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Fable
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Pub.: Microsoft
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Dev.:
Big Blue Box
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Score: N/A |
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Medal of Honor: Rising Sun Review
by 007
Videogames that have been based on war seem to be a very hot commodity over the past few years. One of the longest running war franchises, Medal of Honor, finds itself as one of the premier series the videogame market. Xbox gamers have now been given Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, the second Medal of Honor game on the Xbox in as many years. This time around, EA has focused more in on the conflict back at home, where the Japanese laid a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. Rising Sun will take you on intense missions in the Pacific where you fight alongside allies to defeat the Japanese Empire.
Features:
-A new chapter in the Medal of Honor series
-20 authentic World War II weapons
-2-player co-op mode
-5.1 Dolby Digital
-THX certified game
-480 Progressive Scan Input
Gameplay:
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is another game that walks on the same line as its predecessors with an invigorating story and first person gameplay. The biggest downfall in the series still is that missions are scripted to give you no freedom, but to follow along a path that leads you to the end of a mission. There is no option to take matters into your own hand and complete a mission to your liking. Aside from that, there are no alternate endings to missions, you must follow the invisible script that leads you from beginning to the end. Strangely, if isn’t unusual to lose yourself in a mission. It just means that you’ve missed a corner or passage.
Just like Medal of Honor: Frontline, Rising Sun throws you right into the heat of an historical battle that plays as a training mission, even though it is vital to learn the controls and successfully complete the mission to move on. Cutscenes control a lot of the game when you first begin, but it won’t be affecting your gameplay the least bit. While Rising Sun is a first person shooter, there will also be times where you’re going to have to man turrets or machine guns on boats or helicopters, but it’s just extra additions to keep the experience real.
When all is said and done, Rising Sun is a very straightforward first person shooter. Like previously stated, missions are very linear and don’t allow for venturing throughout missions, but completing the objectives. As long as you don’t get lost, every mission will continue along its path that will lead to right to the end.
Rising Sun features 20 authentic World War II weapons each with their own advantages and disadvantages. At the beginning of every mission, you’ll start off with the standard weapons that are key for the mission. As you go about the mission, you’ll be able to collect ammunition from the soldiers you have killed, but you’ll never be able to collect their weapon. Only two weapons can be carried at once, along with grenades.
One of the most troublesome aspects of Rising Sun is the artificial intelligence, which has plagued many other Medal of Honor titles in the past. Not only does your allies suffer from questionable companionship and aid in missions, the enemies are the same, if not worse. Oddly enough, it’s completely rare to have to use four bullets with a sniper rifle just to take out an enemy, especially if every shot hit the enemy directly in the face. It’s not just with sniper rifle fire, but close combat action will have you go through numerous rounds of ammunition on just a few enemies. If there’s any weapon that fully serves its purpose, it’s the shotgun that is lethal from close range, and almost never fails.
Graphics:
What Medal of Honor: Rising Sun does for the Xbox visually is comparable to what Frontline did visually a year ago; nothing spectacular, but just around average. Many of the enemies you face during missions will literally have the same faces throughout the entire course of the game. Only vital characters that play rather important roles will in fact have a different character model. Rising Sun does have trouble keeping a consistent framerate, which tends to slow down on many occasions. For the most part, Rising Sun is very accurate with the locales and environmental visuals, which are important to the story. It seems that only the historically important missions that have been chiseled into the history books are the only missions that visually look enhanced. The rest of the game looks very mediocre.
Sound:
There is clearly no other war games that can out perform the Medal of Honor series in the audio department. There isn’t any other game that can compete with Medal of Honor series, especially with the upgrades that have been given now that the game is THX certified along with its 5.1 Dolby Digital support. Sound effects are extremely accurate, with weapons and explosives appropriately done. The dialogue is in-depth and diverse, but the Japanese only have select lines that are constantly repeated throughout the game. One mission is all it takes to hear all their lines a few hundred times. The background music is cinematic and elegantly performed in missions and cutscenes.
Overall:
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is another historically accurate title in the long running franchise. The actual performance of the game is a completely different story, and is ultimately where cookie crumbles overall. Technically, the game is very weak and is where many of the games issues cause numerous problems during gameplay. The AI stirs up many more problems and just takes away the overall solid experience the game holds within. Do expect more Medal of Honor titles in the future from EA, just expect it to be more presentable than Rising Sun has turned out.
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| Rating |
| Gameplay: | 7 |
| Graphics: | 6 |
| Sound: | 9 |
| Value: | 7 |
| Tilt: | 6 |
| Overall: 7 |
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