The Medal of Honour series has been around for a while and has seen life on both the PC and Mac as well as various consoles. Medal of Honour: Rising Sun (MOHRS) is the series second venture onto the Xbox and after the disappointment surrounding Medal of Honour: Frontline it has a big ask to win back fans of the series. So what do you get for you money? I've played both the PS2 and Xbox versions so I can tell you I couldn't notice any improvements graphically but there was an extensive improvement in loading times. Where the PS2 version would take 30+ seconds to load the Xbox takes only 3-5 seconds but unfortunately that's where it ends as the Xbox has no graphical or multiplayer improvements over the PS2 version.

After staring in awe at the opening sequence and changing the default control set-up to something more reminiscent of Halo and begin shooting away, you will quickly realise that there is no blood. Yep, not a drop of claret to be seen. A sailor will cop a chest full of bullets from a passing plane, enough to hurl him across the deck and he won't even produce a red stain on his singlet. The game is rated M15+ so I don't know how that was justified by the OFLC and it doesn't help the suspension of dis-belief at all. The first two levels are truly great, but the unfortunate thing about putting the best levels in a game first are that it can sometimes only be down hill from there.

The remaining levels of the game alternate between jungle, city and tunnel environments with the final level being on an Aircraft Carrier. All of these levels are very restrictive, with many doors that don't open (though some can be opened by "skeleton keys” once earned) and blocked off areas. But even with this linear level design you will still manage to get lost in some areas as the graphics, especially in the jungle maps can look quite messy and confusing.

The series is famous for using scripted events to good effect and Rising Sun is no exception. There are quite a few memorable moments such as a crocodile attack, saving your countrymen from execution at the hands of a Japanese sword and a train crash on the bridge over the river Kwai. Missions can be quite involved with multiple objectives and bonus objectives being activated when hidden items are found. Don't be surprised if the odd Japanese Officer comes charging at you with a samurai sword either. Just remember Indiana Jones and remind them that the bullet is mightier than the sword.

In between the levels you are treated to black and white historical footage and an informative commentary of what was happening in the war and where you fit in. This ties the levels together nicely and gives you a sense of purpose within the bigger picture. You also receive letters from your little sister back home, once again adding to the whole experience. There are also a few interviews with WWII veterans that are a nice touch and almost makes playing the game educational.

Unfortunately the A.I of the enemy is pretty rudimentary and they frequently do not react to grenades being thrown at them or their mates dying around them. But perhaps the enemy AI in other recent shooters has spoilt me. MOHRS is a very different game, and tends towards a run-and-gun approach over a slow and methodical sweep of the levels. Your character can withstand an impressive amount of damage, assuming the enemy actually hit you and likewise they can take quite a beating in return. During certain missions various friendly characters that you cannot kill will assist you. It's a good thing that they're impervious to your bullets too, as they sometimes seem to be almost tethered to the end of your weapon and telling the good guys from the bad is quite a task. Also, I use the term "assisted” loosely as your allies are even worse shots than the enemy! If you listen carefully you may even hear a few Aussie accents thrown around amongst your allies which always goes down well!

One great feature of MOHRS and it's a big one, is the THX Certified sound. Although it is not true Dolby Digital 5.1, the Pro Logic II mix does sound fantastic. From the thwock of a round finding its target to the massive bass-heavy blast of a Battle Ship exploding, every sound rings home with a conviction rarely heard outside of big budget Hollywood movies. You could quite easily overlook MOHRS's graphical and AI shortcoming just for the strength of the sound track alone. The in-game music is also quite good and sets the mood perfectly. Even if you don't buy this game, rent it just so you know what in-game sound effects should really sound like. This is clearly one of the best sounding games on Xbox and I can only imagine how incredible the sound would have been if it had taken advantage of the Xbox's Dolby Digital support.

Medal of Honour: Rising Sun, has no Xbox Live support and this really comes as no surprise for a game from Electronic Arts. The few multiplayer features offered are split-screen "free for all” and "team deathmatch” each with the welcome inclusion of bots. You can also play through the entire single player campaign with a friend on the one Xbox cooperatively. There is no support for system-link play and this combined with the lack of Live really lets the game down as far as multiplayer options go. Co-op was fun and gives you some motivation to play through the campaign again, as it is slightly different. There is also the option of trying to earn medals and "skeleton keys” to unlock hidden areas in the game. All this aside, the single-player campaign is quite short and the difficulty is far from taxing.