Medal of honour : Pacific Assault

Plot Summary

Prologue

The game opens with Conlin on a LVT en route to the island of Tarawa to participate in the famous assault - see Battle of Tarawa. As he uses a .50 caliber machine gun to take out the Japanese infantry on the pier, a heavy gun destroys the LVT and Conlin and the other Marines are thrown out. Wading through heavy machine gun fire, Conlin takes refuge under a pier, firing at incoming Japanese infantry. At some point, he is knocked unconscious and experiences flashbacks of his service, which sets the tone for the rest of the game.

Mission 1: Boot camp

Conlin, enlisted into the Marine Corps, arrives in San Diego for training. It is here that he meets his squad mates and buddies, Frank Minoso, a tough Jerseyman and natural leader, Willy Gaines, a North Carolina crackshot and Jimmy Sullivan, an Illinois corpsman. Awoken one day by the rantings off their Senior Drill Instructor, the men run the obstacle course. They are then driven to the firing range, where Conlin trains with the Springfield M1903 bolt action rifle, an M1903A4 Springfield sniper rifle, which Gaines uses expertly and a Tommy gun with a 50 round magazine. Afterward, the four are taken by their drill instructor to use the heavy equipment, such as planting explosives on old cars, throwing the training grenade into barrels, using the M1919 Browning machine gun to destroy the paper targets and a mortar to destroy a truck. Then, they are taught the player commands, such as to move forward, rally up, to fire and provide cover fire, and fall back. They are then taught the healing method, applying bandages, calling for a corpsman and rescuing injured comrades.

Mission 2: The Attack on Pearl Harbor

The second mission is based during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which is stationing the Pacific Fleet at that time. Conlin, now a Marine, arrives in Pearl and is escorted in a jeep, first on a tour of the base and then to the PT boat crew who are to take him to the USS Arizona, when a flight of Japanese Zeroes come in for a strafing run. They are driven to the docks and thrown out of the Jeep. Conlin, armed with a Thompson with a 30 round magazine, must dodge the machine gun fire to get to the boats, and can also escort wounded men to the doctor and nurse nearby. Conlin's escort is killed, and he boards the PT boat. As they head down Battleship row, Conlin uses a twin Lewis Gun emplacement to shoot down Japanese planes. As they near the Arizona, the ship splits in half and begins to sink. The PT boat skippers then take Conlin to the USS West Virginia to clear the lower decks. After counter-flooding the West Virginia, Conlin makes his way to the deck, rescuing injured sailors and can also rescue the ships Executive officer. He then makes his way topside, using an .50 caliber machine gun to defend the USS Nevada as it escapes from Pearl Harbor. After his .50 cal is destroyed, Conlin mounts a Quad AA gun and finishes off the remaining planes until they flee Pearl Harbor.

A parody of the film Pearl Harbor occurs on this level: on the West Virginia the player encounters a pilot wearing an aloha shirt (similar to Ben Affleck's character in the film) who says "Someone get me on a damn plane!" but is killed in an explosion.

Mission 3: The Raid on Makin Atoll

After being reunited with his buddies from boot camp, the player takes part in the raid by the 2nd Raider Battalion. Armed with a Springfield M1903 rifle and Smith & Wesson M1917 revolver, Conlin and his squad, along with a rookie translator, must press through the jungle. They are ambushed by snipers after the "rook" shoots himself in the foot, and one of the men, Doyle, is killed. Conlin then uses an anti-aircraft battery that shot down a surveillance plane to destroy a truck and then sabotage it, and to take out a communication tower, referred to as an Anthill before enemy planes are alerted. Now armed with a Reising M55 submachine gun, Conlin and his squad are given the objective of destroying the fuel depot. After clearing out several enemy camps, the team Corpsman, Jimmy Sullivan, drives them to the depot as Conlin uses his submachine gun to support Sullivan. After destroying the fuel depot, the men are sent to locate and rescue the downed pilot.After making their way through a number of camps, they rescue the pilot, and cover Sullivan as he works on him. They then run to the beach and wait for the USS Nautilus, their submarine. After fending off a Japanese attack and eliminating the mortar crew, they run to the rafts. Conlin rescues a wounded Willy Gaines, the team sniper. They flee to Nautilus, and Frank Minoso, a BAR gunner, lends it to Conlin to shoot down attacking Zeroes. Upon reaching the sub, Conlin mans a .50 cal, shoots down attacking Mitsubishi Ki-51's, and can also disable the torpedoes they drop by firing at them. After that, they leave the island.

Mission 4: Guadalcanal Campaign

After The Raid on Makin Atoll, Conlin and his squad are given some R&R time. Soon after, they are transferred to Guadalcanal. Their squad is lead by Minoso, now a Gunnery Sergeant, which annoys Gaines. They are to rendezvous with the marines at Henderson Field. Conlin, armed with a Colt .45 and Thompson submachine gun with a 30 round magazine, Conlin's squad cut through the jungle, clearing out a nearby village. After they reach Henderson, Japanese artillery starts to pound the airfield. Conlin and his squad escape in a truck, which is destroyed. They then proceed to the artillery, taking out machine gun posts and clearing trenches and the artillery. After fending off a counter attack with a Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun, Conlin blows the artillery. Making their way through the jungle, they clear countless camps. Reaching the airfield camp, they find themselves attacked by countless Japanese soldiers. They then cover the Cactus Air Force pilots from the defenders as they run to their planes to attack Zeroes destroying the airfield. After finishing a Banzai charge over the runway, Conlin uses a .50 caliber to destroy the Zeroes flying over the runway. He then, with his squad, attacks and reclaims the western AA guns, a .50 cal and a Bofors 40 mm gun. He then eliminates dive bombers attacking the hangers, and the Zeroes chasing a Black Cat Catalina, and meet Colonel Edson. In the Battle of Edson's Ridge, when holding the first ridge, Conlin, armed with an M1 Garand rifle and a Colt 45, uses an M1919 Browning machine gun to fend off a Japanese attack until they run out of ammo, and fall back to the second ridge where Conlin manages to hold off Japanese troops until the troops retreat to the third ridge. In a special assignment Conlin and Minoso go on the hunt for Japanese troops trying to flank the allied line and in the fighting he gets important documents from a dead Japanese captain. After Conlin and Minoso make it to the third ridge, Conlin heroically holds off the Japanese and rescues a wounded ammo runner. After the battle ends, Conlin is nominated to get the silver star for his heroic actions in the battle. Later, Conlin's squad under the command of an unnamed sergeant goes on patrols along the lunga river destroying several japanese instalations along the river.Later under the command of the same sergeant they destroy a japanese artillery battery outside kokumbona village.

Mission 5: Flying to the USS Independence

As the Marine Raiders leave for Tarawa Atoll, Conlin's squad is temporarily transferred to the Cactus Air Force as backseat gunners for SBD Dauntlesses. However, Conlin's squad is to be transferred for the attack on Tarawa Atoll, and their pilots take them to the USS Independence, as they are being transferred there too. However, the pilots encounter stiff resistance on the way to the Independence, and the pilot of Conlin's aircraft bails out after being wounded and getting blood in his eyes. Conlin is forced to take the controls of the Dauntless, and succeeds in shooting down several Zeros. Conlin proceeds to take out a Japanese garrison on an unknown atoll. After this, the squad captain says that before they can land aboard the Independence, they have to first find and sink the carrier that sent the planes they have shot down, as they will be followed when they attempt to get to the Independence, and thus give out the position of their carrier group. The formation manages to find the enemy Japanese aircraft carrier along with a destroyer. Frank tells Conlin to go after the carrier and destroyer and that Frank and the rest of the formation will deal with the enemy fighters. Conlin, manages to sink both ships. Conlin then makes a dramatic landing on the Independence, coming within millimeters of falling off the aircraft carrier. In this scenario Frank will die if the player does not shoot the zero tailing Frank's plane, the death of Frank Minoso will not result in any significant change in gameplay at the assault on Tarawa.

Mission 6: Assault on Tarawa Atoll

In the final mission of the game Conlin's squadron makes their way to the beaches of Tarawa via LVT which like on the 1st look at Tarawa was destroyed, Conlin's squad (now with a new Commander, whose name is unknown) is tasked with attacking Red Beach 2. Conlin is also using the Browning Automatic Rifle of Frank Minoso, this is evident as the name "Minoso" is etched on the Butt stock of the rifle which is shown moments before the game commences. After defeating several banzai charges, Conlin's squad gets off the beach, then moves to help the Marines at Red Beach 3 by taking out shore artillery gun batteries. After taking a joyride on a Japanese Type 95 recon car with Willy Gaines as the driver, Conlin's squad then destroys a communications bunker (destroying two tanks in the process), and takes up defensive positions near the edge of the island. After a battle with the remaining Japanese forces, the squad comes across a huge unreachable bunker. After an artillery strike on the bunker, Japanese workers attack in a final climactic charge, where the player must survive in a final do-or-die mode. Finally, the Marines raise a flag on top of the bunker, signifying victory.