Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun arrived on PlayStation 2 in 2003 and, unlike previous entries in the series, shifted the story from the European battlefield to the Pacific theater of World War II. The player took on the role of an American soldier and moved through key moments of the war against Japan, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, jungle combat, and landings on islands occupied by the Japanese army. The gameplay stayed true to the concept of the previous entries — linear progress through scripted missions, destroying fortified positions, and completing sub-objectives — this time complemented by new environments such as dense tropical vegetation or ship decks. The series thus offered, for the first time, a look at the war in the Pacific, which was rather the exception amid the flood of Europe-focused World War II shooters of the era.

Technically, the game benefited from the experience EA Los Angeles had gathered on the previous entries — battlefields felt densely populated with enemies, the explosions and firefights had a brisk pace, and the music once again gave the individual missions a cinematic, dramatic edge. The Pacific theater's environments, from jungles to coastal bunkers, gave the series a visually distinct atmosphere compared to the European settings of earlier entries, setting the game apart from the rest of the competition, which was focused mostly on the Western Front. Even the sound effects of weapons and Japanese equipment tried to keep pace with the distinct character of the Pacific battlefield.

Rising Sun was received somewhat more mixed than the older entries in the series, with critics pointing to a smaller step forward compared to previous games and a certain repetitiveness in the missions, yet it still became a commercially successful title that expanded the series' thematic scope to the Asian theater. For players interested in early PlayStation 2-era war shooters, it remains an interesting glimpse into a period when the genre was still finding its footing on consoles, and a reminder of a time when Medal of Honor was among the genre's leaders, before it was dethroned by faster-evolving rival series.

Why play it: For players interested in the early era of war shooters on PlayStation 2, Rising Sun is an interesting glimpse into a period when the genre was still finding its footing, even if critics pointed to repetitive missions and a smaller step forward compared to previous entries.