It won't come as a surprise if you've forgotten about Battlefield 2 by now. It is four years old after all, and despite the recent updates and expansion pack, that's a long time in the gaming world. With little prospect of any more new content, EA has brought everything together, boxed it up and released it as a single definitive package. Has this bold move worked and can an ageing game stand its ground in the current market? Battlefield 2: Complete Collection is a phenomenal game that's certainly worthy of being brought back into the spotlight, but whether it's a must-buy is still up for debate.

Battlefield 2 doesn't really attempt to tell a story in the same way as most modern shooters. Instead, it is divided into several stages, each consisting of a war-torn landscape such as a deserted train station or the area surrounding a massive oil yard. Each map also has its own scenario, such as American forces defending an oil depot from an attack by the MEC (Middle Eastern Coalition) or the European Union fighting off the Chinese. In some ways it's refreshing to find a game that doesn't attempt to dramatise war, but I would still have preferred a more detailed and involving plot. A handful of maps could have been bunched together, for example, and given an overarching storyline such as those found in the campaigns of Call of Duty.

Fortunately, Battlefield 2 still offers an amazing gameplay experience. The two teams featured on each map are there to simply kick the living daylights out of one another; this basic mechanic is the heart of this multiplayer competitive shooter and it fulfils its role splendidly. Things are also made a little more interesting by the varied range of vehicles that each force has at its disposal, as well as a whole host of unique guns with which to blast each other to pieces. In addition, each soldier can spawn as one of several classes, such as Medic, Assault, Sniper or Engineer, each with their own skill set and each with a vital role to play in success on the plains of war.

Playing as a US assault marine, automatic rifle in hand and with a serious determination to kick some ass, I gear up for the first time and charge into the fray. With a zing, a crack and a thud, the trooper ahead of me is gunned down. More artillery pours in and as bullets fly in from every direction, another marine falls, screaming desperately for a medic. In the distance I can hear tanks and other heavy vehicles on the prowl; explosions from tank shells boom over the hill - the other side clearly aren't having a good day either! With a deafening roar, a helicopter zooms overhead, dragging my focus back to the unrelenting gunfire pinning our team down. The chopper unleashes a barrage of hellfire, ripping our attackers to shreds and leaving only a cloud of smoke and burnt earth in their place. For now the threat has passed but, within the next sixty seconds, more death, more carnage, more chaos and a whole lot more explosions are sure to follow. Welcome to Battlefield 2!

The above description is no exaggeration; this game throws you into the eye-pummelling, ear-splitting, think-on-your-feet action right from the start, with no idea what is about to happen due to the unpredictable nature of human teammates and opponents - it's relentless in its production of high-octane entertainment! However, even running about randomly and shooting strangers in the head could get extremely tiresome after a while, which is why developers DICE decided to introduce a control point structure that's similar to the conquerable strategic points of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. These areas function as spawn points, allowing fallen troops to come back in at positions further into the battlefield, returning to the fray quicker and often making all the difference between victory and defeat. Each team also has a number of tickets that serve as respawn credits; if you die in the field and at least one ticket remains then you can begin again with full health. The number of tickets each team has is limited, though; run out and the game is over, but eliminate your enemies' tickets and you'll take the win.

Given how crucial the four or five control points are in returning you to the battlefield and determining the outcome of the match, they form hotspots for constant conflict as both teams rush to capture them, your flag flying triumphantly to mark the territory that you fought valiantly to control and now battle fiercely to defend. Capture all the control points on a map (each team starts with one already captured to act as a base) and the war is over for your enemies, as they have nowhere left to go. Stealing only a few and holding them against the onslaught of an angered enemy also does the trick, as it slowly reduces the tickets available to the opposing side, like blood trickling out of an open wound. While this concept may sound all too familiar and is used by many online games such as Star Wars: Battlefront, Lord of the Rings: Conquest and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, it's important to remember that Battlefield 2 is actually a trip back in time; it was the Battlefield series that pioneered this concept for online warfare and set the trend for all these future releases to follow.

Even today though, the original remains the best, thanks to Battlefield 2's squad system. Each team consists of a series of smaller units, three of which are created by default with the ability to add more if you wish. Joining a squad means that you are part of a group of three or four soldiers with their own leader issuing orders to his band of brothers. These orders are of the usual 'attack this area' and 'defend this area' variety, but it's still a really welcome feature, giving individual troops a greater sense of purpose. It also adds a refreshing element of strategy into the mix; different squads can have different orders, so devious leaders can set up two-pronged attacks upon enemy strongholds. The other benefit of joining a squad (it's not mandatory) is that the squad leader acts as an additional mobile spawn point for his men, so when you respawn you don't end up separated from your comrades by miles of hostile territory.

The Complete Collection isn't just a repackaged cash-in, though; EA has put together a wildly generous conglomeration of the original game, its two booster packs (which add new maps, vehicles and weapons) and the Special Forces expansion pack, which is similar to the main game but with smaller scale battles. Instead of playing as forces like the US army, teams are much smaller, tightly knit groups such as the British SAS and Russian Spetsnaz. These new cloak-and-dagger teams mix things up a bit, with new weapons such as tear gas grenades and new bone-crunching vehicles like the awe-inspiring Apache Longbow.

Considering its ageing graphics engine, Battlefield 2 still manages to look marvellous. Maps are littered with buildings and abandoned trains, providing you with ample cover and making for some high-adrenaline shootouts. There's still plenty of room to forge across the landscape in vehicles though, exquisitely detailed units that are appropriately coloured to fit seamlessly into the environment, whatever that may be. Tanks are especially impressive as they bounce realistically past, traversing the uneven terrain without ever clipping through the environment. The troop uniforms are also brilliantly rendered, although this causes a problem: it's difficult to tell units apart. The uniforms of each team are always realistic for their allegiance, but all real world combat gear ends up looking very similar from a distance, making it hard to tell friend from foe; team colours might have dented the realism, but at least it would be instantly clear who to shoot at.

The sound effects too are truly breathtaking; vehicles rumble menacingly across the ground, jet fighters scream overhead, guns blast round after round of steel death, and missiles whoosh, ejected at incredible speed from anti-tank soldiers and stationery turrets while wounded men lie screaming for medical attention and radio chatter ricochets around your head, producing a wonderfully riotous soundscape. Even the music, which is only played in the menus (to add to the gritty realism) is well conceived, varied but for the most part fairly rousing, interspersed with chatter from distant soldiers and behind-the-scenes commanders coordinating attacks, perfectly suiting the war theme.

The experience isn't perfect, though, as the screen is far too cluttered. There's the minimap of the battlefield, your health, your ammo counter, your remaining stamina (used for sprinting), the messages saying who killed who, team chat, and more all hampering your view of the action. I'm sure that a lot could be moved away from your direct line of sight and while it doesn't ruin the experience, a more innovative HUD such as those featured in the likes of Red Alert 3 and Dead Space would have been greatly appreciated; I really did expect streamlining the interface to be a high priority for this re-release. Another very annoying issue is just how long it takes to actually begin playing the game; you have to download the EA Download Manager as well as the game, which takes ages, then install lots of seemingly irrelevant software such as Gamespy and Punkbuster. Next you need to activate the booster packs and then create a new account for multiplayer gaming, which is also host to its own set of problems. The whole process is stupidly complex; PC games are rarely straightforward to install, but Battlefield 2 is one of the worst offenders I've come across. Grrr!

Still, these little hurdles are well worth navigating to enjoy the fast-paced and unpredictable multiplayer action romp that is Battlefield 2, where no two games are ever the same - and because you never know what to expect amidst the hail of lethal projectiles, you simply don't have time to get bored, especially with the booster packs adding even more content, bestowing a lifespan that can potentially last indefinitely. Even if you don't have the set-up to play online, there's still a very engaging single player mode to enjoy. Essentially the same as multiplayer except with computer-controlled bots taking the place of human players, the single player is a big success thanks to surprisingly impressive AI, which often serves as a convincing substitute for real people. Unreal Tournament really set the benchmark for combat-focused AI - and the bots in Battlefield 2 are almost as sharp. You might find the occasional instance of teammates running over each other or of troops running backwards and constantly aiming straight up, but these incidents are rare and, when at its best, single player is just as enjoyable as a heated battle against human competitors.

Battlefield 2: Complete Collection is an assault on your senses - and a stunningly good one at that; if you enjoy fast-paced multiplayer action shooters then this is about as good as it gets. There are plenty of more recent alternatives available, but Battlefield 2 has incredible gameplay, top-notch sound, impressive visuals and a single player component that's far more than an afterthought. As an ardent gamer who's madly trying to keep up with the latest releases, I can honestly say that I've never had as much fun playing a re-release as I have in the past few days; it might be old and slightly battle-scarred, but Battlefield 2 is one veteran with plenty of fight left in it.

Reviewed by Tom Clark for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).