Released in early 2007, Medal of Honor Vanguard arrived at a weird time for the industry. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were already out, flexing their high-definition muscles, yet EA decided to drop this title on the aging PlayStation 2 and the brand-new Nintendo Wii. It was a bridge between generations. For many of us, it felt like the end of an era. The game didn't try to reinvent the wheel, but it did something specific that later shooters kinda forgot: it focused on the verticality of the 82nd Airborne Division.
You play as Corporal Frank Keegan. He isn’t some superhero with a regenerating health bar that refills in three seconds while hiding behind a crate. He’s just a guy jumping out of C-47 transport planes into some of the most chaotic theaters of World War II. Honestly, if you grew up with the Band of Brothers miniseries, this game was clearly trying to bottle that lightning. It takes you through Operation Husky in Sicily all the way to Operation Varsity in Germany. It’s gritty, it’s brown, and it’s loud.
The Parachute Mechanic That Actually Worked
One of the biggest selling points for Medal of Honor Vanguard was the parachute drop at the start of most missions. Nowadays, we take "dropping in" for granted because of Battle Royale games like Warzone or Fortnite. But back then? Guiding your parachute to land on a specific rooftop to snag a sniper rifle or an extra cache of grenades felt like a revelation. It wasn't just a gimmick. It actually changed how you approached the first ten minutes of a level.
If you botched the landing, you’d end up in a courtyard surrounded by Axis soldiers with nothing but an M1 Garand and a prayer. If you nailed it, you had the high ground immediately. The Wii version tried to use motion controls for this, which was... hit or miss. You’d tilt the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to steer the chutes. On the PS2, it was much more precise with the analog sticks. Some people loved the "immersion" of the Wii, but let’s be real, the PS2 version was the way to go if you actually wanted to survive on the harder difficulties.
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Missions and Historical Context
The game moves fast. You start in 1943 during the invasion of Sicily. It’s a night drop, and everything is going wrong. This is based on the real-life struggles of the 82nd Airborne, where high winds and heavy anti-aircraft fire scattered paratroopers miles away from their drop zones. The game captures that confusion. You aren't starting with a full squad; you're finding people in the dark.
Later, you move to Operation Neptune—the airborne component of the D-Day landings. While Medal of Honor Allied Assault famously handled the beach landings, Medal of Honor Vanguard focuses on the inland chaos. You’re clearing out Sainte-Mère-Église. You’re blowing up flak guns. It feels claustrophobic because of the technical limitations of the PS2, but that actually works in the game’s favor. The fog of war isn't just a graphical setting; it feels like a physical barrier.
Operation Market Garden and Beyond
Market Garden is where the game really picks up the pace. Historically, this was a massive gamble by the Allies that didn't quite pay off, and the game reflects that desperation. The level design shifts from tight streets to more open fields and bridge assaults. Finally, you hit Operation Varsity. This was the largest single-day airborne operation in history. By this point in the game, you’ve upgraded your weapons—another cool feature Vanguard introduced. You could add drum magazines to your Thompson or a scope to your Springfield. It wasn't the deep customization of a modern Call of Duty, but for 2007, it gave you a sense of progression that felt earned.
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Why Critics Were Divided
Critics weren't exactly kind to Medal of Honor Vanguard when it launched. If you go back and look at old IGN or GameSpot reviews from March 2007, you’ll see scores in the 6/10 or 7/10 range. Why? Because Call of Duty 2 had already raised the bar for what a "next-gen" WWII game should look like. Vanguard looked a bit dated. The textures were muddy. The enemy AI would sometimes just stand there and stare at you while you reloaded.
But looking back, those critiques miss the point of why people still play it on emulators or old consoles today. It was a refined version of a specific formula. It didn't have the cinematic "Michael Bay" flair of Call of Duty, but it had a certain weight to it. The gunplay was snappy. The sound design—specifically the "ping" of the M1 Garand—was top-tier. It was the last "pure" Medal of Honor game before the series tried to go modern and eventually faded away.
The Multiplayer Ghost Town
We have to talk about the multiplayer. On the Wii, it was local split-screen only. No online. In 2007! That was a huge letdown for a lot of kids who had just discovered Halo or Gears of War. The PS2 version also lacked the robust online infrastructure that Medal of Honor Rising Sun or European Assault had teased. It was strictly a social experience—four friends on a couch, staring at tiny quarters of a CRT television.
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Despite the lack of online play, the maps were actually decent. They reused assets from the single-player campaign, but they were looped in a way that made for fast-paced deathmatches. It was basic. No killstreaks. No perks. Just you, a Thompson, and your ability to aim before your friend did.
Technical Legacy and How to Play It Now
If you’re looking to revisit Medal of Honor Vanguard, you have a few options. The original discs are relatively cheap on the second-hand market because EA printed millions of them.
- PlayStation 2: The most stable version. If you have a fat PS2 with a network adapter and a hard drive (using OPL), the load times are almost non-existent.
- Wii: Play this if you want a workout. Aiming by pointing at the screen is fun for twenty minutes, then your arm starts to hurt. However, it does support 480p via component cables, which looks slightly sharper than the PS2.
- Emulation: This is where the game shines today. Using PCSX2 or Dolphin, you can crank the resolution up to 4K. When you strip away the 480i fuzziness, you can actually see the detail the developers at EA Los Angeles put into the character models and weapon skins. It holds up surprisingly well.
Actionable Insights for Retro Collectors
If you're a fan of the series or a collector of WWII shooters, there are a few things you should know before hunting down a copy. Don't pay "collector" prices for this game. It is not rare. You can usually find it for under $15 at any local game shop or eBay.
- Check the disc surface: PS2 games from this era are notorious for "disc rot" or deep scratches from the console's DVD drive. Make sure it's clean.
- Wii Remote sensitivity: If you play on the Wii, make sure your sensor bar is placed correctly. The "aiming off-screen to turn" mechanic is the number one reason people quit this game in frustration.
- Weapon Upgrades: Don't skip the optional objectives in the campaign. They are the only way to unlock weapon upgrades, which make the final missions in Germany much less of a headache.
- The Soundtrack: Pay attention to the music. Michael Giacchino didn't score this one (it was Bill Brown), but it maintains that epic, orchestral feel that defines the franchise.
Medal of Honor Vanguard isn't the best game in the series—that title probably belongs to Frontline or Allied Assault. But it is a fascinating piece of history. It represents the moment the industry moved from the sixth generation to the seventh. It’s a solid, meat-and-potatoes shooter that doesn't demand 100 hours of your time or a battle pass subscription. It just asks you to jump out of a plane and do your job. For many of us, that's more than enough.