Battlefield 1942 took armchair patriotism to a new level, with online combat duty for up to 64 players at a sitting and immersive gameplay. Now Battlefield is back in a new outing, set in the present, with armies slugging it out at nuclear facilities or fighting for control of vital electricity grids.

Players sign up with one of three superpowers — the US, Chinese or the Middle East Coalition — and are then hurled into battle to secure vital control posts. A few seconds after being killed, your character reappears at a spawn point, and the madness continues until one side has captured all spawn points. The game is at its best when played online or across large networks, since real opponents can be ingenious and make better fidgety targets.

This is a future classic, destined to be responsible for many wasted nights in the year ahead.

Tim Wapshott

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