The Sturmgewehr 44, also known as the MP44 in some games, is a German selective-fire assault rifle featured in many Medal of Honor games. It's historically the first modern assault rifle design, and was the weapon that coined the term "assault rifle". It is mostly found in the game when the time is 1944-45.
Medal of Honor: Underground[]
The StG-44 makes its first and chronologically the earliest appearance in Medal of Honor: Underground. It is a fine weapon, with a moderate rate of fire and high damage. It is the very first assault rifle featured in the series. It combines the high accuracy and damage of rifles with the same close quarters abilities as SMGs, is operated by a single soldier, and, as it did in real life, blurs the line between the two weapons types, hence "assault rifle". In the journal before a mission, Ted Aubrick advises Manon to find some intelligence on a "new submachine gun" developed by the Germans.
In the beta version of Underground, the assault rifle had a darker exterior, less recoil, a slightly higher rate of fire and a different firing sound effect.[1]
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Spearhead and Breakthrough[]
In Allied Assault, the StG-44 appeared very late in the campaign, in "Die Sturmgewehr" chapter of "Return to Fort Schmerzen". Stealing this weapon is a mission goal by itself.
It is often regarded to be overall more effective than its Allied counterpart, BAR, due to higher rate of fire and larger magazine capacity, albeit with more upward recoil and deals relatively less damage per shot. Along with BAR, its accuracy on the move suffers greater when compared to SMG class weapons.
Enemies equipped with these rifles are seen as the player's nightmare in single player hard mode. Should two StG gunners open fire on Powell, he would die almost instantly.
In Spearhead in the level Under Attack after Webber is killed it is possible to pick up his StG-44. If it is picked up it will also be one of the player's starting weapons in the next level. The only other level it can be used in is Berlin. In Breakthrough it is only available in the final level.
Medal of Honor: Frontline[]
The StG-44 in this game has a moderate rate of fire and damage. It has slightly lower rate of fire than the Thompson and MP40, but slightly higher than the BAR. It can be used during the missions Rolling Thunder and Needle in a Haystack in the levels Operation Repunzel, Riding Out the Storm and Derailed!. It is also used by the Waffen SS and Sturmgeist in the final level.
The remastered version of the game available on PS3 allows the player to aim down the sights for almost all weapons (not mounted machine guns or the Panzerschreck), but the iron sights for the StG-44 are off, causing bullets to hit higher than where the player is aiming; although this isn't much of a problem when aiming at enemies at close to moderate distances, at longer ranges players will find it more accurate firing from the hip.
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator[]
STG 44 is only available to the enemy, used by SS soldiers. Like MG42, with a single shot he can take away 6 HP from the player. It has an average range.
Medal of Honor: European Assault[]
The StG-44 in this game is fairly rare, as it was in real life, found in only three missions, Climbing Mamayev Hill, Farmhouse Liberation and Operation: Virus House. Still, it is powerful, has a thirty-round magazine, and good accuracy. Its Allied counterpart, the Browning Automatic Rifle, has a noticeably lower rate of fire and magazine size, and is therefore somewhat inferior. The StG-44 can be seen in the hands of 101st Airborne paratroopers and 36th Infantry Division soldiers in the Belgium campaign.
Medal of Honor: Vanguard[]
The StG-44 returns in Vanguard. It is found in levels Behind Enemy Lines, Scavengers and Crucible, infrequently seen in use by Wehrmacht personnel in Neptune, but on Fallschirmjäger paratroopers it is their weapon of choice. It is the same as it was in European Assault retaining its skin, power and accuracy. StG-44 is a good weapon for dealing with enemies at medium and close range, as its rate of fire can out-perform the BAR in Operation Neptune.
Medal of Honor: Airborne[]
The StG-44 is available for the load out in Medal of Honor: Airborne. It is powerful and fires from a 30-round magazine with a slow rate of fire and high recoil. Its upgrades include the following:
- Blowback reducer: Reduces recoil
- Dual magazines: Faster reload
- ZF Tactical Scope: More zoom, more precise, but unsteady idle sway and no peripheral vision. The scope can be removed and re-attached by pressing the Alt fire button.
StG-44 in Medal of Honor: Airborne
StG-44 Fully upgraded.
Iron sights
Scope reticle.
Fallschirmjägers aiming with their StG 44s.
StG-44 in a promotional image.
Medal of Honor: Heroes and Heroes 2[]
The StG-44 returns in both games. In Heroes the StG-44 can be found in the hands of Waffen S.S officers and later Wehrmacht soldiers in the Belgium campaign. The StG-44 is a solid weapon with good damage and range but has slightly less damage than the BAR. The StG-44 can be selected as a starting weapon in the multiplayer.
In Heroes 2 the StG-44 is a rare weapon to be found and only appears in the final level. It retains the same stats from Heroes. The StG-44 has more ammo than the BAR but less damage and slightly less range. The StG-44 can be selected in multiplayer where it is changed from single player. It fires in a very slow semi-automatic mode. In both games the model and sounds are the same from European Assault.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond[]
The StG-44 appears in the story trailer against German soldiers.
Trivia[]
- The StG-44 in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and its expansion packs have the rear sight fully elevated to the 600-meter range.
- In Allied Assault and its expansions, the player would pull the StG-44's charging handle every time when it is drawn. Such action is unnecessary for a loaded rifle and would have ejected an unused bullet in real life. This behavior is not seen with any other automatic weapons in-game.
- In Medal of Honor: European Assault, Medal of Honor: Vanguard, Medal of Honor: Heroes, and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, the gun is depicted as firing from an open bolt. This is incorrect as the StG-44 fires from a closed bolt, however one of its predecessors, the MkB-42 (H) fired from an open bolt.
- In every title, the firing sound of the StG-44 is different.
- The StG-44's title as the world's first assault rifle is disputed. Some consider the Russian Federov Avtomat M1916, an experimental weapon largely forgotten by history, to be the world's first assault rifle by today's criteria.
- The version featured in Allied Assault is said to be of the latest production variant, supposedly, is stamped with official StG designation. Before that, designations including MkB42, MP43 and MP44 were used. By design, these are mostly the same, with minor production changes at most. Frequent change of designation is mostly out of political and propaganda concerns.
- The name of the gun in both Wewelsburg: Dark Camelot in Medal of Honor: Underground and Saved By Sacrifice/The Opening in Medal of Honor: Airborne is incorrect, as the former takes place in 1943 while the latter two take place in 1944, where the weapon would be named the MP43 and MP44 respectively.
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