Men of Valor

Lore & Background

The story of Men of Valor follows Dean Shepard and his squad of Marines from the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division from 1965 to 1968, through thirteen missions during the Vietnam War. The player takes part in historical events such as Operation Starlite, the battle of Ho Bo Woods, and the battles of Huế and Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive. In historically-based scenarios, the player assumes a variety of roles, including manning the door gun on a Huey and Sikorsky helicopters, riding in armored vehicles, steering a riverboat along enemy-infested shores, battling through enemy tunnel complexes, and calling down artillery fire and close air support as a forward observer. Mission types include pilot rescues, recon patrols, POW rescue, and search-and-destroy ops. Between missions are film clips showcasing the real war, a similar approach to most WWII games at the time.

Men of Valor was developed by 2015 shortly after work finished on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The game received "mixed or average reviews" on both platforms according to Metacritic. It was praised for its story, character development, setting, gameplay, and atmosphere, but criticized for its voice acting, unreliable checkpoint system, and frequent difficulty spikes.

Reader's Guide

Men of Valor occupies a notable place in the first-person shooter landscape of the 2000s as a Vietnam War title developed by the studio behind Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Its release in 2004 came at a time when World War II shooters dominated the market, and the game attempted to apply the same scripted cinematic formula to the Vietnam conflict. The game's reception was mixed, with Eurogamer calling it "a solid, enjoyable and challenging Vietnam take on the sort of scripted cinematic shooters that the public evidently love to death," while noting it was not the triple-A game Vivendi Universal had hoped for. IGN gave the PC version 6.8/10 and the Xbox version 7.8/10. The game's legacy is that of a competent but flawed entry that expanded the historical scope of the genre beyond World War II, offering players a variety of combat roles and historically grounded missions. Its difficulty spikes and checkpoint issues, however, prevented it from achieving the same acclaim as its developer's earlier work.

Did You Know?

• The game simulates infantry combat during the Vietnam War, specifically the Tet Offensive in 1968.
• Players can man the door gun on Huey and Sikorsky helicopters, steer a riverboat, and call down artillery fire as a forward observer.
• The game received a Metacritic score of 73/100 on Xbox and 71/100 on Windows.