An improvement to the series, but still isn't a good purchase.
I really enjoyed this game first time round. The games story was very compelling and one of the best parts of the package. You play as Joseph Griffin, a struggling marine who survived Pearl Harbor and was a soldier in WWII. The story starts abrubtly with you on the USS California on the day of Pearl Harbor. You never find out anything about Griffin, he's just another soldier. After Pearl Harbor you fight in many battles against the Japs. The characters in the game are very memorable, like the Sergeant, your brother, and most of all, your sister who always sends you a letter that you read at the end of each mission. Unfortuately, just as you get attached to these characters, the story ends. The ending sucks and leaves the adventure when its half over.
The games gameplay, however, is basic, repetive, and won't keep you occupied over a week or two. I rented the game 3 times and by the third time, I was bored as hell. there are only 9 missions in the game which are all pretty short, but for a weeks rental will give you a great time. The weapons you use are basic like the 1911 pistol, M1 Garand, Thompson Sub-machine gun, the shotgun, the B.A.R., Grenades, a Sten, Sniper, Welrod, some Japenese weapons, and a rocket launcher. The weapons all deal decent damage and the models of them look fine. Although, no levels involve you personaly driving a vehicle meaning you are always doing on foot action which after about 7 missions of it gets pretty boring.
The graphics in this game are noticably better than the majorly crap ones in Frontline and the whole thing looks less like a PS1 game. But these graphics are still not very good. The envierments are bland, and the textures on walls and such are glitchy and look out of place. The good are the Character models and weapon models have plenty of realistic detail up close.
The sound is again, improved from Frontline, but less than the graphics. The weapons sound bland and boring, but is saved by the fantastic voice acting. This adds to the memorable feel to the characters. The explosions though are as bad as the weapons, so the tremendous voice acting is all that really stands out for sound.
I'm not going to say much about the added multiplayer as its boring, not fun, restricted weapons and small maps make the multiplayer an absolute disgrace to gaming. If you got live or PS2 online, don't bother.
In conclusion, I'd suggest a weeks rental if you like historic shooters, but not as a full purchase.