EA will be releasing Medal of Honor: Warfighter at the end of October and they have worked closely with former Tier 1 Special Forces Operators to ensure the game is as realistic as possible. We recently got a chance to talk to a former SAS solider about the game and his life in the regiment.
Medal of Honor Warfighter tells the personal story of U.S. Tier 1 Operator “Preacher,” as he returns home only to find his family torn apart from years of combat deployment. Trying to pick up the pieces and salvage what remains of his marriage, Preacher is reminded of what he’s fighting for – family. But when a deadly explosive known as PETN penetrates civilian borders and his two worlds collide, Preacher and his fellow teammates are sent in to do what they do best – solve the problem.
Daniel McKean was in the SAS so he is more than qualified to comment on the realism in the game.
Andrew Edney: Hi Daniel, tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Daniel McKean: Sure, my name’s Daniel McKean and I spent 22 years in the British Army with over half of that time in the SAS. I travelled all around the world, met lots of good people and not so many nice people as well in my time. I served in places from the jungle to arid desert environments, the arctic and all over the world, including the Middle East. Different environments posed different challenges, the jungle for example is a hard place to soldier in, and if you can soldier in the jungle you can soldier anywhere around the world, its very very solitary and hard environment to survive in. It degrades your body, everything wants to bite, sting or scratch you and everything rusts. Your weapons and you kit rots, and you’ve got to keep on top of your personal hygiene.
As I said, I’ve served all over the world, the jungle, the desert, Bosnia, the Middle East and I’ve been involved in lots of operations.
AE: So how did you end up in the SAS?
DM: From an early age, from being a child things influence you in life and it may sound a little bit cheesy but I always knew I would serve in the Regiment. I had it in my mind that I would always do it, and that it was something I wanted to do and I just wasn’t prepared to fail. I passed selection first time and got through it all. Believe it or not I watched the film Who Dares Wins when I was a kid as well and it really stuck in my mind. The film isn’t a true representation of the SAS but it whets your appetite and so when the time came I just did it, passed first time and just never looked back.
AE: Tell us some of the things you can talk about from your time in the Regiment.
DM: I’ve clearly got to be careful what I say, like I said, I’ve served all around the world in many operations, including Iraq and been in countless ambushes, involved in hostage rescue scenarios and other various situations. People have asked me in the past what’s it like doing a job like that, and do you get scared, and yeah, of course you get scared and it keeps you on edge – you are a little bit nervous, a little bit worried and it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and it keeps you alert and alive.
AE: Have you seen much of Medal of Honor Warfighter?
DM: Yes, I’ve played the single player game of Medal of Honor Warfighter, and I really enjoyed it, it was a really good experience, a pleasurable experience and a very lifelike one as well.
AE: So you felt that it was quite realistic?
DM: I did, and I thought it was a fantastic game. What I liked about is the fact that the developers have taken time with the weapons systems. They have recorded the different calibres of weapons – 9 mil, 556, 7.62, 50 cal and so on. When I hear those sounds on that game it really takes me back to my time in the Regiment – that’s how lifelike it is. They really have taken a lot of time to record the sounds and the atmospherics and make the towns look good – they have clearly visited these places. They’ve looked at the style of buildings and picked up on the atmospherics and have then put that into the game which is a great representation – its really good.
AE: Do you play a lot of First Person Shooter games?
DM: It’s a bit of a generation thing, I have started playing them. and a lot of young military guys play these games. It’s almost a big social event just sitting around and playing the games. You go into an accommodation block and every room will probably have a gaming system in with guys sitting around playing the games, its just a good way of socialising.
AE: You’ve said that the sounds and visuals are very realistic – during the various demo’s of the game I have seen this year I’ve spoken to a few Tier 1 Operators who are working on the game. So did it feel to you that they have spent a lot of time making the game as realistic as possible and what was your first reaction when you played it?
DM: Well my first reaction when I played it and saw it was wow, they have really spent a lot of time researching these weapon systems and villages, and just the detail of the equipment and weapon systems is amazing. The way the characters move are really realistic. There is currently a line between gaming a real war and this game is as real as it gets, it really is.
AE: So what have you been doing since leaving the Regiment?
DM: I’ve been doing a lot of security work for different clients both at home and abroad but its a strange transition leaving any military organisation and becoming a civilian, you get institutionalised. I find it hard, I will be honest, I found the first six months after leaving incredibly hard. I will never mirror what I did in the Regiment in any civilian walk of life, that’s a fact, and that’s something I have got to accept, but I’m enjoying it now, it’s nice and settled, so I am ok.
AE: Thank you very much for your time Daniel.
DM: No problems at all, nice talking to you.
So there you have it – a former member of the SAS says that Medal of Honor Warfighter “is as real as it gets”.
Will you be playing when it’s released next week? Let us know by leaving a comment below, and watch out for our review shortly.
