The bad company in question here is a squad of misfits – these aren't the classy, committed, highly trained troops to be found in most war games. That, along with the superlative visuals and sound effects, lends Bad Company a patina of reality that's missing from most of the competition.

It's a lot of fun, too, not least because of the impressive scenery. Not only does it look good, but most of it can be blown up, too. You can throw a grenade and have it destroy large parts of a building, unlike in most games, in which buildings remain largely pristine while body parts fly all over the place.

Gameplay is entertaining and the difficulty curve is well-judged. The entertainment factor extends to the back-story and to play as well – your fellow soldiers are the laughing, joking types, even in the face of death, and the dialogue is good enough that it doesn't get stale quickly.

Combat largely follows the lines of other shooters, with the ability to drive vehicles to get places faster, and a good selection of weapons (although it's only possible to pick up one kind at once, so you must choose between the weapons you want to hold and drop the rest).

If anything it's a little too easy, partly because of the ability to heal yourself anywhere in the game simply by switching to a healing syringe and injecting yourself. But there's enough here to make it worthwhile for a long play.

Vista compatible: No