Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

When I bought it, it was one of my first MOH experiences. The opening title of 'Rising Sun' captured my attention. I'll admit it is a disappointment to some of the Medal of Honor fans. To just an ordinary buyer, it'll keep you entertained for a few hours. Compared to Frontline, it just doesn't have the same feel. In Frontline, many people who've never played it before assume that since it's a World War 2 game, it must have blood to be good, or extreme violence... But those death-animations and the tragic music to accompany is much more than anything. In which, Rising Sun doesn't have. It just doesn't seem like a war game... It isn't a horrible game, but to any Medal of Honor fan, it doesn't amount to the legacy Frontline left.

EDIT: After playing it again, I feel kinda... swindled. On some of those Jungle missions, it's not a forest. After looking again, the forest and trees are just a texture on a flat surface. I just feel ashamed for paying 50 big ones for such game.

Any fan of the "Medal of Honor" series would like this game. If "Medal of Honor: Frontline" was like "Saving Private Ryan", this one is more like "The Thin Red Line". Player starts off as Pvt. Griffin, a Marine who is stationed at Pearl Harbor on the USS California. The missions cover several battles in the Pacific Theater, and a few espionage operations I won't give away.

My personal opinion is that it is harder than any of the previous Playstation and PS2 based "Medal of Honor" games. (I haven't played Medal of Honor: Allied Assault yet) Overall, if you like the series (and don't mind the control button configuration changing with every new incarnation of the series), you'll like this game.

**** out of *****

First thing you see in Rising Sun is a really nice logo. Then a cutscene. Then...wait, I'm playing already?! Where's the menu?! That's right. No menu, no fiddling with the controls. You just start playing. The first mission is really good, where you have to fight off oncoming planes, which is good enough for replay value. Unfortunety, none of the other missions aren't as good as the beginning. Actually, most of them are a real drag. There's probably only one good moment, and that's when you're riding on an elephant with a machine gun turret, which is fun. Silly, but fun. And the music is good. MOH games have great music, and this one is no different. If only the gameplay was as good. Rising Sun isn't a total disaster. It's kind of average, partly because most of the things here have been done before. Also the graphics are starting to get old. But mostly, it's because of the enemy AI. They're just plain stupid. There was one moment where an enemy was laying face down on the floor, but was still walking. It was like he just spotted an enemy in the floor below him, and was trying to walk through the floor to get him. So this just another average first-person-shooter. This gets a ***out of*****

Ok, I just bought this game yesterday and thought this would keep me busy the whole X-mas vacations... I finished the game in 3 hours!!! And I'm not the greatest PS2 player, that is so disappointing!!!

The graphics are ok, the music is not too bad, everything is OK, but we all wanted something a lot more than OK, we wanted something better than Frontline!!

Plus the enemies are really stupid, the only good thing they do is chase you with a big sword and try to kill you, but once you get the hold of it, they die really easily! This game is not a challenge, and to all MOH fans, I really recommend to rent this guy rather than buy it, see what I mean... *1/2 out of *****.

PS: plus the hero is not cool, is a goofy-looking kid, Patterson in MOH Frontline was cool!

This game is a bit like "Saving Private Ryan" - the best bit of the thing is the starting bit. The Pearl Harbor opening level was hugely intense, realistic, not at all irritating and generally beautifully done - a ten-star job. However, after that, we descend into flat territory. The game's graphics are very gritty, there are no memorable deaths in the game, the objectives are pretty predictable and the explosions pretty scrawny - and I've only reached the Rise of the Philippines. I am sure that the game will get better after this disappointing level, but I doubt it will be anywhere near as good as Medal of Honor European Assault, and the poor graphical qualities leave a lot to be desired. However, the tons of additional features ensure that it is an entry to the Medal of Honor series - but it is the game itself that matters, and on that tone, it isn't brilliant.

I am hoping that this game will get better - it may have only cost me £4.99, but I would be disappointed to play a pants addition to an honoured game series. No masterpiece so far. 7/10