Specifications

Reviews
MAXIMUMPC DECEMBER 200496
BANZAI PLANT
Implementation of squad medic is superb; lots of
insane firefights.
BONZAI CHARGE
Sluggish frame rates and player movement,
repetitive, and long load times.
$50, www.eagames.com
7
MAXIMUMPC
VERDICT
Dear Mom and Dad,
Sorry I haven’t written in awhile,
but as I’m sure you’re aware, war
will keep a man occupied. I can’t say
exactly where I am right now, but
after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
my platoon got shipped all over
the Pacific, including Guadalcanal
and Tarawa.
I know war should never be enter-
taining, but the boys and I sure had
a lot more fun in Europe fighting
the Germans. After the first two or
three hours, all the jungles have
started to look the same. That’s OK
though; there’s no time for sight-
seeing because the Japanese are a lot
tougher to fight than the Germans.
They try to flank us, they use cover,
and when they get close to us,
they charge with their bayonets,
screaming “Bonzai!!” Sometimes they
get stuck behind rocks and crates, but
they’re definitely worthy adversaries.
The fighting is intense, but I have to
admit: After a couple of patrols, the
lack of variety in the jungle feels more
tedious than exciting.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not all
jungle patrols here. Occasionally the
boys and I get to lay into the enemy
with heavy weapons like .50 caliber
machine guns, mortars, and even por-
table artillery. I even got to fly a plane,
and I managed to sink an aircraft
carrier and a destroyer all by myself!
The boys in the squad were amazed
that I managed all that without ever
laying eyes on a flight school. It might
sound easy, but when I was up in that
plane, it seemed like the brass was
just making up the mission as they
went along. The whole operation felt
poorly planned and executed.
Maybe it’s the jungle heat, but I
feel a lot slower here in the Pacific.
In Europe I could run fast and aim
quickly without any delay. Here I
run slow and
my rifle arm
is sluggish.
Sometimes I
take enemy
fire longer
than I should
while lining
up a shot.
Don’t worry,
Mom, I’ve
never been hit with anything that
Jimmy, our corpsman, couldn’t
patch up in a few seconds. So far
I’ve been shot approximately 300
times and bayoneted a dozen times
to boot, but good ol’ Jimmy just
runs over and patches up the holes
lickety-split when I signal for help.
Speaking of my squad, they’re a
great bunch of guys, even though
they always leave most of the killing
to me. And I think some of them
might have Tourette’s Syndrome,
because they’re always
yelling the same
phrases over and
over like, “They’re
charging!” even when
there’s no enemy
in sight, or “Good
shot, Tommy!” when
I shoot a guy two
feet in front of me.
Maybe they’re all just
suffering from shell
shock or battle fatigue.
Occasionally we’ll
run big joint ops where
we coordinate with
other units using a new
comm network called
the Internet, but it’s
nothing to write home
about. It’s hard to get
a good connection to
the Internet and we had to call back
to the States and register with a group
called “EA” before we could join the
operation, which was annoying and
unnecessary.
Well, I have to sign off now. Our
squad is supposed to go upriver
tomorrow, so I’m going to need a
good night’s sleep. Take care, and
please send more Kleenex and skin
moisturizer as I’m all out.
Your son,
Tommy Conlin,
aka Josh Norem
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
I never though I’d say this, but I really miss Europe
Mom and Dad: Here’s a picture I took of our
Japanese adversaries. They are not very friendly,
but they seem a lot smarter than the Germans
we fought in Europe.
Here’s a pic the Sarge took of us manning the AA gun at Pearl Harbor.
Why he was taking pictures instead of fighting is beyond me.