Medal of Honor : Frontline

Medal of Honor: Frontline on PlayStation 2 is a World War II first-person shooter built around the single-player campaign of Lt. Jimmy Patterson. The mission begins at Normandy in June 1944, with Patterson returning to France amid the D-Day invasion before the Office of Strategic Services sends him behind enemy lines. What follows is an Allied push through occupied Europe with a clear espionage thread: disrupt the German war effort, follow intelligence from the field, and ultimately prevent the HO-IX flying-wing project from becoming a decisive weapon. The PS2 original makes that journey its centerpiece, framing its action with briefings, mission journals, and a War Room that keeps the player oriented between operations.

The opening at Omaha Beach, Dog Red Sector establishes the game's cinematic scale. Patterson rides in a Higgins boat with the 116th Infantry as the Atlantic Wall comes into view, then has to survive the landing and fight inland. Frontline does not stay on one kind of battlefield, though. Its six-mission campaign moves between open assaults and more deliberate assignments, asking the player to handle recon, demolition, rescue, infiltration, and sabotage as the Allied advance gathers momentum. Mission objectives can be checked during play, so the action has a practical sense of purpose beyond simply clearing every room.

The game gives its covert operations room to breathe. Some installations have alarms that guards can trigger, disable, or even use to draw reinforcements into an ambush. Disguises and forged papers can open restricted areas, but wearing the wrong uniform does not make Patterson invisible: the manual warns players to avoid suspicious actions and to present their pass when challenged. There are moments of allied support and opportunities to ride through enemy territory, while stationary heavy guns can be manned when brute force is the answer. That mixture lets Frontline shift from tense, measured movement to loud battlefield pressure without abandoning its campaign story.

Its period arsenal supplies the other half of the experience. Patterson can carry sidearms, rifles, submachine guns, grenades, and heavier weapons, including the M1 Garand, Springfield '03 sniper rifle, Thompson, MP40, BAR, bazooka, and Panzerschreck. Ammunition, loaded rounds, health, and direction are presented through the on-screen interface, and incoming fire is indicated on the compass. Aim Mode steadies the view for deliberate shots, with the sniper rifle able to zoom, while melee attacks remain available even after the ammunition runs dry. Health comes from supplies found in the levels, including canteens, medical kits, and field surgeon packs.

The original PS2 release is designed as a solo campaign rather than a multiplayer shooter. Its War Room offers campaign play, the next mission, options, a gallery, and personal records, while the game rewards repeat runs with performance ratings. Completing a level earns a Bronze Star; stronger enemy-clearance and health results can earn Silver or Gold, and Gold Stars across a mission lead to combat medals. The Gallery also unlocks World War II history footage and making-of material through medal performance, giving completionists a reason to revisit finished operations. Difficulty settings change the healing rules between levels as well as enemy strength, so the campaign can be tuned from forgiving to uncompromising.

The PS2 controls use two analog sticks in the default MOH Sharpshooter setup: the left stick handles movement and strafing, while the right stick turns and looks. R1 fires, R2 reloads or cooks a grenade when that option is enabled, L1 enters Aim Mode, X performs actions, L2 crouches, and R3 delivers a melee strike. Options include alternative controller configurations, inverted vertical aim, an always-visible crosshair, vibration, and grenade cooking. This flexible setup helps Frontline's mix of shooting, sneaking, interacting with objectives, and managing weapons feel purpose-built for the DualShock 2.

For players comparing versions, the PlayStation 2 release is the original console edition and the place to play Frontline as its focused single-player campaign. The later GameCube and Xbox conversions retain the core campaign but add local split-screen multiplayer for two to four players, a mode the PS2 version does not include. That makes the PS2 disc a particularly direct fit for anyone after the D-Day opener, OSS mission structure, historical gallery material, and medal-driven campaign progression without the extra versus mode.