Introduction

Sometimes, despite the saying being cliché, the third time really is the charm. Rising Sun is the third generation of the Campaign Series, and offers polish and luster to cap the improvements the series has shown since the release of East Front.

East Front's arrival met with some gnashing of teeth, since it was highly anticipated, yet came up short in many respects. Offering a manual so skimpy that it would not have made a good coaster, and a much-hyped campaign system that was still experiencing large doses of growing pains, East Front divided gamers along clear lines: they either liked it or they hated it. West Front, East Front II, and various expansions refined and supplemented the series. Now the latest - and perhaps the last - stand-alone product in the Campaign Series has arrived: Rising Sun gleams with the shine of a well-tuned system that has almost all its problems resolved.


Excellent briefings immerse the gamer in the battle.	Where would you like to fight today?

Familiar Feel

Like its brethren, Rising Sun is based around platoon-sized units with strength points representing a half-squad, one team of a machine-gun squad/tube weapon, or one vehicle. Each unit has 100 action points to be spent in their turn on either movement or firing. Costs increase if the unit is disrupted, reflecting their inability to accomplish as much in their disorganization. Low ammunition status (determined by a random function of the supply checks built into the system) reduces the firepower and strength of affected units. Leaders aid units firing from the same hex (provided they have enough action points) and also directly influence any morale checks made for units they are stacked with. Offboard artillery is used to simulate naval support, and air support is somewhat more prevalent than in the game's European counterparts.

Those who have already ventured into the Campaign Series will feel at home, since little has been siginificantly altered in the how the system works. What has changed is the flavor and feel of play, due to the terrain, the forces and the new twists added to historically reflect Pacific battles. Grognards who aren't satisfied with the realism engendered in the Campaign Series system will see little to change their feelings, as the system is essentially the same as in previous offerings.

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