Medal of Honor: Underground
A French Resistance fighter takes on Nazi forces across Europe.
Medal of Honor: Underground is a 2000 first-person shooter developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts as the second installment in the Medal of Honor series. It was released for the PlayStation and later ported to the Game Boy Advance by Rebellion Developments. The game was the last developed by DreamWorks Interactive before the studio was renamed EA Los Angeles.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- DreamWorks Interactive (PlayStation); Rebellion Developments (GBA)
- Producer
- Scott J. Langteau
- Designer
- Lynn Henson
- Programmer
- Adrian Jones
- Composer
- Michael Giacchino
- Series
- Medal of Honor
- Platforms
- PlayStation, Game Boy Advance
- Genre
- First-person shooter
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The gameplay requires the player to complete objectives by acquiring items, interacting with objects, and destroying specified targets, using four different weapons and disguise against enemies. New mechanics include fighting tanks and halftracks in three of eight missions and fighting alongside friendly allies. After completing the game, a non-canon bonus level called Panzerknacker Unleashed becomes available, where the player controls Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson against strange enemies such as gun-toting dogs, knights with battle axes, zombie soldiers that explode after death, and robotic soldiers resembling large nutcrackers. The objective across three missions in this level is to build a Panzerknacker that assists in the final mission. The Game Boy Advance version is a first-person shooter featuring up to four players via link cable, played in a three-dimensional environment. Objectives typically involve finding papers, and there is no save system; each level provides a code for replay.
Plot
France has been under Nazi occupation and the Vichy government since 1940. Resistance leader Manon Batiste loses her brother Jacques during a failed heist. She continues her resistance work until the OSS recruits her, sending her across North Africa and Europe to disrupt the Milice and Nazi defenses and invasion plans. In 1944, Manon returns to free Paris and get revenge for Jacques.
Development
The main character Manon Batiste is based on Hélène Deschamps Adams, a real-life OSS member who appears in the game's final mission to brief Manon. The development team researched by meeting people involved with the French Resistance, including Elizabeth Peet McIntosh and Deschamps Adams. Critic Ian Lace noted that the theme's first notes made him anticipate the pop song Arrivederci Roma, which he found disconcerting given Manon is French and much action takes place in Paris. Producer Scott Langteau said Underground had an entirely different feel from the original Medal of Honor while the gameplay was familiar, describing the game as personal, gritty, and rustic, with Manon using petrol bombs and her femininity to access restricted areas, and the backstory allowing varied missions across Europe including Greece and Italy.
Reception
The PlayStation version received favorable reviews, while the Game Boy Advance version received unfavorable reviews, according to Metacritic. NextGen's Jeff Lundrigan called the PlayStation version a terrific game with a sequel in some ways even better. Nintendo Power gave the GBA version a negative review. GamePro's Air Gendrix said fans of the first Medal of Honor would feel at home with Underground while noting new touches and surprises. GameSpot praised the makers for placing Manon Batiste in the lead role to tell her full story, providing meaningful historical context. William Abner described the same version as a refreshing change of pace for playing a woman in the French Resistance. The PlayStation version was a runner-up for Best Sound and Best Shooter at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, and won the Sound award at IGN's Best of 2000 Awards. Underground won Sound Design and Original Musical Composition at the AIAS 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and Best Sound at the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 2000 Editors' Awards.
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