It's all going off in the jungle. A scan of our radar reveals we've got Conflict: Vietnam, Men Of Valor and the recently announced Vietcong all due before the end of the year. Iraq and WWII have been done to death and games based on the Vietnam War are next to don the full metal jacket.

ShellShock is the first wave and its unique take on the genre is its focus on the macabre: torture, suicide, napalm attacks, execution, amputation and other stomach-wrenching war wounds. You even have to gun down female soldiers. It's not a pretty sight and definitely not for the younger gamers among us. This is war.

Coding honours have been handled by Amsterdam-based Guerrilla (formerly Lost Boys), the same team working on Killzone for PS2. Since the team started on the game for Eidos, Sony swooped in and signed up the studio to work exclusively on Sony platforms (it's not just Microsoft then). A side effect of this deal was that the game had to be made in the third-person. Don't ask us why and it does suffer a bit for it, but not enough to put us off. After all, we all love the third-person Conflict games, don't we?

As you can see from the screens, the game has a very distinctive and gritty style. The jungle environments ooze atmosphere and tension as a Vietcong warrior could be hiding in cover just five feet from your position. And you won't realise until they open fire. As we said, gameplay is fleshed out in a third-person mode and it'll take a few levels to get used to it. It feels like it should have been a first-person shooter and we would have loved it even more if it was. But once you've upped the sensitivity of the controls, you'll be popping heads in no time.

Before you're dumped headfirst into a sweaty Vietnamese nightmare, you get to pick one of three soldiers and initial your dog tags. It doesn't matter who you pick, as the story plays out the same whoever you choose. The game continues in a mission-based way and you can go back to any level you hoose and on any difficulty level to pick up more medals and intelligence info - little extras that unlock some goodies along the way.

At the beginning of each mission you can walk around boot camp and talk to other soldiers. This all seems a bit pointless in our book and only serves to slow down the action. So find your helicopter, start the mission and get stuck in. Each mission sees you having to achieve a specific objective or two. These range from finding ammo stashes and enemy bases to escorting hostages to safety and taking out Vietnamese generals. It's quite a short game though, about twelve levels in all, with no multiplayer to extend its longevity. But you can go back and finish all the levels on various difficulty settings for some replayability.

Each mission is pretty much a case of gunning your way from A to B. Using cover is vital if you're to survive longer than a few minutes. The Left trigger makes your character sprint for a limited amount of time, and you'll need to use it as you run from cover to cover advancing towards the enemy. You'll be deader than Elvis if you get caught with your pants down in the middle of an open field.

Though you play the game as part of a team, you don't get to control anyone except your character. Your squad will move through the map by your side rather than running off and doing its own thing. The AI just about does its job but members will occasionally get under your feet or in your line of sight. Luckily there's no consequence for friendly fire, but your men will shout at you to cut it out if you accidentally hit them. They drop to the ground and get back up a few moments later and carry on like nothing happened. The enemy AI is also passable, if unspectacular. The soldiers will continue to run at you until there aren't any left.

ShellShock is an extremely violent game that plays on the horrors of war. You'll see people shooting themselves rather than give up valuable info, hostages gutted like fishes, women POWs executed for fun and lots of blood. Cutscenes will shock you, as will the in-game dialogue. It's a videogame nasty in the same vein as Manhunt, but take all that with a pinch of salt and you'll find ShellShock is a great shooter, even if it is a little short.

1. Launch Delay
   The Eidos board has decided to hold the release of ShellShock: Nam '67 until September in order to provide its new franchise with "a better opportunity to deliver its true potential", a company statement said. Looks like we can expect a ShellShock 2 next year, then...
2. Groovy Tunes
   Backing the game is a stunning soundtrack featuring some groovy tunes from the '60s. Before you start each mission you'll be able to chill out to the likes of Percy Sledge, Sonny and Cher, Roy Orbison, The Monkees, The Small Faces, John Lee Hooker and The Troggs.
3. Personal Development
   You begin as a rookie but, as you complete more missions, you'll be able to develop your character into a Special Forces agent before becoming a member of the top-secret Black-Ops.
4. Pain Barrier
   Soldiers won't simply live or die during gameplay. A wounded fighter will still attempt to take a pop at you. Make sure they're dead with a shot to the head.

Power
It looks great throughout and the jungle environment is one of the best we've ever seen.

Style
Perfectly captures the gory side of war with a unique gritty style. You can almost smell the napalm.

Immersion
You'll fear for your life and bury your head in a cushion when the ultra-violent scenes come into play.

Lifespan
With a small number of missions and no multiplayer, shooter fans should cane this one in no time.

Summary
A great game that captures the darker side of war. Definitely not for kids, but older gamers will love its gritty style.