The multiplayer was initially going to contain the ability for players to play on the side of the Taliban. However, this drew considerable controversy from military officials and even politicians. Branches in the US Military responded by banning the sale of the game at all military bases, although not prohibiting the playing of the game by personnel. The game's developers responded to the controversy by replacing the name Taliban with "Opposing Force".
The character of James Patterson in this modern game, set during the Afghan-Iraq war, is meant to be the descendant of Lt. James "Jimmy" Patterson from the original "Medal Of Honor" video game and it's sequel, "Medal Of Honor: Frontline". The Special Edition version of this game features the "Frontline" game which has been upgraded from it's Playstation 2 mode to a PS3 mode.