Medal of Honor Reviews Lukewarm, EA Spins Reception

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Medal of Honor Reviews Lukewarm, EA Spins Reception

 

 

EA's controversial modern-day military shooter Medal of Honor so far trends middle-of-the-road with critics, but to hear EA tell it, it's already drawing "massive acclaim." Well, among "the world's toughest critics" anyway.

 

I couldn't say why they think the ones they've listed qualify, but it's surely a way to up-sell something with an aggregator score tepid enough to send the company's stock shares tumbling six percent yesterday.

 

An electric green mid-70s Metacritic average for all three versions could be worse, right?

 

EA's response today involves celebrating the game's European launch this Friday, nodding to Zoo Magazine and GamesMaster's ebullient reviews, and branding day one U.S. sales "great" and "well in position for an outstanding holiday," though declining to get into specifics.

 

"We anticipate Medal of Honor to be one of the biggest video game titles launched this year," wrote GameStop merchandizing senior vice president Bob McKenzie in an EA press statement. "This underscores how video gaming has emerged as mainstream entertainment."

 

How does Medal of Honor, which should sell well but won't break records, add anything of note to the "mainstream entertainment" pitch? For a medium that surpassed film and music in industry revenue and went "mainstream" years ago? Ask Bob McKenzie, I guess.