EA dismisses poor MOH review scores

EA has defended shooter Medal of Honor after critics claimed "lukewarm" review scores led to a six per cent share drop in the company.

EA described the launch of the game as a "marathon not a sprint" as Metacritic showed a 74 per cent review score average.

"Critics' scores are highly subjective," EA told The Los Angeles Times.

"The game had the highest pre-orders in the 11-year history of the Medal of Honor franchise. This is an essentially big achievement considering Medal of Honor has been dormant for several years. This is the first year in rebooting the franchise. Medal of Honor is part of a larger EA strategy to take share in the shooter category.

"This is a marathon not a sprint - today's Medal of Honor launch represents a step forward in that race."

Critics have argued that Medal of Honor's review scores failed to match up to those traditionally gained by Activision's Call of Duty series – a franchise EA's shooter is pitched squarely against.

But some analysts have questioned the suggestion that MOH's review scores led to the drop in share value.

MKM's Eric Handler said the drop might simply have been the result of "some of the air being let out of the balloon following a nice run in the shares and high expectations for the Medal of Honor reboot".

Tom awarded the controversial Danger Close Games and DICE-developed shooter 8/10 in Eurogamer's review.

Medal of Honor will release on the UK on Friday.