Men of Valor is a 2004 Vietnam War First-Person Shooter by 2015, Inc., the same people who brought Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
In the game, players assume the role of African-American US marine Dean Shephard in his tour of duty in Vietnam from Operation Starlite to the Siege of Khe Sanh.
Definitely NOT to be confused with Act of Valor. Or Men of Honor.
This game provides examples of:
- A Father to His Men: Lieutenant Zook. So much that when he died, Dean remarked that "things aren't the same anymore". And Captain Van Bao.
- All Asians Wear Conical Straw Hats: Subverted. Many of the VCs don't wear any sort of headgear. If they do wear one, it's most likely NVA pith helmets or boonie hats.
- A.K.A.-47: Averted. All weapons appear with their real names.
- Asian Hooker Stereotype/Streetwalker: Done to complete the Full Metal Jacket Shout-Out.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Averted. The South Vietnamese and the VC speak perfect English throughout the game.
- Autosave: Occurs several times. And pretty much the only way to save your progress.
- Awesome Personnel Carrier: The M113s play an important role in several missions, which is not surprising for a game set during the Vietnam War. You even get a chance to see the APC's troop compartment from inside while being transported to the battlefield.
- Bash Brothers: Dean and Hodges. After the latter dies, Hoss takes his place.
- The Big Guy: Hoss.
- Black Dude Dies First: Averted with Dean, Jamie, and Dandridge of course. Though Dandridge was the first to die when the plane he, Dean, and the team's boarding landed on Khe Sanh.
- Booby Trap: As usual in a Vietnam War game.
- Chromosome Casting: Any and all important characters are men.
- Curiosity Killed the Cast/Too Dumb to Live: The poor marine who fell for the blatantly obvious Booby Trap in the first arc.
- Dark Action Girl: The female VCs. Their fighting skills are not any different from the male VCs.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: Naturally. The more you move, the more you'll lose your accuracy.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Subverted with the ARVN Rangers. Their combat skills are on par with the AI marines.
- Enemy Chatter: Lots of 'em. Expect screaming and swearing in English if you're fighting the VCs.
- Expy: Zook is clearly based on Cowboy. Likewise, Hoss is based on Animal Mother.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: Mounted on an M48 Patton tank, no less.
- Heal Thyself: Anytime the player gets injured, he bleeds. To stop it you'll have to use bandages by holding a button. You can also acquire medikits from fallen enemies.
- Heroic Mime: Zigzagged. Dean talks in loading screens, intermissions, and cutscenes. But outside of that, he's silent.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Hoo boy. You can carry an M16, an AK47, an M60, and an RPG at the same time.
- More Dakka: The M60 and the RPD.
- Missing Backblast: RPGs leave no backblasts when fired.
- The Neidermeyer: McFadden for endangering Zook's team during Operation Starlite.
- One Bullet Clips: Appears to be taken straight from Allied Assault.
- Recycled In Space: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault IN VIETNAM!
- Scenery Gorn: Hue City once the Tet Offensive kicks in.
- Semper Fi: All American soldiers in this game are marines.
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Spiritual Successor: Like Call of Duty, this game is one to Allied Assault. - Shout-Out: The Tet Offensive arc is like one big shout-out to Full Metal Jacket. The MACV HQ looks exactly like the Da Nang base from the film, and you even have a prostitute.
- Dean's team burning the VC village evokes Platoon.
- Shooting Gallery: The tutorial mission has many of these.
- Shouting Shooter: The VCs love to scream. A lot.
- Storming the Castle: The game's penultimate mission deals with Dean, Hodges, Van Bao, and the ARVN Rangers attacking Hue's Imperial City.
- Tank Goodness: M48 Pattons for the Americans, and BMP APCs for the NVA.
- Tanks, but No Tanks: The NVA "tank" in this game is actually a BMP APC.
- The Many Deaths of You: After you get killed, the game displays a game over screen with a condolence letter to Shepard's parents written by your current CO. The letter's content changes with every mission and the character who wrote it.
- Tunnel Network: Dean, Hodges, and the ARVN rangers infiltrates one in the second arc. Subverted because they left the tunnel through the exact same hole as they arrived.
- Urban Warfare: Most of the Tet Offensive arc takes place in Hue City.
- You All Look Familiar: All over the place. Jarring when compared to Allied Assault.
