Heroes of War: Sand Storm

It's been labelled as a puppet conflict, serving as a mere cog in the greater Cold War, a blatant invasion in a crude attempt to quell Islamic freedom, and even a trap set up by western powers to lure USSR forces into their own personal Vietnam. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s has been viewed from many different angles, but it's not often been deemed as suitable material for a heroic war tale.

Not just due to the political ramblings, but because it was a war without victory or resolution. It's not uncommon for war shooters to fall on the dark side of combat (anyone who has sampled any recent Call of Duty will be more than aware of that), but Heroes of War: Sand Storm is neither a realist's nor a romantic's approach. It's a shooting gallery. A modern day, first-person shooting gallery, set in a fairly recent, unresolved and bloody conflict.

So unsuitable is this marriage, which sees you taking down turban-wearing Taliban members like skittles, that you almost expect a bell to ring out every time one hits the ground.

Putting aside any quarrels with its setting, evaluating Heroes of War as nothing more than an on-rails shooter is a fairly easy task, given it's as basic as they come. In terms of plot, you play as a Soviet troop clearing vital bridges, camps and alike of Taliban forces, fending off attacks in the process. In reality, this means you're pushed down a predetermined path, switching left and right and firing with the '5' key whenever a Taliban fighter happens to pop his head into view.

The whole event is scripted, meaning the game guides you forward once you've cleared all of the combatants in each area. This is a question of aiming at your foe (by switching sides with the '4' and '6' keys) and firing with the '5' key, with one shot in the head or two to the torso eradicating the threat. Taking down the Taliban is complicated a little by the default view, which places you behind your gun some distance away, although you can zoom in my hitting the right soft key.

Doing so does restrict your movement somewhat, meaning successful play comes from mixing the two viewpoints. Indeed, in standard view, you can swear blind you've hit the bullseye only to see your rival pop back up again to take another shot. That's, however, more to do with the dodgy nature of gameplay than it is any viewpoint. Walls, rocks, trees – in fact, any kind of shelter – are all useless for your opponents, with your 'magic' bullets piercing through any cover they hide behind with ease.

Conversely, headshots seem to be awarded randomly and it's common to hit your target numerous times before any of them actually register, all while you're taking damage of your own.

Not that your health is ever under serious threat. Like some traditional FPSes, Heroes of War has a health system that requires you to administer health packs yourself – of which you have three. It's very rare in the seven missions on offer that you'll ever come close to using all of them, with any deaths being the result of your own forgetfulness rather than any skill on the Taliban's part.

Equally forgiving is the level system, with every area you unlock playable at any stage. The question is, will anyone really want to? Even if you overlook its faults, Heroes of War never ventures beyond the routine, and its set-pattern play can be exploited ruthlessly a second or third time through. Levels differ only in terms of the number of enemies you're expected to tackle, with no attempt made to stray from the 'on-rails shooter' handbook.

It moves smoothly, it looks adequate and it's tolerable in very short doses despite its mistakes. But its slightly sterile approach to play combined with its ludicrous funfair take on one of the most contentious wars in modern history make Heroes of War: Sand Storm an odd beast. It's the gaming equivalent of setting a sit-com in Guantanamo Bay, or wearing Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party – it's just not done. And while the developer no doubt never intended to offend, it's hard to view Heroes of War's assault on Afghanistan as anything more than a slightly bizarre and ill-advised example of digital warfare.