One of Medal's other great strengths is that all its levels are designed to be fun, rather than tediously difficult. The jobs you're actually asked to carry out vary from assassinations and search and rescues to sabotage, and these can take place anywhere from Where Eagles Dare-style castles to underground sewer systems. In practice, each mission feels appreciably different, but all are tense, engrossing affairs in which the accent is very much on winning, rather than constantly having to repeat levels over and over again. However, although the delightfully instinctive controller system with its user-friendly aim button makes killing Nazi's a pleasure rather than a chore, once you've finished each level you do feel one very brave and lucky soldier indeed. Things also get more hectic as you get deeper into the game - Hitler, for one, certainly doesn't leave his pad unattended.

Last but not least, there's certainly no shortage of military hardware to get your hands on, nor is there a shortage of Germans to mow down. You have an arsenal of 12 authentic WWII weapons at your disposal, from the Thompson machine gun to assassin crossbows and bazookas, and you can even jump into German machine gun nests and let off steam with a heavy machine gun. Which weapon you choose to use depends partly on what you've got to hand, and also what situation you're in - drop a grenade in a confined space, for instance, and you're corned beef in no time. As for the enemies on the receiving end of all this, there are 20 distinct types to slaughter, from the Whermacht Light Infantry to the Elite Heavy Shock troops, complete with officers, and none of them like it up 'em. It's Bazooka Heaven, in other words.

We've needed a decent PlayStation shoot 'em up for a long time, and now that Quake II's coming soon as well, it seems we're going to be spoilt for choice. Still, it's Medal that everyone will be talking about this Yuletide: atmospheric, exciting and satisfying, with a decent control system, you couldn't demand much more from a shoot 'em up. Even your dad will like it.