The Russians have invaded New York. It's time to call the plumber

Russian Revolutions aren't solely reserved for Chelsea Football Club, you know. New York is getting a big slice of Uncle Samski too. Over in Manhattan, the local McDonald’s has traded in Big Macs for spam sandwiches and Stolichnaya chasers. All the fat-bottomed ladies have gone into hiding while Brigitte Nielsen lookalikes loiter outside a Brooklyn shopping precinct, selling woolly vests and parkas.

In entertainment, Britney Spears has been summarily executed. Chart-topping 'lesbian' act Ta.t.u. are the new Beatles and Cossack dancing is the new disco. The 'mighty sickle' has also been swiping away in local sport. The Yankees baseball team is now defunct but the Dynamo New York Russian Roulette outfit is being tipped for superstardom. Russia's revolution of the US of A is in full swing. Red is the colour. Vodka is the drink. Communism is the future and it's Lenin on the walls of student bedrooms, not Lennon.

Which brings us nicely onto EA's squad-based shooter, Freedom Fighters. Imagine if Russia had ended WWII by A-bombing Berlin into smouldering oblivion, conquered the rest of Europe by throwing its hefty weight about and then, by 2003, marched into New York to seal its place as the world's undisputed megapower. Yes, the Cold War happened, the Russkies won, and the only salvation for the American people lies in a band of Yankee rebels partly led by - wait for it - a plumber. The future ain't looking peachy if you're the type of guy or gal who gets off on classic Cadillacs and screeching “yee-haw" during episodes of Friends...

You take on the role of Christopher Stone, the artisan-turned-violent American patriot. Somewhere during the course of fixing leaking taps and replacing S-bends, Stone obviously picked up a few tips on guerrilla warfare. Which is handy considering there are suddenly hordes of invading Soviet forces to contend with. As gaming plumbers go, you can forget about big bellies and Village People moustaches - this wrench-wielding dude (nicknamed the 'Freedom Phantom' by a suspicious media) is one of a unique breed when it comes to heroic deeds and mass-scale rampages.

Freedom Fighters, like Brute Force, has received a fair bit of behind-the-scenes tinkering to make it a genuinely worthwhile experience. And fortunately, it shows. Gameplay is relatively sophisticated, action-oriented squad combat that unfolds against a morbid representation of New York. Gone are the Central Park muggings, instead what we've got are brutal rifle-butt beatings from gravel-throated General Ivans. The basic aim is to reclaim major control points from the domineering Red threat, such as occupied schools, fire stations and movie theatres, before finally, making an epic surge on Russian island headquarters and liberating your home nation once and for all. Secondary objectives rear their heads too, normally requiring you to locate and release prisoners or destroy significant Russian supply routes.

Storming into hostile areas is no easy task. Surviving the mean streets of the Big Apple calls for teamwork, and assembling a small squad of rebels is essential for successful campaigns. Recruiting, however, demands Charisma, which is achieved through completing goals and healing wounded civilians. As your reputation swells, so does the number of troops at your disposal. Build a tightly knit unit and suddenly penetrating the impenetrable becomes a distinct possibility.

In theory, barking orders to your recruited rebels should be a fiddly business, but it's not. The control system here is virtually impeccable. Three varieties of commands can be activated - defend, regroup/follow and scout/attack. Tapping the appropriate button (B, X and Y) will assign such tasks to individual members, while holding down for longer instructs your entire team to follow suit. You can stand from afar, zoom into a first-person perspective and position combatants in various points across unexplored territories. Any furry hat-wearing foes encountered will be swiftly tackled, giving you ample opportunity to slip unnoticed over rocky mounds, dish out bullets to the backs of Russkie heads and eliminate troublesome snipers lurking atop craftily placed military towers. Alternatively, you can opt for an all-out attack, letting your team play Rambo while you sit back and savour the important things in life. Like smoking fine Havana cigars and texting pretty ladies on your cellphone...

The AI is impressive, but not always entirely convincing. While most members of the Russian militia are perfectly inclined to take up strategic positions behind obstacles, others are more likely to wander directly into the line of roaming machine-gun fire. The tricky ones play mischievous games of Jack in the Box behind crates and sandbags, while the regiment idiots stagger out into open view, head-butting bullets like they're footballs.

Whether this will bother you depends on your expectations. Freedom Fighters can be excused of such minor discrepancies because it doesn't pretend to be an especially realistic, tactical squad sim. Instead it's far more geared towards arcade blasting than concocting faultless attack plans. Decision-making is generally spontaneous - spy an obstacle in the distance, move your troops in and prepare for war. With waves of Russian hordes flashing their muzzles at your gloating mug, clearing the path of vast chunks of enemy ranks is a necessity. Sure, there are alternative routes to be taken, but tactics often resort to unsubtle diversions being created while you rush a machine-gun post from an appropriate angle.

This certainly isn't a Rainbow Six in terms of stealthy tension - it's nearer an Americanised Dynasty Warriors with guns and the added touch of employing basic leadership skills. Play the game on the highest difficulty setting then sure, stealth rises to the forefront, but don't expect caution to lessen the final body count. Which is perhaps where Freedom Fighters' biggest problem lurks. The missions become repetitive. Laying waste to the patrolling Andreis, Dragos and Kournikovas of the city gradually develops into an overly familiar, if increasingly epic, process. A fun and nervy solo assassination attempt adds a bit of spice but fails to create a big enough spark to march the overall product towards universal glory. It's not that there is anything significantly wrong with Freedom Fighters - it's polished stuff throughout - it's just lacking that extra something to keep you gripped in the long term.

Completing the game won't take forever either, especially if played on the easier difficulty settings, and without much character evolution to draw you in, the sense of reward and purpose is sadly missing.

Still, at least there's the gritty vision of war-torn America to delight. A manual camera tums the game's dank, depressing environments into a dizzying spectacle of burnt-out office blocks and cloud-piercing skyscrapers. Pull back on the Right directional stick to elicit sweeping, Scorsese-like moments through an apocalyptic New York, designed solely for the purpose of leaving you gobsmacked. The soldiers crouch and stalk with conviction, and a musical score ruthlessly jumps between satanic choral symphonies and haunting sci-fi 'noize'. It may lack the instant prettiness of Brute Force and at times the camera fails to focus on the main action, but in terms of cinematic splendour, this sure packs the power to startle. But just as the main action edges towards blandness, one eerily lit street corner slowly begins to resemble another. There are also occasions of frame stutter too, not that this is particularly troublesome.

So here's the drill. Tyrant governments disguised as Communists. Repressed citizens. Propaganda machines. Simmering underground rebellions... Yes, Freedom Fighters is a bit of a modern-day Red Faction, but played out in third-person with a recognisable setting and a far greater emphasis on camaraderie. It's fun, pulsating and dark, and packed with more cruelly stereotyped Russians than the Rocky IV movie where Sly lifts logs in the snow. As an arcade shooter with a twist and lashings of intelligent combat, it's comfortably detailed and keen to entertain. Unfortunately, its lack of depth, modest size and failure to hook you in with a winding plotline is unlikely to keep you invigorated forever. A bit like Stalin's Five-Year Plan, Freedom Fighters is ambitious in concept and glitzy on the surface, but ultimately flags towards the end.

1. Impressive recreation of NYC
2. Intuitive controls
3. Fast-paced, entertaining combat
4. Excellent use of music and sound

1. Repetitive gameplay
2. Samey environments

Power
Sweet if similar settings amidst towering skyscrapers, fluid camera and well-animated characters.

Style
Dark, grainy and cinematic. A powerful score builds the tension as you dart bravely into action.

Immersion
Deep controls yet still easy to pick up, with straightforward missions and intense action.

Lifespan
A bit too easy and lacks variety. still, a good multiplayer mode should add some life.

Summary
Atmospheric and film-like squad-based shooter with a definite sway towards arcade thrills. A bit repetitive, though.