Welcome back to the Gulf War for those of you who missed it the first time. Conflict Desert Storm lets players take the roles of either the US or British special forces going deep into Iraq during the Persian Gulf crisis.

Conflict is a weird kettle of fish and for the most part carries out its intended purpose rather well with a number of neat little innovations with regard to weapon selection and ammo types. Weapon changes are initiated with a simple combination of the triangle and D-Pad. It is in this same manner that you can select the type of fire that your weapon is going to operate in.

The game is carried out in a third person perspective and is animated fairly well, although the main character does strike some rather odd postures at times. Your character moves at a steady enough pace however sometimes the camera does get a tad caught behind him making your field of vision slightly obscured.

As the action takes place at various locales around Iraq the majority of your landscape textures are those of rocks and sand. For the most part it does all these quite well, though I was a bit off put by how the character models look out of place as they are, for the most part, very well defined, but the rest of the game looked rather bland and incongruous. The title is well thought out and implemented and the various missions will keep players interested. On top of looking after your main character, an interesting twist is that you are looking after 3 other squad members as well who gain experience over time spent in combat so it's not worth frittering away your men thinking they are expendable as the very nature of the game makes them more valuable, especially if those other players are your buddies in real life playing co-operative mode with you!

Conflict: Desert Storm sounds fantastic as well, drawing players further into the game with realistic sounds from all directions assaulting the senses. All the little things have been thought of with regards to audio and it would have to be one of the most well thought out titles with regard to sound that I have heard in some time. As previously mentioned you can choose to play as the British or USA forces and the game will reflect that accurately with your men talking with that particular accent.

Whilst in populated areas of Iraq, the sounds of prayer can be overheard in the evening and night effects such as crickets help suck you into the game's atmosphere. Even working parts of heavy machine guns have been incorporated into the game! As I stated earlier and will elaborate on here, the game's graphics, whilst looking amazing from the screenshot are a little bit haphazard in the actual desert levels. Other levels in the cities do improve and overall the game does look more than acceptable. Collision detection does play a small part in the game with players getting a bit stuck in some areas, particularly with bushes and the like. Light and shadow look good with real time sun effects providing a real feel of being under a harsh light.

Last but not least is the fact that you can actually administer aid to fallen comrades! I was exceptionally pleased with that. Remember though, if you are going to play medic, get to your troops fast as they won't last long especially if they have fallen and are under fire.

Your troops are easy to control and are also very obedient. Harkening back to my comments about the audio, you can hear them whispering to each other as they go about their deadly business.

Conflict: Desert Storm is a fun, well planned out game and worth the price of purchase. If you are after eye candy then maybe a rent first will allay any fears. Audio sounds great and a real plus to the title. Give it a shot and see what Iraq holds in store for you!