (or even complete sequences as in the Omaha Beach mission) in the film. Omaha Beach was re-created in Medal of Honor: Frontline for consoles.

Lieutenant Mike Powell, the protagonist, is a skilled U.S. Army Ranger and later an agent of the Office of Strategic Services. Powell and a squad of Rangers are in German-occupied Arzew, Algeria, fighting on the North African front. The squad fight their way into the city, but an ambush kills all the team except Powell. Powell continues into a German base, where he rescues S.A.S. agent Major Jack Grillo and retrieves his equipment. The major and Lt. Powell split up, with Grillo securing transport, while Powell does sabotage in a motor pool.

Following the success of Medal of Honor: Underground, its publisher Electronic Arts contacted the Mesquite, Texas-based developer of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, id Software about making another installment to the series. As they were already busy with developing Doom 3, id Software referred EA to 2015 as a potential developer. Initially, EA wanted 2015 to port the still-in-development Medal of Honor: Frontline by EA LA from the PlayStation 2 to PC, but 2015 eventually convinced EA to instead let them make a new original installment exclusive to the PC. The game's development consisted of a small tight-knit team of 22 developers led by Vince Zampella. Development spanned from 2000 to late 2001 and used id Software's id Tech 3 engine with modifications from Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.².

In the United States, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault sold 900,000 copies and earned $34.2 million by August 2006, after its release in January 2002. It was the country's ninth best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Medal of Honor computer games released between January 2000 and August 2006, including Allied Assault, had reached 1.9 million units in the United States by the latter date. It received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Its Warchest release earned a "Silver" award from ELSPA, indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.