Medal of Honor Rising Sun Impressions

At Nintendo's recent press event we had the chance to try out a work-in-progress build of Electronic Arts' latest entry in the console line of its Medal of Honor franchise, Medal of Honor Rising Sun. The GameCube version of the game, while still early, was looking extremely promising, thanks to solid gameplay, ambitious visuals, and strong sound. Judging from the rough, but impressive, Pearl Harbor level, Medal of Honor Rising Sun is going to be one to watch for on the GameCube.

The level opens up on a ship in the harbor during the attack. The first part of the level will send you racing through the embattled craft as you try to get to the main deck. The level served double duty as both a tutorial and an excellent immersive intro to the game. Although the level is still coming together, we have to say it looks as though it may top the excellent first level in Medal of Honor Frontline. You'll start out running through the ship, following an officer as he urges you to get topside. As you make your way through the ship, explosions will rattle the boat and knock you around. Along your rush to the upper deck you'll interact with various crewmembers and learn the control scheme. When you finally get to the deck you'll take control of a mounted machine gun and begin firing on planes. After you fend off several waves of aircraft, you'll wind up manning a gun in a boat making its way through the assembled ships. The sequences are extremely cool and very ambitious in their scale.

As you'd expect, the graphics in the game, while still a bit rough in places, are impressive. The ambitious scale of the game is making use of a combination of graphics that push the hardware and some slick artistic choices. The smoke and particle effects used in the sky look cool and help with the atmosphere. The effect used for explosions, and their resulting shockwaves on the water, is another cool touch that blends eye candy with functionality.

Based on what we've played so far, Medal of Honor Rising Sun is looking very promising. The game already seemed poised to surpass its predecessor in terms of scale. As far as gameplay goes, the game offers a varied experience that should be extremely appealing. Medal of Honor Rising Sun is slated to ship this fall. Look for more on the game soon.