Brothers in Arms

Political correctness is a funny old thing. You're not allowed to say 'brainstorm' any more, in case anyone perceives an accidental similarity between that term and having an epileptic fit. Yet World War II – an almost implausibly depraved historical episode – is fair game. Whether you're filming a sitcom, shooting a film or gloating at German football fans, it seems you can say exactly what you like without fear of reprisal.

Still, we suspect there can only be so many games about calling German people 'krauts' and then shooting them before somebody puts a stop to it.

Brothers in Arms is the latest WWII shooter to have made it to the shelves before that particular curfew. Based on the acclaimed half first-person shooter, half strategy-based PC and console games, this DS iteration dispenses with the strategy but holds onto the sombre sentiment of the series.

Indeed, your first moments in the game are spent swinging by your parachute ropes from the branches of a tree. The game instructs you to look around by placing the stylus on the touchscreen and as you peer down you see another soldier in the same predicament. A moment later, a German platoon walks into view and shoots him dead. This oddly troubling scene sets a serious tone.

Brothers in Arms sees you participating in three major WWII campaigns – Normandy, Tunis, and Ardennes – all from behind the right shoulder of an American paratrooper. You move with the D-pad, while with the stylus and touchscreen (if you have a thumbstick, use that) you change direction and aim. The left shoulder button fires, and there are icons on the touchscreen to change weapons, use objects, and throw grenades.

This control system works well for the most part, enabling you to strafe and aim with something approaching the fluidity of a mouse. You automatically crouch down when near cover and can jump over low walls using the D-pad. Throwing grenades with the stylus is a particular joy. Selecting the grenade icon brings up a power meter, and as you drag the stylus up this gauge, the in-game camera moves into a top-down view showing you where the grenade will land, making it possible to place them almost as precisely as bullet-holes.

The controls are not without problems, though. For example, it takes two full sweeps of the touchscreen to turn 180 degrees, making close quarters combat a bemusing scramble to keep fast-moving enemies in your sights.

The frequent driving sections are also fairly weak. Tanks and jeeps clatter across the ground with all the heft of cheap plastic, and you'll be flummoxed the first time you attempt to steer while reversing to find that you're turning the wrong way. Nevertheless, while the driving isn't great, it isn't terrible either. Poor controls mar the jeep sections in particular, but there's still fun to be had facing off against opposition tanks, firing into crowds of enemy and watching them fly, or hammering shells into the side of destructible buildings to bring them crumbling down.

On foot, you have a limited range of weapons: a Thompson machine gun as standard, and a sniper rifle and a bazooka during set-pieces. In this regard, and every other, Brothers in Arms leads you by the hand through its brief campaigns. A tank rumbles into view and your lieutenant screams at you to pick up the bazooka that's just appeared, or a tower looms out of the blocky fog and moments later a sniper rifle materialises on the ground.

The same level of guidance shepherds you through open play, pointing to enemies and way-points and even telling you how far away they are. However, even within set-pieces you're free to choose how you deploy your weapons. You don't need to snipe, for instance, if you'd rather brave the bullets or try and hit distant enemies with your Thomson. Likewise, if you run out of bazooka shells, you can always run up to a tank and try to drop a grenade through the hatch.

Where the game particularly impresses is its graphics. Although inevitably blocky, and with short draw distances during some of the vehicle missions, the visuals are rich, inventive, and detailed. Flak pops, tracers fly, paratroopers fall, dirt explodes, pink dawns break, and as you run into battle the camera shakes over your shoulder, recreating in miniature the gritty look of every war film since Saving Private Ryan.

In moments like this, when you're charging through explosions towards an enemy position, the game is at its best. There's plenty of excitement in its short, varied, well-designed levels, even if control issues and an occasional sense of flimsiness let it down. Disappointingly, the four-player deathmatch and team deathmatch modes require everyone to have a copy of the game.

One day, there's going to be a great first-person game on the DS. For now though, Brothers in Arms is merely a very good one.