Medal of Honor - Rising Sun
Medal of Honor - Rising Sun is a PlayStation 2 shooter game released in 2003 developed by Electronic Arts. It centers on aiming, shooting, and weapon use, story, case, or mission progress, and aiming and shooting, with controls and information arranged around the DualShock 2 twin analog sticks, directional pad, shoulder and face buttons, with a dedicated peripheral only where explicitly required.
- AI score · out of 10
- 7.2 / 10
About this game
Medal of Honor - Rising Sun is a PlayStation 2 shooter game centered on aiming, shooting, and weapon use, story, case, or mission progress, and aiming and shooting. Missions pace progress through enemy waves, routes, objectives, and weapon opportunities, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Aiming feedback, projectiles, hits, and danger zones need to remain readable, while 3D scenes, streamed data, cinematics, surround audio, and interlaced television output need to preserve action and state readability together. The genre-specific limitation is that camera turning, aiming methods, dense encounters, and peripheral support can increase control pressure. Platform conditions also include DVD loading, the 8MB Memory Card, analog sticks and pressure-sensitive buttons, Multitap, Network Adapter, dedicated peripherals, and retired online services affect present-day use. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.
Collected in series
Medal of Honor is a military shooter series built around soldiers carrying out combat missions. Its games range from World War II operations to modern special forces, mixing gunfire, movement through hostile terrain and objectives that push each mission forward.
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PlayStation 2
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
Cinematic atmosphere and adaptable controls, with modest AI and campaign scope.
Rising Sun begins with the chaos of Pearl Harbor, making the Pacific setting an experience rather than merely a weapon list. Finite health and ammunition encourage deliberate shooting, and different weapons have useful applications. Turret sequences and collectible historical material vary the rhythm of its linear objectives. On PS2, orchestral music and cinematic staging are particularly effective at creating context. Occasionally idle enemies weaken combat credibility, while muddy textures and stiff animation interrupt the atmosphere. The nine-mission campaign is modest, but bonus objectives, historical extras and local modes still provide reasons to return. Remappable controls, adjustable sensitivity and objective hints also ease adaptation. Today its value lies in the offline war story and local entertainment, not the unavailable official online competition.
Strengths
- Finite resources and varied weapons give linear shooting meaningful choices.
- Orchestral music and historical footage establish context, with adaptable controls.
Weaknesses
- Occasionally idle enemies undermine combat credibility.
- A modest campaign, muddy textures and stiff animation limit the experience.
Who it is for: For console-shooter players who enjoy linear war stories, historical extras and retained local modes, rather than depending on current online competition.
Play notes: Official PS2 online play is unavailable in the reviewed retrospective. This assessment covers offline content; cooperative mode exists but that author did not test its cooperative execution.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension Bonus objectives, historical extras and configurable local matches extend a brief nine-mission campaign. The retained offline package is worthwhile, but unavailable online play cannot be counted as current replay value. | Reviewed | 6.9 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Finite health, ammunition and different weapons make linear shooting engaging. Enemies that stand idle or allow close approaches reduce tactical resistance, leaving good action rather than consistently strong combat design. | Reviewed | 7.0 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension The Pearl Harbor opening, orchestral score and historical footage create powerful cinematic context. Muddy PS2 textures and occasional stiff animation disrupt consistency without erasing that distinctive atmosphere. | Reviewed | 7.8 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Remapping, sensitivity and turn-speed options make the controls adaptable, while Select hints reduce stalled progress. These confirmed native settings support good usability without implying flawless runtime. | Reviewed | 7.7 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- Electronic Arts
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
- Release date
- 2003
- Platforms
- PlayStation 2
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Shooter · Primary genre
- Tags
- Linear LevelsMain Story Under 10 HoursDodgeReplayableSolo-friendlyShootingStory-drivenPlayer versus EnvironmentFast-pacedThird Person3D Graphics
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Co-opMultiplayerSingle player
- Perspectives
- First person
Release editions
- PlayStation 2Worldwide2003
Game gallery
Sources
Not provided