While Li's animated likeness may be all that we see of him there is no doubt he is performing the moves, with outstanding use of motion capture technology. All of Jet's fighting moves have been captured for use in the game, allowing players to perform some jaw-dropping moves. His opponents have been similarly captured, allowing for some very exciting fight scenes.

The game is in the style of a Hong Kong kung fu movie, the type Jet Li normally does. This may present a problem for some players with the game essentially requiring the suspension of belief in a number of areas, in the same way the movies do. For instance the fighting moves are not necessarily possible, and it will take several bullet hits for Jet to die. Also any firearms Jet may find have unlimited ammo, with no requirement to reload. Players accepting these new realities will find a fun and exciting game.

Players are thrown straight into the game in the character of Kit Yun, an undercover cop. The game begins with a letter being stolen from the crime lord Yun is a bodyguard for, leading to a chase through the streets of Hong Kong. The story then shifts forward a year, when Yun must track down a rival crime lord, leading him to several locations in Hong Kong and San Francisco. The initial chase in Rise to Honour highlights one of the main problems with the game. It is heavily scripted and linear, not allowing the player any freedom of movement or chance for exploration. The only freedoms the player has are in the fight scenes. In the context of this being played as a movie this is fine, but some players may baulk at it. The game even goes to the extent of telling players when to press a button, either by flashing a button prompt on the screen or with a quiet beep over the soundtrack.

In the chase scene Yun must jump over crates and climb up ladders. As soon as Yun is near a crate players are told to press the R1 button, which launches Yun in a stylish jump over the crate. Ladders, doors and pretty much everything else in the game is presented in a similar fashion. If players somehow lose their way all that needs to be done is to walk around the area until a signal is given that they are standing next to something that can be jumped or climbed. It takes any skill requirement out of the game except for the fight scenes, which is where the obvious focus of Rise to Honour is, but it certainly makes for a visually impressive sequence when timed properly.

What makes Rise to Honour stand out immediately is the control system in the fight scenes. Eschewing the traditional use of the right-hand buttons on the controller, all of the fighting actions are performed by the right analogue stick. The responsiveness is quite remarkable, and while it may seem like the analogue equivalent of button mashing at first requires an equal level of skill to perform well. In addition players can use the shoulder buttons for blocks, grabs and counters. It is an innovative system that is reasonably simple to pick up. While the analogue sticks provide a lot of freedom of movement they also remove the player's control over the type of move Yun performs. Pressing the stick in a particular direction may result in a kick or a punch, with dozens of variations, none of which are chosen by the player removing a key element found in a lot of action and fighting games. Sections of the opponent's body cannot be targeted and specific moves for certain opponents cannot be used.

The main advantage of this control system is that while the type of action performed is not actively chosen by the player the timing and the direction of the action is. This allows players to be able to take on multiple opponents, often stringing a combo that damages several players together. After playing Rise to Honour for a while it is hard to imaging a better control system for this type of game. Shifting the controls to the buttons would not work as well, requiring a complex targeting system and sacrificing the fluidity of the game.

As well as the hand-to-hand combat certain areas require Yun to use firearms, generally one in each hand. Again the right analogue stick controls the direction of attack, aiming the guns where the stick is pointed while a shoulder button acts as the trigger. This makes for a remarkable intuitive control system and, as with the melee combat, allows for gunfights with opponents in all directions. The trouble with this is that it leads to scenarios where Yun is in the middle of an open playing area, with enemies surrounding him. In these situations the game resembles a modern update of a game like Robotron with Yun firing manically in all directions as enemies appear. Much better are the shootouts in the narrow alleys and corridors where characters trade shots while hiding behind objects. Precise gunplay in these areas is necessary and feels much more rewarding than the almost random open areas.

Spliced between the almost sublime hand-to-hand and gunplay chapters is the occasional stealth level. In these levels Yun somehow loses his ability to fight and must instead hide in the shadows, either sneaking past guards or taking them out from behind. All the guards in these levels have short set patterns and progress is fairly easy once the pattern is identified. The inclusion of stealth in this type of game seems rather out of place and results in levels that are a chore to get through. Ludicrously the game is over once Yun is spotted, with no chance of fighting his way out of a tight situation. Thankfully there are not too many of these areas. With such a simplistic control system it may be surprising that Rise to Honour offers quite a bit of challenge for gamers. The first quarter of the game allows players to get to grips with the controls, and exposes them to all the knowledge they will need. Once the story shifts from Hong Kong to San Francisco though the difficulty is raised quite a bit, with only mastery of the controls allowing players to progress. Whether the game surrounds Yun with hordes of lesser enemies or pits him against a 'boss?players will constantly be challenged.

We see this level of difficulty as rather a good thing. While Rise to Honour presents many areas that are seemingly impossible to pass it never gets too frustrating or tiresome. The game has that addictive quality that will keep bringing players back or just one more attempt. The difficulty also pushes gamers to master the controls, with the resulting fights becoming impressive to watch with a fine mix of blocking, countering and all-out attack. There is a real sense of achievement in progressing through the game's harder moments. Visually Rise to Honour looks great in most areas. The environments are realistic and well detailed with many interactive elements. Fixed items like lockers or water coolers dent and break, while items like trash cans and chairs can be picked up and thrown at enemies. In addition a lot of the environments allow Yun to perform special moves when an opponent is grabbed, for instance a throw off a balcony or inflicting damage when thrown on to a hot plate in a kitchen.

Unfortunately the characters do look slightly blocky and let the visuals down slightly. Making up for this are the motion-captured animations. All of the movements are taken from the capture studio giving a very realistic look to the game, even when impossible moves are performed. The game is a treat to watch even when not playing, with the visual style and the animations make just observing the game very enjoyable. Accompanying the action is a stirring orchestral soundtrack, similar to what would be found in an action movie, and it fits the game very well. Satisfying grunts and exclamations make the fights that much more believable. The English voice acting is a letdown though, coming across in a very stilted fashion. While this could be explained by the majority of the cast being natural Cantonese speakers it does still grate at times. Luckily there are a number of language options, so choosing Cantonese dialogue with English subtitles fixes this problem.