EA has unveiled the new direction for it's shooter franchise

With Battlefield attempting to steal a little bit of Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer limelight with the BFBC2 PS3 beta, EA is attempting to win the overall battle for hearts and minds (er, single player) with the announcment of a 'reboot' for the Medal of Honor franchise.

For the first time, MoH is based on today's combat - set in Afghanistan, the game is focussed on the "Tier 1 Operator," described as "a relatively unknown entity directly under the National Command Authority who takes on missions no one else can handle."

The development team at Electronic Arts LA has apparently been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community to create "the most authentic modern war experience." The dev team was handpicked, and will also utilise the multiplayer knowledge over at BFBC2 devs EA DICE.

As you can see from the box art below (is that a member of ZZ Top?), this all looks very, very familiar, and if the rating on the cover is anything to go by EA has already hedged it's bets on a mature experience. But is it all too little, too late? And are EA starting to make a habit of coming late to the party? (ie MMA, Rock Band anyone?)

Look out for the game next year on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.