Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Score: 90% ESRB: Teen Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Games Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 (Online 1 - 8) Genre: First Person Shooter/ Adventure
Graphics & Sound: Picture being rudely awakened by an incredible explosion and the violent rumblings of your bed underneath you. You are thrown to the floor and you hear screams all around you. Smoke starts billowing into the hallways and your commanding officer is yelling for you to get on deck as soon as possible. This is how begins the game. You are Joe Griffin, an enlisted man serving on one of the ships in Pearl Harbor and are thrust into the action as you are awakened on the Day of Infamy as hundreds of Japanese bombers attack the surrounding ships. The graphics look good. Simply put, with the Medal of Honor series in general, it has always been more about the 'experience' as a whole rather than individual aspects of the graphics and sound. Now, the backgrounds are nicely rendered and the levels look appropriate, however the experience as a whole is spot on. You will feel as though you are actually in the midst of this firefight. As you hear your comrades begging for your help as they are trapped and being burned alive on your ship, you will feel the urgency of someone trying to save his friends. When you are on the deck of your ship and look up and see literally thousands of planes in the air, your chest will tighten as you realize that this did actually happen and you imagine what it must have been like to actually have been there. I will say this - the opening piece is very moving. It moved many an editor to tears as we watched it last E3. Playing it yourself is not quite as intense since you haven't got a moment to spare if you want to live, however it still conveys very strong emotions. Character models are really excellent and at one point, I was sitting in a boat with a fellow soldier behind me and I turned to look at him and marveled at the detail and reality in his face. Sure, enemies all look pretty much the same within a level, but when you can snipe a guy between the eyes and watch him go cross-eyed before hitting the ground, that's a class act. The attention to detail is noticed and really appreciated. Of course, standard in any Medal of Honor game is the amazing soundtrack that plays in the background. Intense battle music plays when it needs to, and quiet Asian-inspired tracks gently tinker in the background. Voicework is good and its interesting those times when you sneak up on some enemies and hear their conversation, for instance during an interrogation of a P.O.W. Cool stuff.
Gameplay: If you've played the Medal of Honor series before, you won't be surprised by much here. However, if you are new to the series, this is an excellent time to jump in. You begin the game as Joe Griffin, a corporal in the U.S. Marines, and as I mentioned before, the game begins with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Throughout your adventure in the Single Player Campaign, you'll shoot at enemies, man turret guns to bring down planes, rescue P.O.W.'s, infiltrate secret meetings dressed as a high-ranking German official, and the list goes on. There is plenty here to love and if you were a fan of the previous MOH games, you'll love this one as well. Missions are varied enough, with plenty of action to keep you on your toes. Weapons include the ever trusty pistol (one of which is the Welrod - really cool, but slow), rifles, shotguns, machine guns, grenades and so on. There are 10 levels and you may begin each one alone or with a little help from teammates. One level may have you start off in hostile territory with instructions to rendezvous with a guide, another may have you storming an island with a band of other soldiers, and still others may have to sneaking around a town by yourself only to meet up with others later; it just depends on the mission. Sometimes I felt like I was fighting the battle alone as the A.I. of your teammates isn't always the best. Yet other times, they did okay. You don't get a real sense of caring what necessarily happens to them as individuals, but when they all get killed off in a mission, it can be unsettling knowing you are alone out there. At the start of each mission, you are given a set of goals to accomplish, much as in the previous Medal of Honor titles. As you accomplish these tasks, they are checked off on your list, however additional tasks may be added as you progress through the missions. For instance, you may come across P.O.W.'s that need to be rescued or you might find classified documents that need to be procured. I am not exactly sure what good it does to accomplish these since I didn't notice a difference when I did them. I imagine they affect your ranking at the end of a mission or they unlock something better when you beat the game. In addition to the Single Player Campaign, there are several Multiplayer modes available. There is the standard Multiplayer stuff that we have seen before such as Deathmatch, although there are different variables that can be adjusted, and up to 4 can play here. There is also an all new Co-Op mode where you and a buddy can rip through the game working as a team. Then there is the long awaited Online aspect to Medal of Honor: Rising Sun. Basically, it's you, playing online against friends and enemies from around the world. Eh. To me, personally, Medal of Honor has always been a game for one person. Yeah, the multiplayer game was good for a few laughs, but the real meat of the game was always the Single Player Mission. I still feel this way, but applaud EA for adding the online feature for those who just absolutely must have their online fix.
Difficulty: There are three standard settings for Medal of Honor: Rising Sun: Easy, Normal and Hard. These are pretty self-explanatory, however most will enjoy the game playing on Normal. Hard is very tough, but Normal provides a level playing field such that the game is a very healthy challenge and no one should wail through it in a quick sitting, but it won't mercilessly kick your ass either.
Game Mechanics: Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is a first person shooter, and a good one at that. You can opt to select the normal style of control or MOH Sharpshooter for those who don't like the default control. Basically, it's a fairly standard set-up. Left analog controls your character and right controls your camera. Depending on your choice of guns, you can snipe people and also zoom in on them a bit even without a rifle. The control is pretty tight and the game is easy to get the hang of quickly. There isn't a lot of 'jog' present in your character, so those who may get headaches or experience nausea when playing first person shooters (like me), may not have the same problem with Rising Sun (and this goes with all Medal of Honor games, just FYI). I did find a bug of sorts while I was playing. In the level called Singapore Sling, you'll encounter some military officials interrogating a British P.O.W. If you sneak up quietly, you can listen to them harass him and hear his protests. As I was playing, I saw them and decided to pick off the top guys from the safety of the next room, however the game wouldn't let me kill them until I had eliminated another guard hiding around the corner. This was frustrating as I had the element of surprise on my side and was foiled from using it. Feh. Overall, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is another stellar addition to the Medal of Honor universe. If you have been craving another excellent first person shooter and like the thought of battling it out in the Pacific Theater, then Rising Sun is your game. This one comes highly recommended for anyone who loves FPS's, history, and great cinematic experiences.
-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins
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