PA reinvigorates the WWII FPS genre with a timely visit to "the other front."
As mentioned in a few other reviews, the style of fighting found in PA is closely akin to the guerilla warfare of Vietcong. In fact, the Lunga River excursion in the former was strongly reminiscent of the streambed trek toward the Bahnar village in the latter title. Both games limited the player’s access to magic medipacks and required the time-honored practice of spray-and-pray assaults just for modest gains in jungle real estate. All of this is not to say that the gameplay model advanced by the Allied Assault trilogy is flawed, but that I was ready for a change and PA delivered in spades.
Speaking of the slow, cautious Lunga River jaunt: the pacing in Pacific Assault was superb. Missions spent creeping from tree to rock to trench while trying to set a charge on well-guarded bamboo towers were peppered with massive and loud set pieces like the Henderson Field ruction or the legendary nightmare that was Pearl Harbor. I found myself struck dumb on the deck of the West Virginia, watching as hundreds of Japanese Zeroes and Vals darkened the skies over Hawaii. The animation of the fixed-gun sequences in that level was amazing; the immersive water and smoke effects were a gratifying reward for each downed plane, as well as a strong incentive to protect each targeted vessel. The Tarawa landing was equally astonishing, especially as a testament to the game’s excellent squad-based battle tactics.
Aside from a few framerate issues I encountered while tromping through the thick Guadalcanal jungle (which were later eliminated with a video board upgrade), Pacific Assault was a technical and cinematic triumph for both WWII-based games and shooters in general. The game rekindled my fascination with the heavy metal melees that I experienced almost to the point of overkill in the European theater by mixing a unique setting with a revolutionary degree of depth and detail. I recommend Pacific Assault for anyone who wants more out of a game than twitch-intensive arcade mechanics, regardless of whether they have any interest in the actual historical events of the Far Eastern front.