Stories for December 7, 2007: Medal of Honor in for some changes

Activision's Call of Duty 4 has sold 3 million copies in only a month's time, and has been awarded outstanding, 90%+ reviews almost across the board. Meanwhile, EA's Medal of Honor: Airborne sold about a half-million units before completely dropping off the charts, and was met with tepid 75%-ish reviews from most critics. This so-so reception followed a fairly troubled development cycle, which saw the game go over-budget, switch engines halfway through development (from Renderware to UE3), and suffer a nearly year-long delay (after which many players still think that the game feels rushed).

Medal of Honor peaked commercially with 2002's Frontline, which sold well over 7 million copies, and EA is acutely aware of the franchise's dramatic decline in popularity since that game. They know that the series needs a serious shot in the arm. Thus, the next core game in the series, which has been in development at EA Los Angeles since mid-summer, will be distinctly different from it's predecessors. In case you haven't already guessed, yes, EA is taking a page from Activision's playbook, and will be bringing Medal of Honor into the modern era, with the next core game set in, surprise, the Middle East, a few years in the future. In an amusing twist that creates some familial continuity with the other games in the series, the player character will be the grandson of Jimmy Patterson and Manon Batiste.

The game, which doesn't have a concrete subtitle yet but is being referred to internally by the simple codename "Medal of Honor X," will be coming to 360/PS3/PC in winter 2008. There will also be unique versions coming to PSP, DS, and Wii, which will be handled by EA Canada and their resident Team Fusion. Expect an official announcement and first peeks in March or April.