I've always had a very soft spot for RTS games. Some claim that they're gradually becoming outdated, replaced by sprawling first person shooters, gargantuan MMORPGs and third person GTA-style violence fests. But there will forever be a place for the RTS, in my mind. You need only look at the success and accomplishment of recent RTS titles such as Warhammer: Dawn Of War and Ground Control 2 to see that when they get it right, RTS games kick some serious ass. Having just got broadband, I have finally awoken to the delights of online gaming. I'm hooked on Command & Conquer: Generals, a game I completed eons ago, but now I can play real people, master tacticians, and the old C&C magic floods back into my veins. And so it was with great delight that I received a copy of Act Of War: Direct Action in the post. Scanning the back of the box it looked like C&C updated to the modern age. The best was yet to come.

So what's the back story? Your usual world gone-to-hell, we're all gonna die, kill me now fare. Why not? This one really packs some bite. Basically there's a group of unscrupulous petrol barons known as the Consortium. With their wads of cash, no doubt gained through fleecing us at the petrol pump, they hire a highly organised bunch of terrorists. We're not talking al-Qaeda, hiding out in caves, rag-tag bearded wannabes. The Consortium have hired a mean, technologically advanced, surgical to the point Army Of The Future. These terrorists have been briefed to stage a series of attacks around the world in an effort to destabilise the world's economy. In so doing, the Consortium hopes that oil prices will skyrocket, as countries start to tool up for war. Pretty much exactly what happened after 9/11 then. World Trade Centre gets obliterated and the whole world gets edgy. You may even remember parting with more than your usual at the petrol station in the lead-up to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So where do you fit in to this grand scheme of things? Well, you play a crack team of seasoned military operatives, the sand still rattling in their shoes from the streets of Fallujah, the Best Of The Best. It's a race against time - will you fall on the bayonets of your enemy or save America and the rest of the Free World?

From the very first instant, whilst installing the game, you're treated to an engaging mocked-up news feature. Two oil conglomerate representatives argue with each other in a TV studio about the stability of the world and the escalating global violence on account of dwindling oil resources. We see them argue heatedly with the TV presenter and each other, whilst quick snapshots of burning buildings and gun wielding terrorists flash on screen, blended seamlessly with the TV studio footage. It's phenomenally well acted and actually very informative, allowing you a clandestine insight into the ills of the world yet to come in our brief lifetime. By this stage, I was already impressed and couldn't wait to get involved in the actual game.

It's apparent from the outset that this game doesn't just cobble together levels and poor CGI to come to some relatively agreeable sense of symmetry, à la Dune 2000 or Command & Conquer. Instantly you're propelled into enthralling cut scenes, played out by real actors and with each one furthering the storyline, egging you on to complete subsequent missions just so you can get your next fix and find out what's going to happen next. It reminded me very much of 24; well directed, well acted and beautifully thought out. Even as you start your first mission, you're engrossed within the story, hot on the heels of some terrorists, raiding their camp in the desert. Then it's off to London for the second mission, guarding foreign dignitaries as they meet at Buckingham Palace, all hell breaking loose, guns flying off, people running to and fro for cover. I'd like to tell you more but I'd genuinely spoil it. Suffice to say, this is the first game where you really don't want to know what happens. If you do find out, it'll spoil the roller coaster ride the game takes you through, propelling you to the eventual happy or sad ending. Either way, I'm not about to ruin it for you. I must say it is massively refreshing though to see London used as a location in the game. It's about time people used this country as a setting for computer games. And I mean good games, not some totally jerky and uncontrollable pile of crap like The Getaway. Roll on Grand Theft Auto: Hackney Marshes or Max Payne 3: Death Comes Sooner in Brixton.

Graphically, this game does not fail to disappoint. Act Of War doesn't palm you off with bland, featureless blocks of empty terrain. It lets you fight real, full-3D battles in intricately detailed real places. They claim to have researched pretty much every location in the game and judging by the level at Buckingham Palace as you chase terrorists through the crowds down towards Trafalgar Square, they're spot on. It's instantly apparent that realism was what the developers had in mind and it helps you to suspend your disbelief just like at the movies and really immerse yourself in a wholly interactive and enthralling multimedia experience. You can even zoom in to see your troops and units close up, practically till you can see the creases in their combat fatigues. Everything from a single sniper unit to a massive battle tank is accurately represented. And what a massive arsenal you have at your disposal! Apache gunships, Abrams tanks, Special Forces strike teams, air ambulances and if that's not enough, there's an entire array of base defences you can build from sandbag shelters to huge rocket blasting turrets.

It plays like a dream too. There's varied ways to complete a mission. You can either send in a battalion of tanks and mow down every tree, car, pedestrian and enemy in your path or simply take to the skies with a flock of Apache gunships and nuke your foe from orbit... after all, it's the only way to be sure. If you're going to be really effective, it's usually a bright idea to combine all your units and attack in a staggered movement. Send in the choppers to clear the rooftops of any would-be enemy snipers, then send in the tanks and clear the streets, followed by the troops to annihilate any stragglers and case out all the buildings. As you progress, enemy troops often surrender, supplying you with the option of shooting them down like dogs where they lie or capturing them and trading them in for cash. The former is always more fun but if you're going to have any chance of completing the game, I'd choose the latter.

One really cool addition to the game is a small movie window that opens to the top left of the screen at key moments in a mission. For example, if you send your men to one of their key objectives, the window sometimes pops open and shows a little movie of your men advancing as a cut scene. It adds to the tension, as you're beginning to reach your mission's goals and I'm sure it's been noted by a variety of developers currently working on RTS games, so we'll no doubt see it replicated in a variety of new games pretty soon. It's a top idea and one the developers deserve real credit for. The sound also rocks your world. I'd be tempted to recommend setting up some surround speakers or if you don't have any, at least plug in a set of decent headphones into the back of your PC. Everything sounds as it should and the fast-paced music cranks up the pace.

Act Of War: Direct Action heralds a massive return to top drawer form in RTS gaming. Slick, intelligent, sexy, beautiful and so, so engaging, I don't know whether to play it or take it out for a movie and a slap-up meal. If you're going to buy one PC game in the near future, you can't go wrong with this - and that's a fact.