This is dumb, astoundingly so in fact. The plot is cobbled together from MacGyver scripts, the game dynamics are a rehash of just about every game ever conceived, and the voice acting is atrocious, yet despite this, or perhaps because of this, Counter Terrorist: Special Forces is a game that manages to become more than the sum of its recycled parts. Against all the odds, and against our better judgement, we can't help but like this lesser MGS, Splinter Cell, Mercenaries and Syphon Filter rip-off. The blatancy with which it 'borrows' is part of its appeal, really.

Alternating between heroes Raptor (think Arnie's Raw Deal days) and Owl (Sam Fisher's little wannabe brother), we're sent on various lunatic missions across the globe to stop a bunch of cliché-akovs from unleashing all manner of preposterous nonsense on the globe. Raptor does big guns, Owl does shadows, so interchanging the two characters effectively allows us both a shooter and stealth game experience, and the two styles complement each another. Owl ultimately makes for better gaming though, thanks to his stealth suit, and various vision modes. One of these modes includes a nod to Batfink, in the form of supersonic sonar radar - a glowing pink spherical grid that emanates from him to illuminate enemies behind walls. Pointless? You bet, but it sure looks good.

Both characters respond perfectly adequately to commands, with the targeting seemingly pixel accurate, and general commands standing up to the onslaught of enemies. Riding in jeeps, hovercraft and speedboats is also fine, but nothing like as accomplished as GTA or Mercenaries. The range of weapons is excellent though, the best of which propel large explosives at an enemy with speed. Superb ragdoll physics have corpses exploding with ferocious frequency, which means it never becomes a chore to click the trigger.

The enemy AI is also impressive, but never as good as it should be. It's not particularly intelligent, for example, to continue a conversation with someone ten seconds after a sniper has taken their head off.

And so it goes on, the broad range of gameplay styles and demands made of the game are always rounded and solid, but only on a few occasions does it exceed itself. Considering the £20 price tag though, Special Forces continues to do considerably more things well than you'd expect it to be capable of. Sure, the entire game isn't great, especially the use of abysmal looped enemy sound bites. Dead enemies scream "There he is!" and "Group up, fire on command!" but you can learn to live with it.

Regardless of chattering corpses, there's a real effort that shines through. It's unforced fun that pays homage to greater games and seems not to give a rat's ass about finer details such as a plot. There's enough to drive the action, and that's that. By rights this should make the game a hummer, a real stinker, but it ends up standing up to serious scrutiny as a well made, thoughtfully developed title, that while lacking any kind of innovation and finesse, more than compensates for its stupidity with a whole heap of guns and gusto.

1. It's great, unpretentious fun that doesn't seem to care in the least about stealing the best bits from every other game out there.
2. The physics are great. You'll never tire of throwing a grenade into a cluster of enemies and watching them fly through the air.
3. The range of weapons is amazing, and there's plenty of ammo to last even the most gung-ho gun nut.

1. The AI could have been sharpened up a bit. Who stands around and chats to a dead person? Grrr...
2. If you're looking for originality, you'd find more in the next series of Pop Idol. Really, there's very little new material here.

For what it is, Special Forces excels. It's daft as a brush and never surprises, but at least everything it rips off, it does well.