In the game you take on the role of a raw recruit in the American Marines. The first to land on the beaches, you are placed in the role of the best of the best and no better is this depicted than in the opening portion of the game. Rather than kicking off with the usual tutorial, Pacific Assault throws you right into the initial landing on the beaches of Tarawa Atoll. This was one of the first contested beach assaults by the American Marines and gave an indication of how expensive in human lives the retaking of the Pacific was going to be for both sides in the conflict. You are immediately taken aback by the intense nature of the battle, the sounds and yelled commands. Those new to the genre would be immediately struggling to sort out the controls, let alone follow the commands.

Just when you think it is all a bit tough as an opening mission for a game, you are transported back to the time of your initial training. This suddenly serves to put the tutorial in context and a bit of a wake up call on the importance of learning the pre-game stuff. The tutorial has it all from the yelling drill sergent (less the rude expletives), the obstacle course and the firing range.

What strikes you first is the range of weapons and actions available to you. You have the usual rifles and automatic weapons but also included are mortars and the ability to call medics, pick up and carry wounded comrades and give limited commands to the rest of the team. The concept of a wider team rather than a 'one man's war' that was the staple of the earlier games in the series is something that has been picked up from other recent releases in the WWII genre. Unlike others, though, the ability to give some command to the rest of the squad opens more opportunity to control the battle around you and also creates even more affinity with the rest of the squad. The commands are basic but well implemented using the arrow keys on the keyboard to select between the actions.

Another inclusion in the game is the concept of medics as we have mentioned. Rather than having health packs distributed about the game environment, you have the ability to bandage yourself or call on the squad's medic to administer a health top-up. The need to protect this unit in combat further increases the need to work with the wider team in the game.

Once you have completed the initial training you are shipped out to the cushy assignment of Pearl Harbor. You are in for a great welcome by your fellow team mates and before you can unpack your kit an even bigger welcome is delivered by the Japanese. You are placed right in the middle of the battle, where you race to the PT Boat in a hail of gunfire and falling bombs. From there it's a mad dash across the harbour taking out planes from the AA position on the back of the boat, followed by a race to save crew members from drowning in the sinking battleship.

Most of this portion of the game is very linear and more in the tradition of the earlier Medal of Honor games. Everything follows a script and you are really just along for the ride. Once you know the sequence it's pretty much a game by the numbers. It's a spectacular ride, though, with some great action scenes and hair-raising sequences. Some are a bit over the top and the fact that we managed to down six enemy aircraft with our tommy gun gives you some idea of how it is put together.

Overall the graphics in the game are well done with a great use of photographic quality backdrops and a good level of interaction with the environmental objects themselves. In fact, one of the features of the game is using objects such as gas cannisters and oil drums to blow up enemies or to destroy cover they are hiding behind. This adds a new dimension to the game - not only when spotting the enemy but also keeping an eye open for opportunities to maximise the use of the environment around you. One well-timed shot into a petrol drum can deliver a lot of hurt to your enemies.

Where the graphics do struggle a bit, however, is in the character animation. Characters at times are almost puppet-like and lack a degree of fluidity that you would expect from games of this type nowadays. The backpacks sit proud of the body on some of the soldiers, allowing you to see daylight between, and the facial animation, while a brave attempt, does not quite achieve a degree of realism other games have.

The AI for the game is well put together with the enemy withdrawing and attacking appropriately, and even making suicidal charges when desperate. These can be particularly nerve racking as there is usually no warning and it can end up in brutal face to face combat. There is a notable absence of blood, with death animations being reasonably tame. It's certainly not a 'blood and guts' game and though this may not appeal to the purists of the genre it certainly makes it more palatable.

Pacific Assualt offers several online modes including an invader mode, where players are divided into teams with one attacking various objectives while the other defends. In some of the modes you can chose between various classes of unit including infantry, corpsman, combat engineer and ammo technician. Each of these classes has a Japanese equivalent with no real difference between each side when playing multiplayer.

Audio-wise, Pacific Assault is top-notch. Voice acting is superb, with realistic dialogue that fits in well with the period. The music also blends in well with stirring martial tunes to set the scene, and some dramatic sound effects throughout.