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Strategy & War


Rising Sun
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 best

By Mark H. Walker
(2/24/2000)

The good: Impressive refinements to TalonSoft's Campaign war game series. 
The bad: Basic design is five years old. 
The bottom line: The best World War II, tactical-level, Pacific Theater war game. Ever. 
Multiplayer: Good  
Single player: Excellent  
ESRB rating: E (Everyone) 


When you look at them today, you may find it difficult to believe that Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Jr. weren't always perfect expressions of their games. It took them years to hone their talents. So it is with some computer game series as well. TalonSoft released its original Campaign game, East Front, to mixed reviews. The next, West Front, was better, but still a bit rough on the edges. However, Rising Sun, the most recent of TalonSoft's Campaign series titles, is a tactical tour de force. Mixing flavorful design with an incredible array of scenarios, Rising Sun is the best World War II, tactical-level, Pacific Theater war game yet.

Veterans of TalonSoft campaigns will have no problem slipping this gaming field pack on their shoulders. The scale, interface, terminology, unit symbols, and views are identical to West Front's. Rising Sun depicts the desperate battles fought throughout the Pacific on an almost personal, what's-behind-that-next-hill level. Accordingly, the units, which are displayed in either 3D isometric or 2D overhead views, represent small numbers of men and machines, including individual leaders, platoons of infantry (approximately 60 men), tanks, and machine gun, mortar, antitank gun, and field artillery sections.


 
Screen Shots
Click the captions for more game shots!

-A rare assault
-Ghurka rifles
-3D perspective
-Standalone scenarios
-Unit database

TalonSoft has done its homework, and the warring nations' order of battle is deep. The game provides tons of warriors and weapons to play. From Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks to U.S. By-God Marines, this game covers everything and everyone--Japanese, American, Commonwealth, or island native--involved in the Pacific Theater. Furthermore it covers nearly every yard of dirt over which they fought. The U.S. Marines' desperate shoestring operation to capture Guadacanal, the bloody battle at Tarawa, and the Japanese drive into the cramped urban streets of Manila are just a few of the included scenarios. Creative types can even design their own Far East engagements.

As with the other games in the series, Rising Sun includes two types of campaign games: dynamic and scripted. The dynamic campaigns link a series of realistic, but not completely historical, missions. The player guides his dynamic force (and an on-battlefield character representing himself) through these missions to gain experience, garner new equipment, and vicariously live as a battalion or regimental commander. The scripted campaign encompasses several linked historical missions. Gamers carry the same core force to each mission. Replacement points are awarded to replace losses. It's not as fluid as the dynamic battles, but history buffs may enjoy the scripted campaign more.

But Rising Sun isn't about lists of ingredients; it's about feel--the type of feel we haven't experienced since the grognards among us played Victory Games' Battle Hymn board game. As with that classic, Rising Sun captures the exquisite tension of the unknown. What is in that clump of jungle by the pond? Is that seemingly unguarded victory hex really undefended, or will an advance trigger a merciless stream of lead or, worse still, a banzai attack? There are new rules for banzai attacks, night fights, and the bravery of Japanese officers. Night fighting is très cool, introducing star shells, limited line of sight, and gun flashes, and placing gamers on the bleeding edge of when its best to sneak about or fire away.

Multiplayer is great fun. But as with most turn-based games, it's only for those truly tuned into the subject matter and game. Additionally, finding opponents may be a chore, because the game is not yet supported on any major gaming service.

Nevertheless, multiplayer opponents are only a small glitch (and one that is not attributable to TalonSoft) in what is otherwise a superb war game. If there is a flaw, it is that this game has the same basic design (albeit a much-improved one) as TalonSoft's 1995 release, Battleground: Ardennes. But hey, nobody's perfect. Except, of course, Griffey and Jordan.

For hints on this game, visit Tips and Cheats.

If you like this type of game, you might want to try Close Combat: Battle of the Bulge or The Operational Art of War, Volume II.

Rate the game yourself! Submit your opinion to Gamecenter User Reviews.

Mark H. Walker is a former U.S. naval officer and a veteran electronic entertainment/IT journalist. He has authored or contributed to 28 books--an endeavor that pales in comparison to the sacrifices made by the men and women who fought in WWII. Let's build that memorial. Agree or disagree with this review? Let us know.

 Facts
Rising Sun
TalonSoft,
Price: $50 
dos Pentium-200, 32MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM

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