Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Gritty, realistic military shooter definitely not for kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Medal of Honor: Warfighter
What's It About?
MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER is set in a wide range of exotic locations, all real-world terrorist hotspots. Its story, some of which is based on the exploits of actual soldiers, sees an elite team of U.S. soldiers tracking down massive quantities of explosive material intended for use in terrorist attacks. It also occasionally cuts back stateside to show the traumatic impact the life of a soldier can have on his family. Players spend the bulk of their time engaged in cinematic first-person shooter action, with brief detours that involve driving, piloting a boat, and manning guns on hovering helicopters. Once the six-hour story is finished, most players will hop online and take the fight to their friends in frenetic multiplayer battles that allow players to take on the roles of soldiers from ten different countries.
Is It Any Good?
Medal of Honor: Warfighter desperately wants to be a serious military action experience within a crowd of more Hollywood-ish competitors. It succeeds in some ways -- its depiction of the strife that soldierly life causes within families is admirable -- but fails in others, mostly to do with how it plays.
The gunslinging action is decent, but suffers issues like poor artificial intelligence (evident in both enemies and allies) and the occasional out-of-place mission, like a stealth driving sequence in which players drive from one hiding place to another in a Dubai neighborhood. Minor glitches -- enemies floating in mid-air, problems with damage properly registering -- only compound matters. It can still be entertaining, particularly for players who want a deep and distinctive multiplayer mode, but it doesn't quite sit in the same class as ultra-polished games like those in the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about online safety. What precautions should you observe in games with open voice communication? Should you be any less vigilant when playing games with open text communication?
Families can also discuss what it means to be a soldier. What are some traits that might distinguish soldiers from other people? Which of these characteristics do you think you possess? Can you be courageous, selfless, and noble without carrying a weapon and marching off to battle?
Game Details
- Platforms : PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Subjects : Social Studies : events , global awareness
- Skills : Collaboration : cooperation , meeting challenges together , Thinking & Reasoning : strategy
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Electronic Arts
- Release date : October 23, 2012
- Genre : First-Person Shooter
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : January 29, 2025
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