Medal Of Honor: European Assault

Though we clearly have the technology to make a ripping good first-person shooter set during The Revolutionary War—“Featuring real-time musket physics!”—apparently game designers would rather we fight World War II. Again. And again. But while the trend in these games, as evidenced by Call Of Duty and Brothers In Arms, is to be more realistic than The History Channel, Assault retreats to video game basics. Extra ammo, health, and weapons float in mid-air like power-ups from Super Mario Brothers, while a rush of adrenaline momentarily gives you invincibility, super speed, one-shot kills, and unlimited bullets. Assault may feel like an arcade shooter, but it's not all killing and maiming: The real challenge is to lead a small squad on harrowing covert missions set in open battlefields with multiple objectives. It may not appease the history buffs, but it will delight the trigger-happy.