Medal of Honor Rising Sun

"Who'd think Pearl Harbor could be so fun?"

EA Games takes us to the Pacific in the latest installment of the highly popular Medal of Honor series, Rising Sun. I was so excited for this game, having played the last one (and loving it), and for the most part, it was exactly what I expected.

Gameplay:

This game plays pretty much like Frontline, as well as most other FPS games. It balances fast paced action like facing a banzai charge, and shooting down planes in Pearl Harbor, with slower-moving stealth levels like the Midnight Raid on Guadalcanal, and infiltrating a secret Axis meeting in Singapore. While there aren’t a whole lot of levels, the great ones there are make up for it. It’s not terribly difficult, however it is most certainly no cakewalk. The controls are just like most first person shooters and the Gamecube controller is well suited for it. There is the interesting addition of being able to play the campaign with a 2-player coop mode. The levels are altered slightly, but are still fun. The Vs. multiplayer mode is also done very well, giving you good sized amounts of characters, weapons sets and stages to pick from. I’ve heard about some lag, but I have experienced any myself.

Story:

The story follows that of WWII, and that was good enough for me. There is a small twist involving one of the secondary characters that goes unresolved, so it appears to me there will be a direct sequel of this game coming soon.

Graphics and Sound:

This game looks almost identical to its predecessor, which is not too good. The peoples motion are very realistic, and the character models are nicely, as well as accurately done, even if they’re a little rough. Japanese people look Japanese, Scots look Scottish, and Americans look American. The environments however, look too rough. Admittedly putting together all the vegetation in a huge jungle can be tough, but some of the levels just don’t look very good. The sound of this game is done equally well. All your weapon have different, and distinct sounds, which sometimes lets you pick out your allies among your enemies in a heated firefight. The sound bites get tired after awhile but only after awhile. They are varied enough for you to beat the game once or twice without throwing your Gamecube through a wall. The music is magnificent, and adds greatly to the overall atmosphere of the game.

Playtime/ Replayability:

This game has some long levels but the lack of levels keeps this game to an average length. It’s fairly fun to replay by yourself or with friends, either to get medals or just shoot some Japs. If your playing a skilled player, the amount of different weapons sets and stages insures that the Vs. multiplayer almost never gets old.

Final Recommendation:

A good game with pretty large variety, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is a lot of fun. Fans of the first person shooting genre or the Medal of Honor series should defiantly buy, especially if they plan to play the multiplayer a lot.. For people who don’t play shooters as much, a rental is probably a good idea, especially if you’re a history buff.

Final Rating: 7.7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/04