Xbox 360, PS3 £50. Age 16+

In this game, set in the near future, you and a crew of misfit squaddies must go awol behind enemy lines to hunt for gold. In your way stands half the Russian army . . . so it’s no mean feat ahead for you.

The Battlefield game series was once merely an online arena for warfare-loving PC gamers to blast each other into submission.

Bad Company departs from this format, though, and is now a single-player campaign with overtones of the Band of Brothers movie genre, epitomised by such classics as Three Kings and Kelly’s Heroes. It certainly looks great: weapons are realistic, there are tons of vehicles to drive and the fully destructive environment (buildings or trees can be blown to smithereens) is very cool. The controls are simple and the computerised enemies really are no dummies.

Unfortunately, though, the antiheroes of Bad Company don’t quite cut the mustard. A far bigger issue is that it lacks the plausible plot of class-leading titles such as Call of Duty 4. For fast, furious action, Battlefield delivers the goods in spades, but players seeking an in-depth gaming experience will find it all a tad shallow.

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