A frustrated (we gamers would say "ignorant and unkind") roommate or parent might utter at some point, "Turn down that game, it sounds like World War II in there!!" This could be expected no matter what game happened to be in play at the moment. So what about when the game you play is supposed to sound like WWII and does?! The answer is here in Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for Wii. This baby contains the sights and sounds of what will be as close as modern folk can get to being behind enemy lines. You'll hear chatter from your friendly forces and their panicked shouts as they run out of ammo or are struck by enemy fire. You'll hear French resistance-fighters speaking in their native tongue at times and you'll hear plenty of German. The enemy chatter mostly revolves around alerting other soldiers to your presence, calling for reinforcements, or crying out when a well-placed grenade lands in their lap. The music is always right under the surface, appropriately behind the chatter and sounds of battle, urging you on and announcing when you've completed an objective. The battle sounds are just phenomenal. Crumping large artillery, screaming shells, and pounding that you can feel viscerally from both your bass speaker and the vibration on your controller. There is an amazingly scary but strangely satisfying effect that comes with controlling large artillery. Stepping up to a machine gun and opening fire is an instant adrenaline rush. The tactile qualities of the Wii controls coupled with amazing visuals of the fire spraying out of the mouth of the gun, and the sound of thousands of rounds moving through the gun hitting both hard and soft targets is incredible.

The Wii version features the same cut-scenes and introduction sequences as other releases, so you might imagine that the quality of the graphics would be noticeably degraded. In fact, this is one of the best looking games out for the Wii, in terms of the gameplay graphics. Even though you won't always have the finest level of detail in certain textures, things are generally moving so fast that you won't notice. A great testament to success in the visual design of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is the clean interface. The only things you see on screen are the elements you need in order to find your way through the level, which makes the experience so much more engrossing.

Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 likely will be the first-person shooter (FPS) on Wii against which future FPS titles are judged. It isn't so much that the game is revolutionary, because it is basically the same gameplay formula we've seen for years from the Medal of Honor franchise. What stands out here is the polish and great use of the hardware that was achieved in Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for Wii. There are a few quirks, but almost nothing that would make this less than a great experience for a wide range of gamers.

The gameplay modes are divided between Campaign, Arcade, and Multiplayer. In my opinion, Arcade should have been integrated with Campaign in some way as a leader-mode or tutorial. Arcade takes the complexity of movement away and functions on-rails. You play the same experience as the Campaign mode but with a simplified set of controls. Arcade has its own ladder for opening levels, so you can effectively preview the entire game. What you don't get is the control and the free-roaming quality of Campaign. Arcade tends to be more forgiving for newer players since it provides a path through the level that takes you directly toward good cover, special objectives, and most importantly, the exit. You'll have a chance to sample the wide range of special weapons and pick-ups featured in Campaign through Arcade, so it really does provide good training. Launching the Campaign mode also exposes the story behind the game. You play as Lt. Berg who joins the OSS and is chosen to participate in a series of missions that will cripple Axis (German) forces and disrupt Hitler's plans. The Germans have some dastardly tricks up their sleeves and you'll be fighting on their turf all the way... Campaign Mode is segmented according to the area in which the fighting takes place. From a high level, it doesn't appear to be very deep since there are just a handful of locations. What isn't apparent from 30,000 feet is how each location is divided into smaller parts with numerous objectives. Completing primary objectives is fine and will move you through the game, but it's the secondary objectives that earn you upgrades and special kudos. Secondary objectives are often hidden or more difficult to reach, which greatly increases the replay value of the game. The final mode, Multiplayer, is a doozy. This is something that will surprise Wii owners and Nintendo fans alike since we've gone for years as the butt of bad jokes about how "connectivity" was fine as long as you liked playing with your other friends in the living room, downloading content from scanning cards, or activating special content between two portables. Here we now have full-on multiplayer action across a network, joining with over 30 players in variant games such as Capture the Flag, or Deathmatch. With a large number of players, you can elect to form teams in Deathmatch and play for points cooperatively among friends. This action greatly increases the likelihood that Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 will stay on shelves for a long time to come, even after players have completed all Campaign and Arcade objectives on the hardest difficulty.

Speaking of difficulty, it is here in full force. The "Green" or lowest setting is pretty tame but still causes you to keep your skills sharp and run for cover. The cautious player with low-to-moderate skills will be able to beat Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 on Green difficulty. Veteran and Hero settings are available and start to greatly influence variables like pick-up frequencies and A.I. routines. The enemy A.I. even on its lowest setting is pretty good. Germans will seek cover and only pop their heads out to allow you a head-shot . If you don't have the sharpshooting skills, you are stuck with flanking them or tossing a grenade for a clean sweep. There are other times when Germans will operate in pairs and take up strategic positions around an artillery piece or the exit to a level. The heavy artillery missions are the worst because you lose mobility and cover as soon as you mount a big gun. It's all fun and games picking off Germans from far away as they try to use these guns, but when missions require you to use the guns, you will find the tables turned. The method for healing is to seek cover and "patch yourself up" as you'll be advised to do frequently by other members of your team. Another cue that you need to watch out or rest is when you hear, "Hold up!" coming from a friendly soldier. Not chasing down health-packs is the best and yet it doesn't make Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 a watered-down game in terms of its challenge. Finding and using cover, as well as timing things right to avoid expiring from excess damage, is plenty challenging.

The success of this version of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 must be described as much in how it's implemented as in its content. The Wii is probably the best way to experience the action since it has such a physical component. Reloading is a shake of the Wii-mote, sighting with most weapons is accomplished by physically moving and pointing, and the special weapons have some very intuitive controls. Throwing grenades is - no surprise here - accomplished by pressing the (B) button and whipping your arm forward. The better example of innovative control is the Panzerschreck, or "tank terrorizer," comparable to the American bazooka. Capturing one of these bad boys means that you'll then raise the Wii-mote and put it, upside down, on your shoulder. The analog-stick controls direction and the (B) button still fires a charge. Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is touted for full support of the Wii Zapper. It's a nice accessory but you'll sacrifice some of the inventive controls that the developers cooked up for the Wii-mote in combination with the Nunchuk controller. There are other instances where the Wii Zapper is superior to the combo controls, such as navigating with a traditional rifle. Several kinds of rifle appear in the game and the common thread between them is the control option to sight along the barrel for more accuracy. This is essential in some cases where you are pinned down and need to eliminate a far-off German position. Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 doesn't make a great distinction between your ability to do this and the enemies', so you'll often be the victim of well-placed shots from a great distance. At higher levels of difficulty, this becomes a bit annoying, but using cover intelligently is the key. On Green difficulty, you can often just run like a madman around the battlefield without much care to enemy fire. At any of the higher levels of difficulty, you'll find this to be a suicidal strategy. Pressing down on the D-pad will place your soldier into a crouch and allow you to make use of cover. The game is incredibly well built so that different types of material offer different types of cover. Crouching behind a metal plate will render you almost impervious to harm, but crouching behind a hay-bale will leave you full of holes. Luckily, turnabout is fair play and you'll figure out how to pick off German enemies between the slats of crates or by popping them through soft cover.

Seeing how much creativity went into the Wii controls begs the question again of whether the Wii itself is stimulating more creative development techniques or whether developers have always been this creative and have just been constrained by hardware limitations. That's an academic question, but games like Medal of Hono:r Heroes 2 are truly proof that superior graphics don't define the greatness of a game as much as creative gameplay and mechanics. The Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 story and formula is consistent from platform to platform, but if you have a Wii you owe it to yourself to pick up Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 on this platform and rest assured you're having more fun than your PS3 and 360 friends.