It would have been possible to write this entire Call Of Duty: Finest Hour review without once mentioning the words 'Medal', 'Of' and 'Honor'. Okay, fair point. 'Of' may have proved a little tricky, but hopefully you get the idea. But why would we, when just about every element of this World War II shooter seems to have been conceived, planned, and crafted to muscle in on the very territory EA's long-running series currently occupies? For chrissakes, the game even sounds similar, thanks to an orchestral score penned by long time MOH composer Michael Giacchino. Come to think of it, even COD's cast is eager to do its bit for the war effort. To quote idealistic US infantryman, Chuck Walker - shortly before we got him killed on a bridge over the Rhine - "It's not about medals or honour. Those things don't matter when you're fighting for your life." After this point, we figured it was only a matter of time before we'd see zeppelins float past with the words 'Up Yours EA' lit up on the side...

They didn't, by the way. Still, it's not as if you can blame Call Of Duty for its "hate you, want to be you" relationship with MOH. Ever since EA's original Medal Of Honor was released on the PSOne, the series has pretty much owned the sexily abbreviated WW2 FPS sub-genre. In fact, with the exception of Activision's own resurrection of the outlandish, occultish Wolfenstein franchise, MOH's popular fusion of thoughtful historical research with cartoonish Nazi-drilling has remained the unchallenged leader in a battlefield of one.

Until now. With Medal Of Honor still en route back from its solid but uninspiring and, let's face it, slightly disappointing soujourn to the Third Reich-free jungles of the Pacific basin in Rising Sun, Call Of Duty: Finest Hour has seized the initiative and moved in.

Not that everything about Call Of Duty is similar. Take the rejection of the MOH template of a single character and story arc. Divided into three 'fronts', Call Of Duty forces you to experience WW2 from the perspective of six different characters from the Soviet, British and US forces, each with their own speciality and handful of missions. On the Eastern front, for example, you have fresh-faced runt, Alexander Sokolov, whose disorientating role in the nightmarish siege of Stalingrad feeds into a meeting with sniper, Tanya Pavelovna. After a couple of tense missions fighting as her, your path crosses with tank driver, Nikolai Badanov. Suddenly you're at the controls of his 'ride' and ventilating panzers. And so the game unfolds from Stalingrad to North Africa, and a palm tree-lined stint as Brit saboteur, Edward Carlyle. After that, it's over to the US forces crossing into Germany during the dying stages of the war. It's here you meet up with, and play as, our friend Chuck and a second tank man, Sgt. Sam Rivers.

Driving tanks? Is this an FPS or what? Absolutely. Enjoyable as they obviously are, stints at the controls of Call Of Duty's tanks make up less than a quarter of the game, and nearly always dovetail neatly into on-foot fraggery in the space of a single mission. This is, first and foremost, an instantly familiar WW2 shooter, with a handful of breathtaking set pieces, cascading mission objectives (pinpointed via an on-screen compass), linear mission routes (albeit a linearity that's often well-disguised), historically accurate weaponry and endless streams of anonymous Nazi goons eager to stop you from trying it all out.

So does this mean that Call Of Duty is just a calculated copy of a best-selling series? Actually, no. For while a lot of the basic ingredients are the same, Call Of Duty: Finest Hour not only manages to combine them with a freshness that, for some, Medal Of Honor lacked last time around, but also adds enough new elements to the mix to create a distinctive feel.

Graphically, COD is a treat on every level. Weapon animation is superb, particularly in the 'zoomed' sharpshooter mode that raises the weapon sight up to your eye. You're unlikely to forget the first time a starburst of BAR muzzle flash fills the screen, with the weapon bucking around in your hands. With very few exceptions, the levels also look fantastic and hold up to scrutiny. In fact, one of the reasons we got poor Chuck killed so many times was that we kept stopping to admire the view mid-assault. Idiots.

Another thing that COD does extremely well is use non-playable characters to create a real sense of fighting as part of an army. While smartly avoiding a descent into squad-based combat, the game gives you just enough interaction with your comrades to encourage you to give a damn. Giving them all names doesn't hurt either - we'll never forget you, Private Brooks. Moreover, the generally sharp, friendly AI often seems to coalesce around your efforts, allowing you to have confidence in your squad's presence without feeling responsible for its safety. Impressive. We also liked the ability to lean out from cover, and to toggle between upright, crouched and prone stances. This is a game where shelter is at a premium and securing it can often be half the battle.

Best of all though, are Call Of Duty's set piece battles. Having been weaned on the incredible spectacle of Frontline's D-Day landing and Rising Sun's Pearl Harbour missions, we thought we were immune to WW2 showboating. We were wrong, as COD's opening siege of Stalingrad is packed with heart-in-the-mouth moments. Thankfuly though, the game doesn't just blow its eye-candy wad at the start and peter out. A jeep ride through desert passes to a fort assault manages to provde both a hefty kick of adrenalised shootery, but also some of the best-looking environments in the entire game. And as for the final onslaught against German forces over the Rhine.. It's not a patch on real combat, obviously, but it's plenty real enough for us.

Sounds awesome, right? So why just an 8/10? There are a couple of reasons. While a slew of online modes will extend Call Of Duty: Finest Hour's life for some, there are many offliners for whom the single-player story mode will be their entire experience. And while the quality is superb, the quantity is less so A solid ten hours is all that most gamers are likely to get before the war is won and it's time to ship home. The other reason COD fails to earn classic status is harder to put into words. Essentially it boils down to (and please don't laugh) a lack of soul.

Perhaps its the decision to flit between characters without developing any one of them. Maybe that's why, as the game wears on, there are periods when you feel you're entrenched in 'by the numbers' action It's then that the spell breaks and you're suddenly less forgiving of the occasional instance of poor collision detection, the ridiculous number of Panzerfaust-toting Nazis lining the streets, or the fact that you're escoring another tank through a city All thigs youd be happy to gloss over if the game hooked you with its story as well as it does with action.

Don't get us wrong, technically Call Of Duty is great and someties it can be truly brilliant. That said, in the war for hearts and minds, the influence of the heart shouldn't be ignored And for now at least, Medal Of Honorkeeps hold of ours. But only just...

Graphics 80%
Impressive and occasionally breathtaking.

Sound 90%
Impressive FX let down by an ill-fitting score.

Gameplay 80%
A few innovations, but otherwise standard.

Lifespan 80%
Definitely a case of quality over quantity.

Overall 80%
Fresher, fiercer and graphically finer than Medal Of Honor: Rising Sun, Call Of Duty suffers in the final push from a lack of heart.