You can't get something for nothing!
Written: Dec 09 '03 (Updated Dec 11 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cut scenes, playing army, the Welrod, historically accurate, graphics are pretty good.
Cons: Terrible AI, bad save options, no strategy required, non-interactive environments.
The Bottom Line: Rising Sun had so much potential. So much in fact that I decided to buy it over other recently released, killer titles. Don't make the same mistake.
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| matthos's Full Review: Medal Of Honor: Rising Sun for Xbox |
The past two months have been a salivation fest for owners on the Xbox. Hands down this is what we have all been waiting for since first playing Halo and the very few other good titles (Hitman 2, Frontline, Max Payne, etc.) that have been released. It was a tough choice but I decided to plunk down some lettuce on Medal of Honor: Rising Sun rather than Prince of Persia, Max Payne 2 or Deus Ex: Invisible War. I am here to tell you that I made a bad choice.
Medal of Honor: Frontline is a bad-a** game. I enjoyed myself immensely while storming the beaches on D-Day, fighting through maze-like bunkers, surviving sniper town, and wasting countless Nazis along the way. I was immersed in the action.
My decision to pick up Rising Sun stemmed from my enjoyment of Frontline and the promise that the imperfections of the latter, namely the potential for increased interaction and strategy, would be rectified. Sadly, I can report that Rising Sun is not even as good as it's predecessor.
First and foremost is the complete lack of intelligent enemies. You can almost run up to them, tap them on the head, and ask for a light (I'm exaggerating a little but you get the idea.). One of the things I thought was excellent about Frontline was the freakish intelligence of the Nazi soldiers. This is a HUGE step backward for the Medal of Honor franchise. It's just not satisfying to blow away an enemy who stands there will you shoot at him. Don't worry about missing the first time; you'll get another chance (and another, and another).
The next issue I have with Rising Sun is the non-interactive nature of the environment/story. Frontline was kinda that way but I had expected the developers to address the issue in the sequel. Nope. There is still very little you can do to control either your environment or the storyline of the game. An example is setting explosives. All you get to do it move to the spot, see a graphical box with instructions on the screen, and hit the green button. What is supposed to be satisfying about that? Through most of the experience, I felt like a rat in a maze with my ultimate goal being predestined. Not that this is unique to video games but I would at least like to think I have some control.
The save options didn't work either. In certain instances, I couldn't get to the required checkpoint without dying at least five times. It sure is frustrating to play the same scenario over six times. How about either an in-game save option or shorter scenarios? Once you get to Guadalcanal and beyond it's better because you can find radios that allow you to save but...
On the plus side, it's still fun to play army. Starting in Pearl Harbor was cool but not even close to as exciting as D-Day. Unfortunately, all you really get to do is fire an anti-aircraft gun at wave upon wave of Kamikaze fighter planes. I died many times before I or my gunship made it past that thrilling bit of excitement!
The guns are cool and historically accurate (although I still think the Germans had the best weapons of the war), especially the Welrod. It only takes one bullet at a time but it is powerful, silent, and accurate. The gun was created within a few months of the start of WWII by a British man code named Major Dolphin. It was used by the British and the Americans for dispatching sentries and assassinations. Only about 2800 were produced. I like stealth and this gun allows for some of that action.
The graphics are good but by no means an improvement over Frontline. Moving through the missions I saw various instances of inconsistencies including getting stuck in a few places because my squad mates won't move their fat a**es.
There's really not much more for me to say at this point. I did have relative fun playing the game. It seems historically accurate, yet short. I can only give it two stars though because during the whole experience, I always had the feeling that EA thought they could capitalize on the franchise without expending additional resources to improve the product. Too bad because my momma taught me that "you can't something for nothing".
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
matthos
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Location: Seattle
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
Genius is eternal patience. -Michelangelo
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