Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
North American cover art
Developer(s)	EA Los Angeles
Publisher(s)	EA Games
Designer(s)	EA Games
Composer(s)	Christopher Lennertz
Series	Medal of Honor
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Release date(s)	NA November 11, 2003 EU November 28, 2003
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: C ESRB: T OFLC: M PEGI: 12+
Media/distribution	1 × DVD-ROM, 2 × GameCube Optical Disc

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is the fifth installment of the Medal of Honor series, released by Electronic Arts in November 2003. Like its predecessors, Rising Sun is a first-person shooter set in World War II. Unlike predecessors,Rising Sun is set during the Pacific War. It features single-player and multiplayer capabilities (multiplayer terminated as of November 2006). In single-player mode, the player assumes the role of Cpl./Sgt. Joseph Griffin of the United States Marine Corps.

A sequel was originally planned in which players would have assumed the role of Joseph's brother Donnie. However, this was canceled after Rising Sun received only mixed reviews.

Plot

The game starts at Pearl Harbor where corporal Joseph 'Joe' Griffin wakes up in his bunk on the USS California (BB-44) during the attack. Joe then makes his way to the topside and aids in shooting down Japanese planes. A few minutes later, he is blown from the ship and lands in the water, where a PT boat carrying Jack 'Gunny' Lawton, Frank Spinneli, and Silas Whitfield. Joe then shoots down more planes and also aids the USS Nevada (BB-36) to escape the harbor. Joe is then sent to the Philippines to destroy a bridge, and he meets his brother Donnie. Donnie is unable to escape the islands because his tank was overwhelmed by Japanese troops, forcing Joe to leave without him. Joe then goes to Guadalcanal at night to take over an airbase. Days later, the airfield is still taking heavy artillery fire, so Gunny assigns Joe and two other marines to destroy the artillery nicknamed 'Pistol Pete'. On the way Joe meets Edmund Harrison, a demolitions expert, and the real life Scottish guerilla fighter Martin Clemens. After this mission, Joe is promoted to Sergeant and recruited into the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

In his first OSS mission, Joe is tasked to infiltrate a top secret Axis summit in Singapore. Under the guise of a German Colonel, and with help from Major Bromley, a British intelligence agent, and Ichiro 'Harry' Tanaka, a Japanese-American soldier, Joe is able to complete the mission and steal a film reel containing intel, while learning that an Admiral Shima is behind a plot to replace Joseph Stalin in Russia with an Axis-friendly man named General Borov. Afterwards, Joe and Bromley accompany Flying Tiger pilot Raj to Burma, but Raj is shot down when surveying a temple. Joe heads to Raj's crash site, only to find he has been taken by the Japanese. Tanaka and Joe then go to rescue Raj while Bromley destroy the AA guns so that they may call an airstrike on the temple. After a tough battle, Joe rescues Raj and escapes just as the airstrike begins.

Joe is then sent to destroy a bridge in Thailand before a train loaded with stolen gold can make it across, but Joe accidentally falls out of the plane and lands in the jungle. With the help of some Chindits and an elephant, he makes it back to Bromley and blows the bridge.

After blowing the bridge, they fly directly to a Japanese Taiho Class Fleet Carrier, where Tanaka thinks the rest of the stolen gold is stored. Joe is tasked with opening vents, destroying the fuel monitors, and breaking the fuel valves. After that is done, Bromley sets a bomb and they find the gold, only to find it was a trap and get knocked out by nerve gas.

When Joe wakes up, he finds that he and Bromley are being interrogated by Admiral Shima. Shima reveals that he is holding Donnie prisoner in the supercarrier. Suddenly Bromely manages to break free, and at the same time Tanaka cuts Joe loose, but has his throat sliced by Shima after doing so. Bromely then throws a machine gun to Joe and they take out the guards. After Joe searches for his brother, Shima escapes with Donnie in a plane. Joe fights his way to the flight deck, where Bromley has stolen a plane. After multiple failed take-offs from Bromley, they finally take off. After a slow- motion view of the carrier blowing up, and lamentation for Tanaka, the credits roll.

The ending to Medal of Honor: Heroes revealed that Joseph was planning POW rescue raids which means that Donnie Griffin was eventually rescued by Joseph later in the war.

Multiplayer

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun has two multiplayer modes, Deathmatch: a free for all match, and Team Deathmatch, in which the player can choose teams.

The online multiplayer was one of the more successful elements of the game, coming at a time when online play titles for the PlayStation 2 were not widely available, the online mode attracted and retained a loyal player following right up to its closure in January 2007.

Offline multiplayer is also available, where up to four people can play against each other and alongside AI bots.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	69.59% (PS2) 62.93% (Xbox) 68.63% (GC)
Metacritic	68/100 (PS2) 65/100 (Xbox) 68/100 (GC)
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B-
Eurogamer	4/10
GameSpot	6.4/10
IGN	PS2: 8/10 Xbox: 7.5/10 Gamecube:7.5/10

The game received mixed reviews from critics. IGN gave the game a rating of 8/10, the same rating as its predecessor. The game also garnered an average rating of 68/100 from Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews. Gamespot rated the game a 6.4/10. The game was noted for poor artificial intelligence, linear level design, and some of its unnecessary plot elements. The PS2 version suffered from several ingame glitches and was one of the many reasons for lower ratings by gaming magazines such as EGM. A planned sequel to this game which would have resolved several elements of the game's cliff hanger ending was canceled due to the game's poorer reception. Also featchuring u could not aim down the barrel fully.

External links

• Official site
• Medal of Honor: Rising Sun at the Internet Movie Database
• Medal of Honor: Rising Sun at MobyGames

^[1]

Notes

1. ^ Ed Lewis (November 10, 2003) ""Medal of Honor: Rising Sun Review for the Playstation 2", IGN.com