Medal of Honor Goes to Afghanistan on October 12

Electronic Arts has announced that it plans to launch the reborn Medal of Honor on October 12, almost one full month before the release of the newly unveiled Modern Warfare: Black Ops.

The fresh shooter in the long running series, which is being worked on by both EA LA and DICE, is set to take place in Afghanistan and will depict the actions of a group of warriors known as Tier 1 Operators, those who undertake the toughest and most sensitive operations of the conflict. Those who want to play the first person shooter in Europe will have to wait until October 15.

Electronic Arts has great hopes for the new Medal of Honor. The series was seen as inferior in its depiction of World War II when compared with Call of Duty, although the last release before a long hiatus, Airborne, had some interesting gameplay ideas. By moving to modern times and building a single player story linked to a small number of Tier 1 Operators working in Afghanistan, EA is positioning its title as a direct competitor to the new Call of Duty, which is heading to Vietnam, and to SOCOM 4 from Zipper.

The October 12 launch date is a gamble for the publisher. It virtually guarantees Medal of Honor will dominate the videogame space for about one month but it also allows Call of Duty: Black Ops to position itself to dominate the period from the first days of November to the end of 2010. It will be exciting to see how this shooter war plays out in the coming months.

Greg Goodrich, the executive producer working on Medal of Honor at Electronic Arts, stated, “Medal of Honor is an authentic look into today’s war. Inspired by real people and real events, the game puts players in the boots of today’s warrior - from the infantry ground pounder to the Tier 1 Operator. We are proud of this piece because it offers a glimpse into the game we’re creating, while also showing the mindset of these warriors.”