Steven Spielberg wanted to make a game about his dad. Honestly, that’s where this all starts. While he was filming Saving Private Ryan, he realized that the younger generation didn't really grasp the gravity of World War II. He saw his son playing GoldenEye 007 and had a lightbulb moment. If kids were going to shoot things, why not have them learn about the 101st Airborne or the storming of Omaha Beach while they did it?
It's weird to think about now. Before the medal of honour games in order became a historical curiosity, they were the absolute kings of the industry. They birthed the talent that would eventually create Call of Duty. They defined what "cinematic" meant for a PlayStation 1 console that was basically held together by hopes and dreams. But if you try to track the series today, it's a messy, jagged timeline of brilliance followed by some pretty mediocre attempts to chase trends.
The PlayStation Era: Where It All Began
The original Medal of Honor dropped in 1999. It was a revelation. You played as Jimmy Patterson, an OSS agent. Unlike the "doom clones" of the era, it actually felt like a movie. Michael Giacchino composed the score, and it’s still one of the best soundtracks in gaming history. He used live orchestras. In 1999! That was unheard of.
Then came Medal of Honor: Underground in 2000. This one was even more interesting because it focused on the French Resistance. You played as Manon Batiste. It was gritty. It was hard. It showed a side of the war—sabotage and urban insurgency—that games usually ignored in favor of big tanks.
The PC Revolution and Allied Assault
If you ask any old-school PC gamer about the medal of honour games in order, they’ll stop you at 2002. That’s the year Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (MOHAA) hit the shelves. It was developed by 2015, Inc. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because the core team there eventually split off to form Infinity Ward and create Call of Duty.
The Omaha Beach level in Allied Assault changed everything. You’re on a boat. The ramp drops. Everyone dies. You’re deafened by explosions. It was traumatic and exhilarating. It basically set the template for every military shooter for the next twenty years. No one had ever seen anything like it.
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The Console Side Quests
While PC players were storming Normandy, console players got Medal of Honor: Frontline. It also started on D-Day but had a slightly different vibe. It was arguably the peak of the franchise's popularity. Sales were through the roof.
But then things started getting... complicated. EA began churning these out fast.
- Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (2003) took us to the Pacific. People hated the cliffhanger ending that never got resolved.
- Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (2004) was the PC's answer, featuring some incredibly taxing hardware requirements for the time.
- Medal of Honor: European Assault (2005) tried to go "open-ended" but felt a bit hollow.
Basically, the series started to lose its identity. It was fighting a two-front war against its own spin-offs and a new rival called Call of Duty that was doing everything faster and louder.
The Identity Crisis and the Modern Reboot
By 2007, the world was tired of World War II. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had just nuked the status quo. EA tried to keep the old flame alive with Medal of Honor: Airborne. The gimmick was that you could parachute anywhere in the level. It was cool! It was actually pretty innovative. But it felt like a relic.
So, they pivoted.
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In 2010, they released Medal of Honor. Just the title. No subtitle. A total reboot set in contemporary Afghanistan. They brought in Tier 1 Operators as consultants. They wanted "authenticity." It was controversial, especially with the inclusion of the Taliban in multiplayer (which was later renamed to "Opposing Force" after a massive PR backlash). The campaign was actually decent—it felt more personal and somber than the Michael Bay-style Call of Duty games. But it didn't set the world on fire.
Then came the nail in the coffin: Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012).
It was a mess. Buggy, confusing, and frankly, a bit mean-spirited in its tone. It tried so hard to be "operator" and "tactical" that it forgot to be a fun video game. Critics tore it apart. EA put the franchise on ice. It stayed there for a long time.
The VR Experiment and Where We Are Now
In 2020, Respawn Entertainment—the folks behind Apex Legends—surprised everyone with Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. It was a VR-only title. It went back to World War II. It was massive, ambitious, and required a PC that cost as much as a used car to run properly.
It also included "The Gallery," a series of documentary shorts featuring real WWII veterans. One of these documentaries, Colette, actually won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2021. This made Medal of Honor the first video game brand to ever be associated with an Oscar. Talk about a weird legacy.
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Tracking the Medal of Honour Games in Order
If you're trying to play through these today, the timeline is a bit of a headache because of how many "main" games and "side" games exist. Here is the general flow of the major releases:
- Medal of Honor (1999) - The PS1 classic.
- Medal of Honor: Underground (2000) - Resistance-focused prequel/sequel.
- Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002) - The PC masterpiece.
- Medal of Honor: Frontline (2002) - The console peak.
- Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (2003) - The Pearl Harbor jump-off.
- Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (2004) - Gritty jungle warfare on PC.
- Medal of Honor: European Assault (2005) - The experimental one.
- Medal of Honor: Vanguard (2007) - Mostly a recycled Airborne for PS2/Wii.
- Medal of Honor: Airborne (2007) - The last great WWII entry.
- Medal of Honor (2010) - The modern Afghanistan reboot.
- Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012) - The one that almost killed the brand.
- Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (2020) - The VR comeback.
There were also a bunch of handheld titles like Infiltrator on the GBA (which was actually a top-down shooter and surprisingly good) and Heroes on the PSP. But the list above covers the heavy hitters.
Why Does This Series Still Matter?
The medal of honour games in order represent the evolution of the industry's relationship with history. At first, they were educational tools disguised as fun. Then they were blockbuster spectacles. Finally, they became attempts to replicate the "cool" factor of modern special forces.
Most people get it wrong when they say Call of Duty killed Medal of Honor. EA killed it by trying to make it exactly like Call of Duty. They chased the dragon instead of leading the pack.
If you want to experience the series today, don't start with the new ones. Go back to Allied Assault or Frontline. Look past the muddy textures. Notice the sound design. Listen to the way the music swells when you accomplish an objective. There is a soul in those early games that the modern military shooter has completely lost in its quest for "engagement metrics" and "battle passes."
How to Play These Today
- Check GOG.com: This is your best bet for the PC titles like Allied Assault and Pacific Assault. They are patched to run on modern Windows 10 and 11 systems without the nightmare of DRM issues.
- Emulation is King: For the original PS1 and PS2 titles, emulation (like PCSX2) allows you to play them in 4K. It makes Frontline look surprisingly modern.
- VR Requirements: If you want to play Above and Beyond, make sure you have at least 180GB of space and a dedicated VR setup like a Quest 3 (with Link) or a Valve Index. It's a chunky game.
Stop looking for the "new" thing for a second. Go back and see where the DNA of every shooter you love came from. It's all there in the 1999 original. It’s janky, the AI is questionable, but the heart is undeniable.