The Gaming Historian – Medal of Honor

Tuesday, 16 August 2011 13:18 Last Updated on Thursday, 15 March 2012 08:18 Written by jdelia 30 Comments

Norm returns to look at the history of one of the most popular FPS series of all time, Medal of Honor.  The Gaming Historian tackles The Greatest Generation by showing the original game and the historical context. 

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  • http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

    Awesome job Norm!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Austin-Kelly-Mackert/100000790359124 Austin Kelly Mackert

    Very cool.. Another one of the mega-popular games I haven’t tried before. It actually looks very well done, and a lot like Goldeneye from what I can tell by the footage. 

  • http://twitter.com/davidhass3lh0ff michael smith

    That was an epic episode :D i relay enjoyed it and i was a big fan of the medial of honor series until the first call of duty came out, but again awesome episode 

  • http://www.retrowaretv.com RetrowareTV

    You made me want to try a 3D FPS – that’s impressive.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve played the first two MoH games on the PS1 and thought they were great. Now there are far to many world war based FPS’s and it’s over-saturated.
    Oh well…great video Norm. So glad to see a new one from you. :)

  • videogamehunter

    Nice Episode. I don’t care for much on War games but I just might check that game out.

  • Anonymous

    never even thought of playing the medal of honor series but after this i feel like buying this asap

  • LonestarGoner

    Bought this when it first came out and dang near wore out the disk – kept following the franchise until MOH: European Assault, the only sequel that I would say matched the epic scope of the original. If you have PS3, download this TRUE classic. It will blow you away.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/TheModernGafa The Modern Gafa

    Robert Rodriguez needs to watch this video.

  • Rodrigo

    Great Work Norm, Welcome back, i’m a huge fan of your job.
    You pass so much credibility when speaking.
    If you had time teach us a little about companies, like sega or capcom (even LJN will be great!) 
    Greetings from Brazil.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UZURUOZOG7VG4AVG7SKQJ66HZ4 Eliran Vegh

    Wow you brough that game out of the dust… it was one of my fav! and i forgot all about it

  • Chocho

     Great episode, I love this show.

  • Paikerchu13

    Why on Earth did you do this game instead of Metroid? I mean, seriously, is no one respecting the 25th Anniversary of Metroid? Other than that, great episode.

    • John Delia

      I’m about to write an article about Metroid’s 25th anniversary (and the upcoming 25th for many games) but as far as I know, nobody has a video for it. We’re reaching a stage where there will be a lot of these anniversaries, thus my article, stay tuned.

  • Max_payne2323

    wou should have reviewed the PC version! 

  • coolcat

    I wish History Class was this good… I would have gone more often XD

  • Darkmage15

    I remember this game. So awesome doing the sneak missions – first legit, then trying to kill every soldier without alerting any of the others.

    I also remember learning about the OSS. One of their tests for potential recruits was an early version of today’s “brain teaser” tests corps like to give in interviews: they’d take the recruit to a barn that was completely sealed and pitch black dark inside. Then, after climbing a tall ladder, the recruit would be ordered to by his sergeant to jump off, without knowing what was below him. If he did so, he would be accepted as a new member of the OSS. If he refused and climbed down, we would be accepted as a fellow sergeant of the OSS. If he wondered if there was another way and rdadaeached out, he’d find a second ladder nearby, and upon climbing down IT, would be offered a full commissioned officer-ship with the OSS. Goes to show the amazing thinking that went into the OSS’ creation and training during a time of great need.

  • Locoma

    It’s great to see Norm producing stuff again, and this is one of my favorite GH because of how deep he gets into it, and the length of the episode. A great episode from the GH!

  • Anonymous

    Great job, Norm!  It’s been a while but worth the wait!

  • Pilo Nice

    Greats videos Norm! I like em all! especially the Dreamcast history and Universal vs Nintendo vids; which are my favorites, keep up the good work =]

  • Pilo Nice

    Greats videos Norm! I like em all! especially the Dreamcast history and Universal vs Nintendo vids; which are my favorites, keep up the good work =]

  • Staal

    At 7:08… What? A document claiming, that any soldier on leave could sleep with any woman in Germany motivated many German soldiers to surrender? Is some of the context lost? If they surrender they would be taken prisoner, right? I don’t get it.

    • Staal

      Lost in translation. I found this page: http://www.psywarrior.com/OSSBlackOpsPC.html

      There’s a translation of the letter. It doesn’t say a soldier on leave
      can sleep with any woman he wants. In fact, it is added, that “it is doubtful that many members of the Wehrmacht were fooled”. The point was to lower morale with the soldiers at the front, which makes sense, but isn’t mentioned in the video.

      ——————–

      Dear Soldier at the front.
      When will you have leave again?
      When will you be able to forget your arduous soldiers’ duties for a while,
      at least for a few days of fun, happiness and love? We at home know of your heroic
      struggle. We understand that even the bravest gets tired sometime and needs a soft pillow,
      tenderness and healthy enjoyment.
      WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU:
      For you who must spend his furlough in a strange city, for you whom the war has
      deprived of a home, for you who is alone in the world without a wife, fiancé or girl
      friend.
      WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU:
      Cut our symbol from this letter. In every cafe and bar in the area of the Railway
      station, place it on your glass so that it can be clearly seen. Soon a member of our VEK
      will contact you. The dreams you had at the front, the longings of your lonely nights will
      soon find fulfillment. We want you, not your money. Therefore, let whoever approaches you
      show you her membership card. There are members everywhere, because we German women
      understand our duties to the Homeland and to its defenders.
      Naturally we are also selfish. We have been separated from our men for many
      years. With all those foreigners around us, we would like once more to press a real German
      youth to our bosom. No inhibitions now: your wife, sister or beloved is one of us as well.
      We think of you and Germany’s future. Which rests — rusts. [Use it or lose it.]
      V.E.K.
      The Association of Lonely War Women

      ————————

      • http://twitter.com/normcaruso Norman Caruso

        From Barbara Lauwers, one of the creators of this propaganda.

        “we created the “Lonely Hearts Club” to which every German woman belongs: your wife, your sweetheart, your daughter, your mother, everybody. When a soldier comes home on leave, all he has to do is display this symbol of entwined hearts and immediately a member of our club will take him home, house him, feed him, and sleep with him.”

        Taken from “Operatives, Spies, & Saboteurs”

        I do mention in the video “this motivated many German soldiers to surrender”, which it did, due to the low morale. I assumed people would understand this.

  • Lord-werewolf

    In those years when your OSS printed stamps, millions of our grandfathers died for peace in the world. They are true heroes! Think about this, Yankees. Greetings from Russia.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Dallen9 Daniel Burress

      yeah but don’t forget those who were trying to undermine America before and after the war. our grandfathers fought to together but they were fighting each other at the same time. 

      • http://www.retrowaretv.com RetrowareTV

        It’s amazing how WWII is perceived in the US while its horrors have left other perceptions across the world all these decades later.  It is beyond comprehension how much Russia lost in that war.  Remarkably, all of the politics playing out across the globe are still direct byproducts of that war.

  • Kev1801

    Lets see… i loooooooved this game in the ps1 days.Played it so much,and i’m actually not a war fan at all.But like u said solid gameplay,sound,controls.The game was top for its time.Brought back nice memories ty :) and very nice revieuw.

  • Anonymous

    Good to see you back Norman. I didn’t know you made a new review until I checked google.

  • Tikari

    MoH has always been my favorite  FPS game of all time. Played the hell out of this one when I was a little kid but I never, ever beat the second to last stage. Until last summer. It was pretty awesome to finally see the end credits roll 12 years after starting the game.