PlayStation Pro 2 - Medal of Honor: Rising Sun Preview

The bombing of Pearl Harbor was one of the most tragic events in American history, but it sure makes for an exciting mission in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun. Want proof? Download the new Rising Sun movie we just posted.

Medal of Honor: Frontline did an excellent job of allowing gamers to experience the conflict between the Allies and Axis powers in Europe. Of course, World War II also took place in Asia, so after including nearly every major battle that occurred in Europe in the last three MOH titles, Electronic Arts is now setting its eyes on the Pacific Theater of Operations with Medal of Honor: Rising Sun.

As the name suggests, Rising Sun has you taking on the Japanese during the 1940s'. In Rising Sun, you play the role of Joe Griffin, an American soldier who is defending his country along side his brother, Donny. As the battle heats up, Joe is separated from his brother and in order to find out what happens to poor Donny, you have to wait until the next Medal of Honor game (in which Donny is the main character) that is due out next year.

Anyway, much like Frontline, Rising Sun starts off very climatic with the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, which is one of the most tragic events in American history. Essentially, Joe is stationed on the USS California, which was located in Pearl Harbor during the attack. As you eventually make your way to the top of the ship, you'll see planes fly overhead, smoke rising from damaged US aircraft carriers all around you and more.

During the course of the game, you'll find yourself fighting battles in Guadalcanal, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, and in the Philippines . In the first few missions, expect to fight in lush jungles, which look very convincing thanks to the artists at EA and a new graphics engine made by the programmers.

One of the key things EA wants to make aware is that they are attempting to give players more freedom by allowing them to choose various paths that will affect certain events in the game. For example, if you forget to lay down coverfire for one of your buddies, he might be killed and won't be able to help you out later in the mission. Or if you rescue a prisoner, he may provide you with a shortcut or some extra ammo.

Another new feature that has us really excited is the fact that the entire "single-player" campaign (which consists of about 10 missions) can be played cooperatively with a friend via a split-screen view. A four player split-screen deathmatch mode will also be available in the finished game. The number of multiplayer maps is unknown at this time.

Captain Dale Dye is once again the military advisor for Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, so expect authentic weapons, realistic AI from the Japanese troops (after all, the Japanese had different strategies than the Nazis), and much more. That's all for now. We'll have another preview ready to go soon.

Additional Media
Click here for all the screenshots and movies for this game.

Note: EA's PR people are really stubborn, so these screens are from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Sorry about the quality.