So that was Medal of Honor’s job: give Call of Duty a run for its money and maybe even dethrone it as the world’s top shooter franchise.Īt that, Medal of Honor has failed. But perhaps nothing could be more important to the company and to gamers’ perception of the company than to create a formidable rival to Call of Duty in the modern shooter segment. It has achieved successes, like the new science-fiction horror franchise Dead Space. With its transition from World War II to modern times, Call of Duty has become the benchmark in first-person shooters, among the most popular genres of video games.Įlectronic Arts has been trying admirably to recapture its élan. began trying to reduce game making to a business school process rather than treating it as, well, an electronic art.Īctivision, meanwhile, gradually raised its standards of creativity and technical production, culminating in the smash success of its Call of Duty franchise. Over the years, even as Electronic Arts raked in the cash from Madden football and the rest of its sports empire, the company seemed to lose its way as a creative enterprise. E.A.’s archrival, Activision, was the one playing catch-up, churning out somewhat thin, schlocky diversions. Way back in the misty, distant infancy of mass electronic gaming otherwise known as the 1980s the Electronic Arts brand stood for the highest levels of quality and innovation in interactive entertainment. And second, Activision and Call of Duty don’t have much to worry about. Playing Medal of Honor, the new military combat game from Electronic Arts, I couldn’t stop thinking two things.