Medal of Honor Rising Sun

"Some minor flaws, but still very, very fun."

Introduction: This game takes place in the Pacific Theater of World War II. As a U.S. Marine, your job is to complete missions to aid the Allied war effort against the Japanese.

Story: The main plot of this game is to aid the Allied war effort against the Japanese, by completing missions such as reclaiming islands. (6/10)

Gameplay: The gameplay in this game mainly has you completing missions from a first-person perspective to aid the Allied war effort. It starts out in a battleship in Pearl Harbor, where you must get outside to defend the ship. Once you get up, you see that this really feels like a war zone. There are explosions everywhere and you mainly just have to shoot stuff. Unlike some other shooters where you must run in guns-blazing, some parts of this game actually require you to think. If you run in and try to kill everything, you will likely die. However, the amount of thought required isn’t enough to make your head spin. The levels are varying lengths, with some taking only a few minutes to complete, and others taking up to an hour. There is also a cooperative mode that allows you to play through the main missions with your friends. If you don’t feel like cooperating with each other, there are many multiplayer maps based on game locations where your friends can duke it out. Single player does have some flaws, though. There are inconsistencies in the amount of health enemies have. For example, a single shot from a weak pistol at range may kill an enemy, a headshot from a rifle at point blank range will cause him to shrug and attack you. Enemy weapons will sometimes seemingly kill you in one hit, whereas other times you can be shot from all over without dying. These flaws happen occasionally, but they don’t really take much away from the game and aren’t very frustrating. Overall, the gameplay is quite good. (8/10)

Graphics: These are, sadly, the worst thing about this game. The framerate is inconsistent, with fluctuations seen all the time. The game in general looks like an early system release. With technical advancements seen all the time, the graphics of this game seem to take a step backwards. (4/10)

Sound: The sound in this game is fantastic. Everything from voices to gunshots sounds good. The music does a good job of capturing the tone of the scene, with dramatic music at dramatic parts, and “happy” music at “happy” parts. (10/10)

Play Time/Replayability: Each of the missions in this game will take you between a few minutes and an hour. There is multiplayer which will keep you occupied for a long time. (9/10)

Final: This game is very fun for anyone interested in World War II. If you’ve ever wondered what it might have been like to be a WWII soldier serving in the Pacific, this game is for you. People just looking for a violent shooter might want to rent first, as this is quite different from other “run and gun” games such as TimeSplitters 2. (9/10)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/27/03