So… said the exasperated General were outnumbered, outgunned and the enemy advances on our pos ition relentlessly. I fear there is little hope but to sound the retreat and hope that our weary l egs keep us at enough distance from our foes. It is that, or we hunker in and we fight to the deat h.

Its clear that the limitations of the genre as a whole have been on the mind of the developers whe n creating H.A.W.X 2. Huge open expanses of sky and endlessly firing off automatically targeted mi ssiles at wave after wave of enemy in short spurts it can be exhilarating but in the long term rep etition will scrape through the rush and force the player to hit the ejector seat.

Wouldnt it be great if there was a game that recreated the element of surprise at the heart of eac h conflict, one that would enable players to not only show the understanding of their arsenal but also genuine lateral thinking in the face of something unexpected? That is the premise behind R.U.S.E. It may seem like a familiar rehash of things that have seen befo re. The World War II setting for example means that almost anyone will be familiar with the units, the setting and the factions.

Project Origin is a polished game backed by a huge marketing campaign. Its a good shooter that offers plenty of hectic blasting and terrifying scares, but the graphics and gameplay have been done a gazillion times. The level design also falls victim to a fair bit of predictability. We werent huge fan of the originals generic bland corridors, and although Project Origin gets you outside a little more, youre inevitable dragged back into claustrophobic pitch black rooms relying on the worlds most pathetic flashlight to stop you having a heart attack. Having said that, its probably better to play in total darkness than to see the games hideous monsters lurking around blood-splattered corners. Totally inappropriate for children, Project Origin will appeal only to those who like their games dark, violent, and nonsensical. Its good, but horror fans looking for a more original title will get a lot more enjoyment out of Electronic Arts totally gripping Dead Space.