Medal of Honor

Publisher: Electronic Arts · Studio: DreamWorks Interactive · Creator: Steven Spielberg

Anecdote

Conceived by filmmaker Steven Spielberg alongside the shooting of Saving Private Ryan, Medal of Honor was released in November 1999 on PlayStation and marked the birth of an entire wave of shooting games devoted to the Second World War. Developed by DreamWorks Interactive, then a subsidiary of Spielberg's studio, the title follows Office of Strategic Services agent Jimmy Patterson through twelve missions ranging from occupied France to Nazi Germany. The filmmaker, moved by the experience of his veteran father and by his own research for the 1998 film, wanted to create an interactive work imbued with respect for veterans. Composer Michael Giacchino, then at the start of his career, produced an orchestral score recorded with a full symphony orchestra — a rare gesture in video games of that period and one that would open the doors of Hollywood to him. The player sabotages trains, infiltrates Norman bunkers, steals V-2 blueprints, and faces Axis prototypes in sequences blending stealth and direct action. The game's credits pay tribute to real recipients of the Medal of Honor, the American military decoration, and each mission is introduced by black-and-white archival footage. The art direction favors a classic war-film aesthetic, with ochre palettes and backlighting evoking the newsreels of the era. The title sold over one million copies and spawned a long franchise eventually comprising around fifteen installments. It laid the narrative foundations on which Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, and virtually the entire historical FPS genre of the 2000s would be built. Medal of Honor remains a pivotal work, both in the collective memory of players and in the history of the industry.