The lowdown:
The yells of your men mix with the bellowing of the storm troopers in skirmishes that already feel heady and confusing, adding to the sensation of being in a real conflict. Intense, chaotic and making full use of Xbox 360’s Dolby Digital surround sound, Call of Duty 2 looks as though it will create a new benchmark for console simulations of the last World War.

Most exciting moment:
Clearing houses of those last few concealed Nazis is nerve-racking and highly rewarding, as is lobbing a smoke grenade into the bunker of a particularly troublesome machine-gunner before storming it in the resulting blackout.

Since you ask:
If you liked TV’s Band of Brothers, listen up, because virtually the entire cast appears to have signed up to provide voiceovers for the game.

The bottom line:
Unlike smoking behind the bike sheds, this is shaping up to be big, hard and clever.
Nick Gillett