Medal of Honor Single-Player

It's an unexpected direction, it's scripted, and it's simple. It's also immersive. As you strain to hold the barrel on target, your squad mates Patterson, Hernandez and Ybarra yell encouragement and instructions to one another and struggle to within throwing distance of the enemy.

With the target painted, there's more comms chatter, then the rush of air support, a loud crack and then silence as the air fills with dust and smoke and the planes disappear over the horizon. Do they need another pass, HQ asks over the radio? Negative. Elation, then self-awareness. "I don't ever want to be that close again."

We stick with the Rangers as they descend, cautiously now, toward the new LZ, Betty. They're taking no chances - they're going to clear two small buildings before they call anything in. As we're advancing, our confident leader's voice hangs in the air and I suddenly think it sounds rather loud.

We take up positions outside the first door. We've already done this routine several times - two guys on either side, one kicks down the door, and I'm holding a machine gun that fires more stuff per minute than Alan Sugar on timelapse. One, two, three, ring! "Is that a cellphone?" IED!

Now we're in trouble. I'm being dragged to cover by the others - apparently my kevlar vest took most of the blast - but our cover's already disintegrating as dozens of insurgents descend the nearby hills.

The action becomes manic. RPGs tear scripted holes in the mud hut we take refuge in, enemies come in waves from every direction, and we're denied air support (the F-15s are too close to bingo, meaning they're out of fuel - the jargon is saturating and enthralling, even under fire). It's all going to end badly. We've begged for support from the people we're supposed to be securing this LZ for, but as we run out of ammo we tell them not to bother. We're done.

Boom! Apache Gunfighter teams strafe out of nowhere and open up on the hillsides. We're no longer toast, and we snap out of our delirium quickly enough to direct their fire. Friendlies in structures!

Then we get to see how Medal of Honor does its handovers. "Come back Gunfighter 11, we love you!" It's a girl, innit. "Every time," her colleague in Gunfighter 06 notes. Now we're riding with the Apaches, manning a gun in 06, on the way to dispatch mortar operators pinning down our Casevac friendlies.

When it's not the jargon, it's the tech that draws you in. The gunners zoom in thousands of metres to pick out mortar operators totally oblivious to us. Gunfighter 11 spots the targets, and we get a box on-screen. "Good mail." We move over it and hold a button to fill a bar, then a couple of seconds later Hellfire missiles rain down from the heavens.

Next we get involved in a sustained battle over a hillside village declared cold by HQ. It's hotter than the sun. As the music goes a bit Platoon we dance around the mountains and evade RPG fire before clearing an ammo dump with missiles.