The U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division was at the forefront of many of the most important battles in Europe during the war. In Medal of Honor: Vanguard, you play Cpl. Frank Keegan with the 82nd in Sicily (Operation Husky), the Normandy invasion (Operation Neptune), and the Netherlands (Operation Market-Garden).
Vanguard adheres to the basic formula of the Medal of Honor series. Besides running and gunning your way through a host of Nazi enemies, you gather vital intelligence, rescue POWs, and destroy enemy armored vehicles or antiaircraft guns by planting explosive charges or firing a bazooka.
What gives this new game such an edge over its predecessors, however, are innovative features incorporated into the Nintendo Wii version to exploit the motion sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote. To aim your rifle, simply point the Wii Remote at the TV screen. To throw a grenade, press and hold a button and flick the remote in the direction you want it thrown. With the Remote’s Nunchuk attachment, you can reload your weapon with a flick of the wrist to the right or spin around behind you by flicking it to the left, all while moving Keegan around with the Nunchuk’s control stick. As you parachute into each mission, you can control your pitch, entry angle, and rate of descent by holding the Remote and Nunchuk as you would the risers on an actual parachute. Where you choose to land will also impact your game: coming down right in front of a German machine gun nest could ruin your whole day.
Originally published in the September 2007 issue of World War II Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
