Men of Valor

Like the Medal of Honor games it borrows so heavily from (no surprise, since developer 2015 is largely made up of Electronic Arts veterans), Men of Valor works best when it makes you feel like you��re playing a war movie. Sure, some clich��s may give ��Nam film buffs flashbacks (torching villages, the ol�� ��water buffalo in the road�� booby trap), but when you��re crawling in on your belly to take out a machine-gun bunker, artillery shells blasting all around, it doesn��t matter how many times you��ve seen it before��the adrenaline gets pumping. Solid controls and a unique health system (hold a button to stop bleeding, and pick up canteens from dead enemies to restore life) make some of the longer stretches of repetitive gameplay more tolerable. The later levels vary the action a bit better, too, as you get out of the jungle and into the burned-out rubble of urban environments for some intense firefights.

But even when the game��s action gets all John J. Rambo, the A.I. remains more like Gomer Pyle. Always having your squad alongside��barking orders, crying for help, taunting and cursing��sounds great��until you see them actually fight. Fellow Marines run up to enemies, often with no cover, and sit a few feet away while both sides plug away, neither falling. Some awkward cut-scenes and the generally stiff animation likewise make the whole experience less immersive. And while using the terrain defensively is always a must (ducking and leaning are actually important, for once), sometimes there��s no way to stop from being shot, causing the difficulty to spike suddenly. A robust multiplayer game, which offers different roles for you to play as (�� la Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War), decent level designs, and a few fun capture-the-flag variations, adds value, but not enough to fully redeem these Men.

PUBLISHER: Vivendi Universal // DEVELOPER: Fun Labs // PLAYERS: 1-12 // LIVE: Yes // MSRP: $49.99 // ESRB: M

06 OUT OF TEN

War Is Not Hell

Despite its 12- player limit, Men of Valor includes a robust online experience. After choosing a character class, the U.S. and V.C. soldiers can go at it in traditional challenges, as well as a mode where each side tries to locate three parts of a mortar first or a cool mission-based game type (plant a bomb on a tank, etc.).

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Xbox Nation.