April 2003 saw Activision ink a publishing deal with start-up studio Spark, formed by staffers that had previously worked on EA's Medal Of Honor series. But while the PC games Spark created went on to show Medal Of Honor how it's done, the same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the first console title, Finest Hour.

After an impressive, cinematic opening (which reminded us of a similar MOH opening scene), the first-person fun never really hits the spot. The WWII story is played out in three different Allied-flavoured campaigns - Russian, English and American. Each one puts you in the muddied boots of a soldier and tells his or her unique story of their fight against the evil Axis. You'll get to play scenarios that cover everything from a shrapnel-dodging soldier to a sniper defending Allied quarters from rocket-propelled German onslaughts.

With a game that's obviously had a lot of manpower and money plunged into it, you'd think that some quality time would have been spent with the control system. You only carry two weapons at once, so you have to think about the situation you're in and arm yourself accordingly. But your character walks so slowly that, should you get caught out in the open, you'll be cut to red ribbons by the time you've found cover. Looking and aiming is also a touch on the unresponsive side, making the game more of a chore to play than it should be.

There's something not quite right about the way the weapons feel or act either. It's a bit of a guessing game how much damage each one does. Enemies seem to take the same number of hits before falling with each one you choose, no matter how loud they sound or destructive they look. We even came across certain points in the game where we were clearly shooting the enemy in the head, but the shots just weren't getting through. And this isn't the only glitch we came across either. Too many times we saw expired soldiers floating in the air or our AI team-mates stuck on buildings.

The linear gameplay sees you tackling age-old objectives like taking out bunkers, clearing buildings of enemies and sniping specific targets. We've been there and done it so often that we've come to think of ourselves as actual WWII veterans - especially when woken by a deafening crack of thunder in the middle of the night as if we're having a flashback.

There's little freedom to go and search around the rubble of the destroyed cities. If you do, you might find the odd health pack for your troubles, but that's about it. The quick pace of the game pretty much requires that you stick to the path at all times and don't stray.

What the game does well is serve up some impressive set-piece moments and each level builds up to a full-frontal finale. And the game engine handles these very well, with no noticeable slowdown on screen. Seeing hundreds (well, not quite hundreds but there's a lot) of your men storming beaches or running to face the enemy head on is a great sight, even if the dull and samey graphics don't bowl you over. These magic moments feature everything from blasting a fleet of Stuka dive bombers before they take off to regaining full control of Red Square from the hands of the Germans. A movie-quality score and great sound effects back up all the action. If you've got the full Surround Sound thing going on at home, this will make your ears bleed.

Finest Hour is not a bad game; it's just not nearly as good as it should have been. At times it feels rushed and unpolished but the biggest disappointment is that it's doing nothing new at all to push the boundaries of war-themed shooters. Must try harder.

1. Clunky controls, sluggish movement and a plot that's neither here nor there doesn't make for a good debut.
2. Poor AI of both team-mates and the enemy will have you laughing rather than quivering in the face of war.
3. While the graphics are nothing special, set-piece battles do look good though they're too few and far between.
4. There's a good selection of multiplayer modes though we doubt you'll get sucked in after the mediocre single-player experience.
5. An amazing musical score and great sound effects are the best thing about this game...

1. Pity the same effort wasn't put into the gameplay.

An utterly exceptional WWII shooter in every way. Feels like it's been rushed out the door in time for Christmas.