''Medal of Honor'' is a series of

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

video games. The first game was developed by

DreamWorks Interactive Danger Close Games (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC and EA Los Angeles) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in March 1995 as joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft (later moved to Mi ...

(later renamed Danger Close Games) and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

for the PlayStation in 1999. ''Medal of Honor'' spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

s. The first twelve installments take place during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The main characters are usually elite members of Office of Strategic Services (OSS), while later games focus on modern warfare. The story of the first three games was created by film director and producer Steven Spielberg. The music in the franchise was composed by

Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), ...

Christopher Lennertz Christopher Joseph Lennertz (born January 2, 1972) is an American composer, songwriter, and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His musical scores appeared in ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'', '' Hop'', '' Think Like a Man'', and '' ...

and

Ramin Djawadi Ramin Djawadi (, fa, رامین جوادی; born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian and German score composer. He is known for his scores for the 2008 Marvel film ''Iron Man'' and the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Gramm ...

Development history

The series began in 1999 with ''

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

''. The game was developed by

, when at the time the studio and series were jointly owned by

DreamWorks SKG DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and ...

and

Microsoft Games Xbox Game Studios (formerly Microsoft Games, Microsoft Game Studios and Microsoft Studios) is an American video game publisher that acts as a division of technology company Microsoft. The division was created in March 2000 and replaced Microsoft' ...

, with the game concept and story created by filmmaker Steven Spielberg. The game was released for the PlayStation on October 31, 1999. Spielberg's inspiration for the series emerged while directing and producing the World War II film ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depicti ...

'' to create a game that can concurrently be an educational and entertaining experience. In 2000, '' Medal of Honor: Underground'', the sequel, was released for the PlayStation and

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

. '' Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'', the third game, was developed by

2015, Inc. 2015 Games, LLC (formerly 2015, Inc.), also known as 2015, is an American video game development company, best known for developing '' Medal of Honor: Allied Assault''. History 2015, Inc. was founded by Tom Kudirka in 1997. He assembled a t ...

and released for the PC,

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

and Linux in January 2002. ''Allied Assault'' has expansion packs titled ''Spearhead'' (2002) and ''Breakthrough'' (2003). Fourth entry '' Medal of Honor: Frontline'' was developed and released for the PlayStation 2 in May 2002 and the

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

in November 2002. It was later remastered in high-definition and released in 2010 with the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

version of ''Medal of Honor'' (2010), the first game in the rebooted series. '' Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'', the fifth game, was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube in 2003 (a planned sequel was cancelled due to the game's mixed reviews). The sixth game, '' Medal of Honor: Infiltrator'', was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. '' Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault'', the seventh entry, was released for the PC, Mac OS X and Linux in 2004. It was followed by '' Medal of Honor: European Assault'', the eighth game, which was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube in 2005. '' Medal of Honor: Heroes'', a spin-off and the ninth game in the series, was developed and released for the PlayStation Portable in 2006. '' Medal of Honor: Vanguard'', the tenth entry, was released for the PlayStation 2 and Wii in 2007. It was the first ''Medal of Honor'' game to be released on the Wii console. '' Medal of Honor: Airborne'', the eleventh game in the series, was developed and released for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

and PC September 4, 2007; it was the first game in the series to be nonlinear. Twelfth entry '' Medal of Honor: Heroes 2'' was released for the Wii and PlayStation Portable on November 13, 2007. It was a sequel of the first game in spin-off ''Heroes'' series. The thirteenth game in the series, ''

'' (2010), was announced in 2008 as ''Medal of Honor: Operation Anaconda''. The game was developed by

Danger Close Games Danger Close Games (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC and EA Los Angeles) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in March 1995 as joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft (later moved to M ...

, a video game development team formerly known as

EA Los Angeles Danger Close Games (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC and EA Los Angeles) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in March 1995 as joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft (later moved to Mi ...

merged in 2008. ''Medal of Honor'' (2010) was released for the

and PC on October 12, 2010. Its multiplayer component was developed by

the creators ''The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination'' is a non-fiction work of cultural history by Daniel Boorstin published in 1992. It was preceded by ''The Discoverers'' and succeeded by ''The Seekers''. ''The Creators'' is put forward a ...

of the ''

Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

'' franchise. It is the first ''Medal of Honor'' game to be set in the modern day rather than during

. ''Medal of Honor'' received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success. '' Medal of Honor: Warfighter'', the fourteenth installment in the series and the direct sequel to the 2010 game, was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on October 23, 2012. The game's storyline was written by real U.S. Tier 1 Operators, inspired by actual events. It is the first game in the series to run on EA Digital Illusions CE's Frostbite 2 game engine. ''Warfighter'' was both a critical and commercial failure. In January 2013, COO Peter Moore of

announced that the ''Medal of Honor'' series was taken out of rotation due to the poor reception and sales of ''Medal of Honor: Warfighter''. On September 25, 2019,

Respawn Entertainment Respawn Entertainment, LLC is an American video game development studio founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella. West and Zampella previously co-founded Infinity Ward and created the '' Call of Duty'' franchise, where they were responsible fo ...

announced '' Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond'' for

Oculus VR Reality Labs is a business of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon ...

titled at the Oculus Connect 6 conference.

Games

Gameplay

The gameplay originally focuses on the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an American espionage organization during World War II, placing emphasis on using false papers and silenced pistols, but as the series and the technology has progressed, it has shifted emphasis towards front-line combat. Since the release of '' Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'' the series has focused on providing a more open-ended element to the games, allowing the player to have more options in each level instead of a linear path. The violence, up to '' Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'' is bloodless and simple, usually consisting of elaborate animations, while the violence in '' Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault'' and onward contains the occasional sprays of blood.

Compilations

*''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Deluxe Edition'', released on 2003 for Windows and Macintosh includes the ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' main game, the ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead'' expansion pack, two strategy guides, a music CD soundtrack from ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' and a preview of '' Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault''. *''Medal of Honor Allied Assault: War Chest'', released on 2004 for Windows and Macintosh includes the ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' main game and the ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead'' and ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Breakthrough'' expansion packs. *''Medal of Honor Collection'', released on March 6, 2007 for the PlayStation 2, is a set of three games: '' Medal of Honor: Frontline'', '' Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'' and '' Medal of Honor: European Assault''. *''Medal of Honor 10th Anniversary Bundle'', released on September 22, 2008 for PC, consists of '' Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'', with its respective expansion packs '' Spearhead'' and '' Breakthrough'', '' Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault Director's Edition'', and '' Medal of Honor: Airborne''. The pack includes the 10th Anniversary ''Medal of Honor'' Soundtrack, by

Reception

The games have received negative, mixed, and positive reviews, with the most acclaimed title in the series being ''Medal of Honor'' (1999). As of 2016, the series sold over 39 million copies.

Awards

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

awarded the ''Medal of Honor'' series with a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for Best-selling FPS franchise in the ''Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008''. ''Colette'', a short documentary included in the gallery mode for '' Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond'', won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 202 ...

. Though not mentioned by name in the Academy citation, ''Medal of Honor'' is arguably the first video game series ever to receive an Oscar for its content.

References

External links

Official ''Medal of Honor'' website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medal Of Honor (video game series) Electronic Arts franchises Electronic Arts games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1999