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The Plot:  "Rising Sun" is the latest in the popular "Medal of Honor" military series. This time, the action opens during the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor and continues from there. The first sequence introduces the player to the main character, Joseph Griffin, who finds himself on an aircraft carrier that's being bombed. You must lead the character through the hallways towards the deck of the ship, past fires and other obstacles (although it was a little annoying to have the game tell me to press the crouch button and not which button - it does this a lot and until you learn the controls, it's a tad frustrating). Once you get to the deck, you see the planes crossing overhead, dive-bombing the ship, with the marines trying to fire back. After you must abandon the ship, you find yourself in a gunboat, trying to shoot down planes and protect the remaining ships. After that stunning and horrifying opening, "Rising Sun" reveals itself to be awfully similar to the previous game, "Frontline". Players go through fairly linear levels that lead one through different battles in the Pacific, with players completeing new tasks that are introduced at various points throughout the game. There are some change-ups and interesting tasks, such as riding an elephant, but, all-in-all, players will likely feel like they've played this game before. While the game's formula was fine before, there are too many concerns this time around. Friendly and enemy AI is not particularly intelligent, and games like "Kill.Switch" and "Freedom Fighters" have shown that games are capable of much better. Enemy soldiers don't react to their fellow soldiers getting shot at, don't jump or move from grenades and occasionally, run into walls. Enemies take shots and keep going often, yet there are other times when they don't - the damage system seemed random. Controls are decent and fairly easy-to-learn, although sometimes the controls seemed sluggish and not as responsive as I'd like. The XBOX version does not offer XBOX Live support, but it does offer split-screen multiplayer for up to four players, as well as two-player co-op. Rating: 6.9/10 The DVD Graphics: After the stunning appearance of the game in TV ads, I rightly expected that the game didn't look like that, but I was a little disappointed that it looks like this. Textures are blurry, character models are simply average and the framerate occasionally gets sluggish. Worse yet, level designs are generally uninspired in both design/construction and look. Rating: 7.0/10 Sound: XBOX players can enjoy "Rising Sun" in Dolby Digital 5.1, with capable systems. This is a THX-Certified soundtrack and it is a decent effort, although hardly the best 5.1 XBOX experience I've heard lately. Surrounds flare up with gunfire and the occasional sound effect, but there really could have been more ambience and subtle detail in this soundtrack. Weapons sound effects are fine enough, but aren't particularly fierce. Dialogue is clearly recorded, but voice acting is just okay. Rating: 7.4/10 Rating Issues: "Rising Sun" is rated "T" for war violence. Final Thoughts: I was rather disappointed with this latest effort in the "Medal of Honor" series; the graphics are average, the AI is unimpressive and the gameplay feels too familiar. Fans of the series may want to try a rental, but the game is not worth a purchase. |