10 Most Iconic Levels In Video Game History

9. D-Day Landing - Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault/Frontline

Medal Of Honor Frontline
EA LA

A cinematic sequence in a video game is as common as an EA business move annoying millions, but Medal of Honor's D-Day landing sequences from both Allied Assault and Frontline were arguably the first time we ever truly felt like we were playing a movie.

Where on PC, Allied Assault upped the bodycount but sacrificed a more cinematic sensibility, on consoles developers 2015 Games framed the whole thing like a controllable version of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.

Starting with a quote from poet Frank Bernard Camp about the horrors of war, then segueing into a handful of sounds as you took control of one James Patterson, the atmosphere and tension was unlike anything else.

Solid, bass-booming sound design made every mortar shell land like thunder, and after a scripted sequence sees half your platoon killed and you thrown underwater, that's it:

Time to take back France.

Playing today highlights just how much the PS2's tech couldn't handle anywhere near as many soldiers as Allied Assault's version of this mission on PC, but at the time, to a populace playing such a crafted, interactive experience for the first time?

Frontline's first mission was industry-defining.

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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.