Armed And Dangerous is an exercise in goofiness, a journey into a world so deranged it should come with horse sedatives. As Planet Moon has already proved with Giants: Citizen Kabuto, being bonkers is a much underrated asset, especially in this world of strait-laced shooters. It's not often you get to play a Cockney rogue, blowing up sheep while rescuing old age pensioners from an onion mine. It's exactly this kind of behaviour that makes Armed And Dangerous so invigorating.

Control-wise there's little to complain about. Movement is achieved with the Left thumbstick while the Right stick aims with adequate responsiveness. Weapon selection can be a little fiddly using the directional pad, but everything else feels intuitive and fun. Your crosshair lights up whenever you target a destructible object, and that covers pretty much everything. It's a nihilist's dream.

Sticking a mine on a building sends enemies flying out of the windows. Shooting a tree causes the trunk to burn and fall down on top of baddies. It's even possible to cause immense landslides with boulders rolling into baddies like bowling pins.

Mayhem immediately takes precedence over tactical play. Because there are infinite enemies on some levels, you'll only want to kill enough to collect the health power-ups they yield. Standing around in one place is a sure-fire way to end up as monkey bait. Not every level is as simple as dashing from A to B, though. Mission objectives such as destroying enemy strongholds or rescuing pensioners are introduced later on, but they're still pretty basic.

In contrast to these objectives, the arsenal is fiercely original. Firing the shark gun sends a sinister dorsal fin tearing through the ground. Moments later, a Great White bursts out and swallows your enemy whole before disappearing without a trace. The animation and agonising sound effects are superb. Similarly unique is the topsy-turvy bomb that turns the whole world upside down. Enemies fall right off the planet, crashing back down from the stratosphere a few moments later.

Unfortunately, there aren't quite enough weapons to last the pace of the game. Most can be collected in the first few levels from the Grunt and Polewart chain pubs. These boozers also act as save points which you can thankfully return to at any point.

Just like English publicans, your allies come in all shapes and sizes. One is a robotic tea urn who pours a rejuvenating brew whenever your health is low. Jonesy, on the other hand, is a giant mole with a promiscuous mother. He's also a demolitions expert and often throws dynamite into clusters of enemies. Some adequate AI controls both of your partners. Although you can issue basic commands to attack and defend using the White and Black buttons, the squad-based dynamic doesn't work too well. Most of the time, your buddies will die in the first few minutes of battle and there's nothing you can do about it.

Unlike most third-person shooters, the maps in Armed And Dangerous are expansive, picturesque landscapes. Impressively, you can see for miles with little or no fog to obscure the view. Another blessing is that you can take multiple routes through the map, particularly once you've acquired the beetle-winged rocket pack. Carrying a sniper rifle in the larger levels is essential, otherwise it's a real chore to spot enemies from a distance.

We've no complaints about the variety of levels either. They vary from the Bergog Arctic wastelands to the huge industrial nightmare of the Midden onion mines. There's even a quaint woodland hamlet populated entirely by village idiots. It's a shame that the settings don't look more beautiful. The overall standard of graphics lets the game down. Environmental effects like rain and snow lack depth while the central characters appear rough and jaggy.

Worst of all, the cutscenes look pretty appalling. Turning in-game graphics into FMV was a bad decision because it really reveals the game's graphical deficiencies. Strangely though, these same awful-looking scenes are among the highlights of the game. It's all down to absolutely brilliant scripting and sound effects. There's also a special place in our hearts for the Shrub Patrol, a troop of anti-vegetarian robots who help you out from time to time.

Humour is the lynchpin that holds Armed And Dangerous together, glossing over its faults. Here is a game bereft of glossy presentation, but more importantly it's also bereft of serious pretensions. A likeable and enjoyable shooter.

1. Unique weapons
2. Vast, open levels
3. Excellent physics engine
4. Helpful save system

1. Squad-based function too basic
2. Minor slowdown

Power
Graphically shabby and the decision to use in-game graphics for cutscenes was a poor one.

Style
Voiceovers are superb and the script is laugh-out-loud funny. Characters are also really likeable.

Immersion
Frantic shooting hooks you in from the off. Just enough gameplay variety to stay interesting.

Lifespan
It's difficult but there aren't a huge number of levels. Finish in a day on Easy and a week or so on Hard.

Summary
Comedy value and some unique weapons save Armed And Dangerous from being distinctly average.