Jump Up Jump Up and Get Down
Scooter: The first thing I noticed is that there's no longer a Jeep license (more on that in a bit) and there isn't a pathfinder mission anymore either. EA initially announced a deal with the Jeep license where you zipped around in authentic Jeeps, but with the way the current game has evolved, the levels don't lend themselves to Jeep-driving as much, so that's gone.
The other missing feature, the pathfinder mission, had you play as a pathfinder first to scout out the mission area and complete a few objectives. Then you played the main mission as a regular airborne trooper. Executive Producer Patrick Gilmore commented that the team realized that it was basically forcing players to play a mission twice, and instead opted to fold most of those pathfinder objectives into the standard mission and drop the rest. That said, Gabe is taking the first jump in Operation Husky.
Anywhere you can look at, you can land at
Gabe: Operation Husky was the first time the 82nd Airborne had ever jumped into battle, and as I stood in the belly of the plane waiting for my turn through the door, the flack of the US Navy below (who had no idea that our planes belonged to Allied forces) blossomed menacingly all around. A fellow soldier screamed, "Get out of the damn plane!" as I clutched my parachute harness and tumbled into the artillery-choked atmosphere.
I surveyed the carnage below, noting the location of key mission objectives: I've got to remember where those AA emplacements are, because those will need to be taken out posthaste! First thing first, though, I've got to land somewhere appropriate. Gilmore pointed out a small building with no roof, indicating that it contained a hidden sniper rifle. Though not the safest place to drop (those were marked with green smoke flares), I'd begin the level with a nifty Lee Enfield bolt action rifle complete with sniper scope. Never one to pass up the cheap shots offered by sniping, I went for it.
Scooter: Yes, Gabe has opted to be a craven little camper who slinks around on the rooftops and prefers to plink his foes as opposed to face them head-on. Gilmore took a moment to talk about how the parachute drop gameplay forced the design team to shake off their scripted encounters style of design and create more flexible levels. Things like how the buildings have multiple entry points, so you can rush in through a door or a hole in a roof or a window, as opposed to the single doorway you are scripted to run through. Or how the team uses vertical space better in MoHA than they have in previous MoH games, simply due to the fact that players will always be coming from up high.
There are three types of landings in MoHA: the flared landing where you just drop down and get your gear ready, the greased landing where you smoothly cut your chute and whip out your gear as you land (making you combat effective much faster), and the final type...
