Multiplayer
Medal of Honor's multiplayer was developed by EA DICE. Multiplayer is class based, with three classes available – Rifleman, Special Ops, and Sniper. The player earns experience during gameplay to level up and unlock additional weapons and weapon accessories. For example, at the start of the game the sniper class does not have a proper sniper scope available, and the player must reach level 3 to unlock a combat scope. If a player earns a certain number of points before dying, called a score chain, he or she earns a choice of an offensive support action such as a mortar strike or missile attack or a defensive support action such as intel or ammo. The player is not limited to one support action per life and can earn them continuously.
Gameplay features two opposing sides, the Coalition, usually referred by the in-game battle chatter to as "Python 1", against the Opposing Forces . The Coalition troops use American equipment such as the M16A4, M4A1, M21, AT4 and M9 pistol, while the Opposing Forces represent forces similar to the Taliban and use according equipment such as the AK-47, AKS-74U, SVD, RPG-7 and Tariq pistol. Each weapon is designed to have a counterpart on both teams, although that counterpart may or may not have the same stats. Initially, the weapons are team-specific. However, as the player progresses, they will unlock weapons that are available for both sides, as well as unlocking the ability to use enemy weapons. Once reaching level 8 in any one class the player is considered Tier 1 and assumes a different appearance, and when killed the tier 1 player's killer receives 5 extra points for killing a tier 1 player.
On November 2, 2010, DICE released two DLCs for multiplayer—a game type called "Hot Zone", which is a king-of-the-hill style mode and another game type called "Clean Sweep", a last-man-standing game type.
Synopsis
Plot
The story begins in late 2001 during the opening days of the invasion of Afghanistan. Tier 1 operatives of a Navy SEAL squad from DEVGRU, call sign Neptune, composed of operatives code-named Mother, Voodoo, Preacher and Rabbit are sent to meet with an Afghan informant named Tariq, who has intelligence on the Taliban. Neptune is ambushed by Chechen forces, and fights their way through the village to recover Tariq. Shortly after extraction, Tariq informs them that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have a significant force composed of 500 to 1,000 combatants in the Shah-i-Kot Valley. Neptune is tasked to secure Bagram Airfield with a contingent from the ANA. By March 2002, the airfield is re-purposed as a forward operating base by NATO forces. U.S. Army Colonel R. Drucker commands all local assets, is shown as a cautious and competent officer, in contrast to his commanding officer, General Flagg, who works in an office in the United States and is ignorant of the AFO teams' role in the operation. While Drucker plans to use Tier 1 operatives to reconnoiter insurgent positions in the valley and Northern Alliance soldiers to eliminate them, Flagg is mistrusting of the locals and gives the Colonel a 24-hour deadline to deploy the 10th Mountain Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and U.S. Army Rangers.
Meanwhile, Tier 1 teams are inserted into the area to perform reconnaissance and coordinate fire support. AFO Wolfpack, consisting of four Delta Force operators code-named Panther, Vegas, Deuce and Dusty eliminate enemy positions in two small villages and travel to their observation point "Clementine" while Neptune does the same to "OP Dorothy". After completing their mission ahead of schedule, Drucker sends Northern Alliance soldiers to eliminate several insurgent positions. Flagg calls in a rage, and unknowingly orders an AC-130U crew to open fire on friendly forces. The surviving Northern Alliance forces panic and withdraw, leaving the Colonel no choice but to deploy the Rangers as ordered. During insertion into the Sha-i-kot Valley, the Rangers come under heavy fire and a Chinook is shot down. The Rangers are pinned down by heavy machine guns, so a fireteam led by Sergeant Patterson consisting of Specialist Dante Adams, Corporal Hernandez and US Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Tech Sergeant Ybarra flank the enemy positions and destroy the machine guns. They move to secure another landing zone, but are ambushed by insurgents, who arrive in overwhelming numbers. Surrounded, and running out of ammunition, Ybarra radios Bagram for reinforcements, which arrive in the form of a pair of AH-64 Apaches, facilitating the Rangers’ extraction. The Apaches move through the mountains destroying a Taliban armory and enemy mortar positions. As they return to base, a Taliban Anti-Aircraft Gun crew attempts to destroy the helicopters; however, the AA gunner is killed by Deuce.
Deuce and Dusty move up the mountains and ambush enemy patrols and mortar teams, providing sniper support for Neptune, who is in heavy contact on the adjacent mountain, Takur Ghar. Neptune withdraws over the ridge line, and fights their way to the extraction point. Mother and Rabbit make it to the helicopter, but the Chinook lifts off early due to heavy enemy fire, leaving Voodoo and Preacher behind. Defying orders to return to base, Mother and Rabbit re-insert at nighttime, barely escaping death when their Chinook comes under fire. They evade hostile patrols while searching for Voodoo and Preacher. However, the two operators are eventually compromised and forced to jump off a cliff in an attempt to escape, with Rabbit sustaining multiple injuries in the jump and multiple wounds from close RPG fire beforehand at the top of the cliff and in the hut. Both suffer injuries and are captured by insurgents. Back at Bagram, Colonel Drucker attempts to organize forces to extract Neptune. Wolfpack is too far to provide assistance. General Flagg refuses to risk additional losses, and only assigns an AC-130U gunship, which can only stay on station for 15 more minutes. Drucker defies orders and sends in a Ranger Quick Reaction Force to extract Neptune.
The Chinook is hit by heavy fire, three Rangers and a crew member are killed, and four more are injured. After securing the crash site for the wounded and medics, Hernandez, Ybarra, Adams and Patterson head for the mountain pass. Hernandez is wounded while attempting to find the entrance of a spider-hole and Ybarra brings him back to the landing zone. Adams and Patterson link up with Preacher and Voodoo and continue searching for Mother and Rabbit. After the four of them together assaulted two enemy strongholds with the help of a CIA Predator drone, they eventually locate the two missing operators tied up in a remote bunker, who were tortured by the insurgents. Rabbit is dying from his wounds as his teammates evacuate him. The team calls for extraction, but the nearest helicopters are flying from Kandahar, some distance away. Rabbit's condition worsens and, despite his squad-mates' attempts, he succumbs to his wounds and dies before extraction arrives. The seven survivors are safely extracted, along with the remaining Ranger QRF. While observing a pair of F-15Es bombing the remaining insurgent bunkers, Preacher collects a rabbit's foot charm from Rabbit's body, with Mother and Preacher noting that the war is far from over.
The game ends with a scene of Ajab and Preacher, sitting on a street in a town, conversing with each other in the Pashto dialect. As they converse about the quality of the tea they are drinking, they identify a man they are looking out for and stand to approach him. This leads directly into a mission in the next game, Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
