Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond - Respawn's WW2 VR Shooter

[Dexter]

The first Facebook/Oculus-funded title to make its way to Steam and support other VR Headsets, and apparently with Crossplay for Multiplayer between the two versions when it releases on December 11:


https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-honor-beyond-release-date-steam-rift/

‘Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond’ to Release in December, Crossplay with Steam & Oculus Store
By Scott Hayden - Sep 16, 2020

We’ve been waiting patiently to hear more about Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, the well-established franchise’s first VR game. Now Oculus Studios and Respawn Entertainment say you’ll be able to storm the beaches of Normandy and finish the war all in time for Christmas.

Today at Facebook Connect, Respawn Entertainment announced that Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond will be launching on SteamVR headsets and Rift via the Oculus Store simultaneously on December 11th.

As if that weren’t surprise enough coming from an Oculus Studios partner, this will also include crossplay between the Steam and Oculus Store versions for the multiplayer portion of the game.

We can only surmise this is due to Facebook’s total 180 on PC VR headsets, as the company is retiring Rift in 2021. In fact, there’s no mention of the game coming to Quest outside of the obvious Link integration.

It makes more sense from a content perspective to recuperate as much money as possible now that PC VR is no longer a priority for the Oculus vis a vis Facebook. When it was first unveiled last year, Facebook was still very much gung-ho about Rift as a product class, so it may be that developers incapable of slimming down PC VR projects to fit into Quest 2 right away may be given the sort of leeway we’re potentially seeing with Respawn.

Any way you slice it though, it will sure be strange seeing ‘Oculus Studios’ listed as a publisher on Steam.

 

[Don Peste]

Missing puke button.

 

[cretin]

not gonna lie, that was a cool trailer. But why do the weapons all look like they have zero recoil

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[Dexter]

People seem to be really happy about this guy directing the Soundtrack? I can't really say I particularly get it, but whatever:

 

[schru]

People seem to be really happy about this guy directing the Soundtrack? I can't really say I particularly get it, but whatever:

Those are bad examples. The main themes in those games were always in this kind of overly sentimental style and Allied Assault only had five new tracks anyway. As for Frontline, Giacchino went in a more subtle and melodramatic direction with its music and it just doesn't stand out so much.

Here are some good tracks from Medal of Honor and Underground, the sequel (I chose more dramatic tracks, but there are rather nice ‘ambient’ ones too):












That being said, Underground's tracks already feel like he put a bit less effort into them as many repeat the same cues and parts in a way that makes them feel like variations on one theme. Medal of Honor: Airborne didn't seem to have very interesting compositions either, so in the end it's not really certain if Giacchino is still capable of making something remarkable for the series.

Here's a play-list with the first game's sound track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mo1-osmuF8&list=OLAK5uy_lof7DW0CSXDZZpxU__9jTFaqtljohi__M&index=2

 

[Mexi]

People seem to be really happy about this guy directing the Soundtrack? I can't really say I particularly get it, but whatever:

Those are bad examples. The main themes in those games were always in this kind of overly sentimental style and Allied Assault only had five new tracks anyway. As for Frontline, Giacchino went in a more subtle and melodramatic direction with its music and it just doesn't stand out so much.

Here are some good tracks from Medal of Honor and Underground, the sequel (I chose more dramatic tracks, but there are rather nice ‘ambient’ ones too):












That being said, Underground's tracks already feel like he put a bit less effort into them as many repeat the same cues and parts in a way that makes them feel like variations on one theme. Medal of Honor: Airborne didn't seem to have very interesting compositions either, so in the end it's not really certain if Giacchino is still capable of making something remarkable for the series.

Here's a play-list with the first game's sound track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mo1-osmuF8&list=OLAK5uy_lof7DW0CSXDZZpxU__9jTFaqtljohi__M&index=2

Shooters usually have shitty soundtracks, man. Not into this at all.

 

[schru]

They fit the action and atmosphere of the levels very well. I wouldn't say those two were very usual for shooter music standards either. It was later that cinematic-style sound tracks, especially in Second World War games, became this generic, nothing-in-particular, or mawkish kind of thing.

Also, shooters and bad sound tracks? Doom, System Shock, Quake, Blood, Unreal, Half-Life, Sin, Serious Sam, Riddick, Stalker, etc.?

 

[Siveon]

To be fair to Medal of Honor they always went for the more boring side of music - cuz they wanted to be like a hollywood war film. So you won't get an actual bop but it'd fit the tone at least.

 

[schru]

Did they? Again, I'd maintain that the first two games had lively and atmospheric music that fit the gameplay very well, unlike most orchestral compositions for games. It was only with Frontline that Giacchino started going for a more subdued style and then a different composer was brought on anyway. Ironically, the Medal of Honor project was conceived by Spielberg while he was still working on Saving Private Ryan, but it's much less like all those later cinematic shooters that imitated such films.

 

[Dexter]

 

[JDR13]

Is this VR only?

 

[Dexter]

Coming out in a week. There's apparently new Info about System Specs and stuff... sounds rather steep, especially for a VR title, not very surprising why it's also releasing on Steam: https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/k6xkmc/moh_recommended_system_specs/

 

[tritosine2k]

Early 2000's called, they want back their zero lighting complexity , assets, AA outnerding, and gimmicky moshun controls.

 

[Siveon]

Early 2000's called, they want back their zero lighting complexity , assets, AA outnerding, and gimmicky moshun controls.

Early 2000s didn't have motion controls you idiot, that was late 2000s.

 

[tritosine2k]

Early 2000's called, they want back their zero lighting complexity , assets, AA outnerding, and gimmicky moshun controls.

I'm an idiot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EyeToy#History ->

Nintendo created the Wii with its wireless Wii Remote controller that uses a combination of various motion sensing technologies and traditional controller features.

Around 2003, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made the decision for the company's next console to focus less on computational and graphics power and instead reinventing the console's interface to target a broader demographic of players, using the codename Revolution

ugh

 

[Siveon]

ugh

Wii wasn't released until 2006, when it started development is irrelevant.
Eyetoy while financially successful was barely a blip on the early 2000s radar.
DDR would've been a better example.
This still pales to actual motion boom of the late 2000s.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I always liked the Medal of Honor series so I'm hoping this is successful in the off-chance they actually make a good one some day in the future instead of just letting the franchise remain dead & buried. I don't own a VR device. Last time I used one was about 5 years ago with my sister's VR set that was designed for her iphone. Still seemed imperfect, to put it mildly. It was some underwater shark attack thingy. Answer me true: has the technology really improved or is it still basically bad? It felt like I was wearing an aquarium tank on my head with 6 distinct sides looking out while underwater inside a giant fishbowl.

 

[Dexter]

https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/k86v95/reddit_exclusive_moh_gameplay_clips_never_before/

 

[Dexter]

Doesn't sound very reassuring so far: https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-preview-campaign-multiplayer/

 

[tritosine2k]

Early 2000's called, they want back their zero lighting complexity , assets, AA outnerding, and gimmicky moshun controls.

I'm an idiot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EyeToy#History ->

Nintendo created the Wii with its wireless Wii Remote controller that uses a combination of various motion sensing technologies and traditional controller features.

Around 2003, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made the decision for the company's next console to focus less on computational and graphics power and instead reinventing the console's interface to target a broader demographic of players, using the codename Revolution

ugh

notfromdenver care to explain how is this not an early incarnation of "modern" beat saber?

 

[Dexter]

It's out:





Reviews so far aren't exactly glowing:
https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-review-war-never-felt-so-bland/
https://uploadvr.com/medal-of-honor-vr-above-and-beyond-review/

Some say it's okay:
https://www.shacknews.com/article/1...e-and-beyond-review-a-nod-back-a-step-forward
https://www.dualshockers.com/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-review/

Given the price and the Minimum Specs I think I'm gonna wait till I have a 3080 or TI to get it.

 

[Ash]

Did they? Again, I'd maintain that the first two games had lively and atmospheric music that fit the gameplay very well, unlike most orchestral compositions for games. It was only with Frontline that Giacchino started going for a more subdued style and then a different composer was brought on anyway. Ironically, the Medal of Honor project was conceived by Spielberg while he was still working on Saving Private Ryan, but it's much less like all those later cinematic shooters that imitated such films.

The OG MoH games are among very few games with an orchestral soundtrack that I actually enjoyed. The games themselves were not so great, but novel and interesting for the time as an early military shooter. Good atmosphere and music mainly is all I have to say about them.

No idea what the other guy is on about saying shooters usually have bad soundtracks though? Which shooters? 90s? hell no. Last twenty years? Absolutely, but that's near every game. Video game music has declined as hard as its gameplay qualities.

 

[Doktor Best]

I always liked the Medal of Honor series so I'm hoping this is successful in the off-chance they actually make a good one some day in the future instead of just letting the franchise remain dead & buried. I don't own a VR device. Last time I used one was about 5 years ago with my sister's VR set that was designed for her iphone. Still seemed imperfect, to put it mildly. It was some underwater shark attack thingy. Answer me true: has the technology really improved or is it still basically bad? It felt like I was wearing an aquarium tank on my head with 6 distinct sides looking out while underwater inside a giant fishbowl.

Well, thats the problem with these phone VR "devices" that came out in 2016. They were basically like cheap chinese knockoffs of the real deal. Many people tried those because they were cheap and they concluded that VR is a gimmick or still needs another decade of development or so.

No. Even in 2016, there were vastly superior VR headsets already released on the market. Phone VR lacks stereoscopic vision, true 6DOF headtracking, motion controllers with proper tracking, graphical fidelity and proper render resolution. Its not the same. Its like comparing watching pirated movies that were filmed in the cinema by some dude with a shit camera to actually watching the movie in a cinema.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I always liked the Medal of Honor series so I'm hoping this is successful in the off-chance they actually make a good one some day in the future instead of just letting the franchise remain dead & buried. I don't own a VR device. Last time I used one was about 5 years ago with my sister's VR set that was designed for her iphone. Still seemed imperfect, to put it mildly. It was some underwater shark attack thingy. Answer me true: has the technology really improved or is it still basically bad? It felt like I was wearing an aquarium tank on my head with 6 distinct sides looking out while underwater inside a giant fishbowl.

Well, thats the problem with these phone VR "devices" that came out in 2016. They were basically like cheap chinese knockoffs of the real deal. Many people tried those because they were cheap and they concluded that VR is a gimmick or still needs another decade of development or so.

No. Even in 2016, there were vastly superior VR headsets already released on the market. Phone VR lacks stereoscopic vision, true 6DOF headtracking, motion controllers with proper tracking, graphical fidelity and proper render resolution. Its not the same. Its like comparing watching pirated movies that were filmed in the cinema by some dude with a shit camera to actually watching the movie in a cinema.

I remember when my brother tried my sister's el cheapo VR phone headseat (which was his first time too), he was so impressed he tried to walk off with it. I shook my head and wanted to say, "You like that, huh? Well, all I can say is, FUN FOR THE FEEBLE MINDED, BRO!" But I didn't say it because, in reality, my brother (who was the oldest of 7 children) is the smartest person I ever met, and was, in fact, an employed scientist for many years and went on to build a million dollar mail order business with two other partners. So I blame his feeble mindedness on the prodigious amounts of prime bud he had been smoking that day (and every day since 1971).