Conflict: Desert Storm is an arcade game at heart, but with enough strategic elements to keep tacticians happy as well. In fact, the careful blend of arcade action and strategy is one of the things that makes this game so playable and satisfying.

You take control of a four-man SAS or Marines squad that executes 15 crucial missions, the success of which will end the Gulf War before it can escalate into a worldwide conflict. First up though is the training, which is well worth taking part in as it teaches you all the skills you will need to survive in enemy territory. Once you've completed the training, it's off to war.

The action is viewed from a third person perspective, with the camera remaining behind the soldier you currently control. Your soldiers are easy to control and as well as running and dodging, you can get down on one knee or on your front, making it harder for the enemy to see and shoot you, but slowing your progress to a crawl and limiting your field of view. A range of weapons are on hand, including various semi and fully automatic machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, anti-tank and anti-aircraft launchers, grenades, smoke grenades, anti-tank mines and of course, good old C4 explosives for blowing stuff up. And for times when all this isn't enough, you can sometimes call in artillery strikes and precision air strikes. You also have objects to use including binoculars, medikits and night vision goggles, the graphical effect for which is excellent.

You have control over all four men in the team, switching to any of them with a button press while the others carry on without your supervision, acting intelligently. In fact, you can rely on your team mates when they're under computer control to perform almost as well as you do. This game's key to success is its accessibility, it really is easy to pick up and play. There are no endless menus and inventories to sift through, everything can be accomplished with a couple of button presses and this is very useful when you're in the heat of battle and need to change weapons or move quickly. You can command one, two or all three of your team mates to follow you, hold their positions or individually direct them to locations you specify, to set up a crossfire zone that will mow down any enemies that approach. You can set any combination of your team mates to shoot enemies on sight, otherwise they will only fire when fired upon. They will defend themselves at all times and once one starts firing, the others will turn to back them up. They will even make use of their grenades and medikits without you commanding them to do it. A system has been set up so you can easily swap items with each other and use medikits on your comrades as well.

However, inevitably your men will get shot down in combat, but they aren't killed outright, another good touch. Once a man is down, he will lie moaning on the floor as he gradually loses blood. Within a few minutes he will be dead, but until then if you can get another man to him and heal him, you can get him back in the fight. This means that you don't lose a man because of one careless mistake and strongly encourages loyalty to your men. A status and experience system has been created for your four troopers and at the end of each mission they receive rewards in the form of experience, medals and rank promotions. The more experienced a man gets, the more proficient they get with using their specialist weapons. For example, one man is a talented sniper, another is a heavy weapons expert and another is the quickest with setting anti-tank mines and C4 charges. The more they use their skills in the field, the more they improve their accuracy and speed.

The campaigns themselves are pretty straightforward and generally involve blowing up the enemies' forces including tanks, anti-tank aircraft, communications posts, SCUD launchers, jets in their hangers and so on. You can steal any enemy weaponry you find and sometimes it is much easier to complete a mission by seeking out the enemy's weapons stash and using it against them! Missions do vary and can also involve rescuing and protecting political figures (and other soldiers) or holding your ground in enemy territory whilst waiting for pick up or reinforcements. The difficulty curve is good and the missions start off gently, but soon become quite tough. The enemy soldiers, although not particularly skilled, are very numerous and persistent. The enemy tanks and aircraft are very dangerous and if you're not careful a tank can kill off your whole team with one shot (it's only when all four team mates are down that you have to restart or reload). There's no quick save option, which is a good thing in this case and you can save only twice per mission, so you have to think carefully before you use one of those valuable saves.

There is also a multiplayer mode where 2-4 of you can take control of one or two team mates each and work together on a split screen. Although this is great fun to play with friends, the graphics suffer a lot for being in a quarter of the screen, so the 2 player mode with each of you controlling two team mates is the best one.

In fact, the only things that really let this game down are its rather basic graphics and sound. It looks okay, but enemy bodies disappear after a short while, there is a lack of detail up close and there's even visible scenery construction in the distance, which is inexcusable on Xbox. There are extra touches such as goats wandering around and enemy camps with beds, prayer mats and even toilet tents, but it could have looked a little more convincing. The basics of the graphics remind you that you're playing a game. Also, the sound effects and music are pretty average too, doing little to enhance the experience.

This is a highly enjoyable shooter with arcade accessibility and a range of strategic elements that leave your options wide open for how you tackle each mission. Intelligent AI for your team members, a simple control system and the ability to switch between all four soldiers set this game apart and it is let down only by bland graphics and mediocre sound.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).