You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely. I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
—Dwight Eisenhower, paraphrased for the game's intro.
The fourth installment in the Medal of Honor series, Frontline was released in 2002 on the PlayStation 2, with Nintendo GameCube and Xbox versions following a few months later. The game serves as an Interquel to Medal of Honor (1999).
Once again, you play as Lt. Jimmy Patterson of the OSS, showing us just exactly how and why Patterson's actions on D-Day got him noticed by Col. Stanley Hargrove and the OSS. As it turns out, following his killing of more than a half-dozen German soldiers in the early hours of D-Day, Patterson had volunteered to help the 2nd Ranger Battalion storm and secure Omaha Beach, with Patterson clearing out several machine gun nests and bunkers not long afterward. Following this first mission, the rest of the game serves as an Interquel set between events of the first game, showing Patterson's other missions in Western Europe during this time. Ultimately, it culminates with Patterson investigating a Nazi Secret Weapon Project that could threaten Allied air superiority over Europe.
The game has six missions for you to accomplish, with two to four levels for each mission. Netting a gold star on each of these levels rewards you a medal for the mission.
The game received an HD Remaster for the Limited Edition of Medal of Honor (2010) for the Playstation 3.
Tropes that apply for this game:
- Actionized Sequel: Like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and true to the game's name, several levels are now set in the midst of frontline combat, with Patterson assisting the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and British 1st Airborne Division in their battles across Western Europe.
- And the Adventure Continues: Following his successful mission to kill Sturmgeist and steal the Ho.IX, the game ends with Col. Hargrove telling Jimmy Patterson to take a much needed rest for the time being, and that he'll be called to action again soon enough to deal with similar threats. Given that this game is set in-between the third and fourth missions of Medal of Honor (1999), Patterson will still have a lot more missions to carry out before the War in Europe ends.
- Artistic License – Military: "Arnhem Knights" introduces you to Master Sergeant Kelso of the British Parachute Regiment. Master Sergeant is not a rank in the United Kingdom's military; rather, it's a rank in the United States. Sergeant Major would've been the appropriate rank.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He's no Cyberdemon, but Baron Sturmgeist can still soak a remarkable number of bullets, or even a few rockets, before going down permanently. Particularly notable since the series generally avoids using this trope.
- Bad Guy Bar: The Golden Lion, where German soldiers are shown having drinks and one of them plays the piano.
- Big Bad: Haupstrumfuhrer Rudolf Ulbricht von Sturmgheist serves as this for the game, though he only becomes super-prominent in the last two campaigns (you get an early peek at him in the second). Specifically, he's the man personally funding and supervising the construction and eventual mass production of the Ho.IX, an advanced jet fighter for the German Luftwaffe that has the potential to seriously threaten Allied air superiority over Europe.
- Big Fancy House: The Dorne Manor in Kleveburg, Netherlands, which has seen been commandeered by Nazi officers as both a recreational facility and as an interrogating area for captured Allied officers and Resistance agents. Patterson must infiltrate the manor in order to rescue a Dutch Resistance member code-named Gerritt, who is being held in one of the interrogation rooms.
- Bilingual Bonus: All of the Germans speak in their mother tongue. They can even sing a song entirely in German too. You can use the subtitles to figure out what they're saying.
- Bittersweet Ending: Whilst Operation Market-Garden fails and causes the War in Europe to continue on for several more months, Lt. Jimmy Patterson's goal of stopping the Ho.IX's mass production and killing Sturmgeist succeeds, with Patterson stealing the prototype fighter and escaping to England with it.
- Call-Back: During the briefing for Mission 2, Col. Hargrove mentions Patterson's previous achievement of destroying the U-4901 from the first game. This becomes immediately relevant due to Hargrove tasking Patterson with taking out that U-boat's sister ship, the aptly-named U-4902.
- Chance Meeting Between Antagonists: Agent Patterson gets a sneak peek at the Big Bad Sturmgeist during an infiltration mission of a German seaport while the latter is inspecting said seaport. Sturmgeist becomes Patterson's target of pursuit in the later campaigns. Said early encounter occurs during the mission named "A Chance Meeting".
- Darkest Hour: "Arnhem Knights"; at this point, Operation Market Garden is a complete failure, and you must help the British paratroopers simply try to survive against the onslaught of German soldiers.
- Demoted to Extra: Manon, who was featured in the previous installments and starred in Underground, only receives a brief mention by a French Resistance operative in the single player mode and playable only in the multiplayer.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Virtually all of the Allied units that Patterson fights alongside are elite units from both the US and British Army, namely the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and British 1st Airborne Division. Patterson himself, following the first mission, is a member of the OSS, a unit that specifically requires elite and skilled soldiers in its cadres due to the dangerous and secretive nature of their missions.
- Elite Mooks: The Waffen-SS as with previous titles, who have much better aim and access to more automatic weaponry compared to their German Army counterparts. This is especially true with the Algemeine-SS under Sturmgeist's command, as they are armed to the teeth with the best weapons Nazi Germany has to offer.
- Exact Words: One of the cheat codes describes itself as a "bullet shield". Turning it on indeed protects you...from bullets. Nothing else.
- Foregone Conclusion:
- Given that this game is an Interquel set within the events of the first Medal of Honor, Patterson will inevitably survive the story to fight another day.
- For anyone that knows about their history of the Second World War, Operation Market-Garden will inevitably fail due to a number of factors outside the player's control.
- Grand Theft Prototype: Jimmy hijacks the HO-IX prototype in the final level, to escape the Allied bombing as well as to take the aircraft back to the Allies for studying and research.
- I Surrender, Suckers: One of the German soldiers in the bunker in the second level will drop what he's carrying and throw his hands up in surrender, before getting fidgety and pulling a pistol. You can always shoot him before he tries it though.
- Interquel: This game takes place in-between several of Lt. Jimmy Patterson's missions from the first Medal of Honor, specifically the missions Patterson undertook after he destroyed U-4901 and before his mission to Fort Schmerzen.
- Kick the Dog: During the missions set in the Netherlands, German soldiers, particularly SS soldiers, can be seen constantly mistreating and threatening Dutch civilians at gunpoint. Usually, it's implied that they're doing this because they suspect them for housing Dutch Resistance members or Allied soldiers, but in most cases it appears that they're doing this for apparently little to no reason at all.
- La Résistance:
- The French Resistance are mentioned, and one of their agents named Fabrice Delacroix serves as Patterson's Mission Control during most the second mission. And while they don't make a physical appearance here, they still play a major role by providing Lt. Patterson with vital intelligence, ammunition, and medical supplies.
- The Dutch Resistance make a major appearance in the missions set in the Netherlands, and like their French counterparts provide Lt. Patterson with transport, ammunition, vital intelligence, and medical supplies. Patterson himself has to help rescue an agent of theirs code-named Gerritt, due to the later having vital intelligence that the OSS needs.
- Marathon Level: The Golden Lion, combined with Checkpoint Starvation.
- Minecart Madness: "Enemy Mine", which has Jimmy riding a minecraft through the underground while defending himself from the Germans.
- Non-Indicative Name: Despite the subtitle "Frontline", Jimmy spends most of the game Trapped Behind Enemy Lines. The sequences at D-Day, St. Matheiu, Nijmegen, and Arnhem are exceptions, though even the latter three are just Jimmy passing through areas of heavy fighting while on his own mission.
- Non-Standard Game Over: Staying in the Omaha Beach bunker after you marked it for a bombing run gets you blown up with the bunker. Go figure.
- Prequel: The opening level set in Omaha Beach is this to the first Medal of Honor, showing players just exactly what got the OSS interested in Patterson. After his transport plane was hit over Normandy, he landed near an Allied transport ship, and volunteered to help the 2nd Ranger Battalion storm Omaha Beach. Patterson himself killed several dozen German soldiers in the process, helping the Rangers clear out several machine gun nests.
- Shout-Out:
- The D-Day sequence for the first two levels is a faithful homage to Saving Private Ryan. The following level, Seaside Stowaway, has an area based on the movie's climactic scene, including an encounter with a massive, but knocked-out, Tiger I tank.note
- One of the missions is called "Several Bridges Too Far". Which also deals with Operation Market Garden, particularly the fighting in Nijmegen and Arnhem.
- The Minecart Madness level is reminiscent of the minecart scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
- Patterson trying to chase down Sturmgeist in a train while other trains try to kill Jimmy is reminiscent of The Great Locomotive Chase.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: The Winchester 1897 shotgun you can get your hands on. Short-ranged, but incredibly powerful.
- Stationary Enemy: In addition to the ever-present fixed emplacements such as the MG42 machine gunners and mortar crews, several of the Panzer IV tanks that Patterson encounters remain stationary, only turning their turrets towards him and other friendly soldiers rather than moving around and facing them. The latter examples become subversions later on, as the last few Panzer IVs encountered in the campaign do move around.
- Storming the Beaches: Like in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Patterson storms Omaha Beach on D-Day in a similar sequence of events.
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: Sturmgeist and his group are helping to mass produce the Ho IX, an advanced prototype jet fighter being developed for the Luftwaffe. Downplayed in that, while the aircraft itself is real and actually reached the prototype stage, thanks to Sturmgeist's funding and supervision, the Ho.IX in-game has already reached working prototype stage much earlier than in real life, with mass production of the fighter already close to fruition.
- Super Prototype: The HO-IX, an advanced, heavily armed jet aircraft designed for intercepting Allied bombers, and capable of outrunning and outgunning any Allied fighter it comes up against.
- The Piano Player: A German soldier acts like one in the Golden Lion. If you tip him, the entire bar starts to sing a song called "The Songless Nightingale". You'll need to do this to sneak upstairs.
- Unique Enemy: The angry chef who throws knives at you in various campaigns. It's probably the same guy every time judging by his evolving injuries every time you face him.
- Urban Warfare: Several times, Patterson is forced to fight through French and Dutch cities, with several buildings having been destroyed by either Allied bombing or the ongoing fighting. The levels set in Arnhem in particular are notable, due to Patterson having to enter several Dutch buildings and houses in order to make it past German roadblocks and checkpoints.
- Violation of Common Sense: The best way to destroy tanks is not with rockets or grenades, but with the MG42, which rips through them in about a second.
