Coming back to Medal of Honor is like returning to an old friend. In my case, it's something of an awkward re-encounter, as I plump for 'Classic MOH Controller' style and realise I can't do it any more. My first experience of console FPS (yep, I played it before I played Goldeneye - sorry folks) and can I even handle moving around? Guess I've just spent too much time on these new fangled consoles. So, grabbing both thumbsticks - one to move, the other to look around, I land on the beach head and begin the game again.

Once again you are Jimmy Patterson, in this first person shooter which aims to place you in the hot seat of an American OSS agent during World War II. Some familiar names and faces pop up for fans of the series, and newcomers to console shooters can't hope for a better chance to get hooked - with atmospheric music and a familiar setting that we can all relate to, if only via countless war movies.

There's much the same in Medal of Honor Frontline, from the gravelly voiced narraror taking you through the war from an American perspective accompanied by old newsreel, to the usual infiltrate, blow stuff up, exfiltrate action. If it hadn't been so long since I played the PSone versions, this might be a dissapointment - it really is just more of the same. If I sound over critical, it's because I'm a huge fan of the Medal of Honor franchise; and would have loved to seen it taken much further, however much I enjoyed the chance to step into Jimmy Patterson's shoes, especially with a graphical make-over.

Sharing the beach landing scene with both its PC counterpart Medal of Honor Allied Assault and, of course, Saving Private Ryan pushes the PS2 game's envelope to a degree. Whereas the Allied Assault drops the level in half way through, Frontline plonks it at the start. This represents a new step in the series' realism - it's extremely easy to die and rams home just how unlucky you would be to find yourself in a real war. However, it's just not got the stab that the PC version has. As usual with Medal of Honor, audio takes the biscuit - with the screams for help, cover, mercy - and the eerie 'thwub' sound of bullets underwater. But to be honest, Conker's Bad Fur Day spoofed that in a game released a year ago.

What the music does achieve so well, is a spooky tension - with a real orchestra joined this time by scary 'oooOOOoooOOoo' vocals from some talented, yet high pitched ladies. The echoey shouts of Germans as they hunt for you, whilst you crouch in a shadowy corner hoping desperately to find a medical flask before they find you, is the sort of thing that will keep you on the edge of your seat - and slugging away until the early hours.

I've been playing the PC version to death, and the chances most people who get the most out of this won't have a PC specced up enough to enjoy Allied Assault. The two are purposefully different though - whereas Assault rams home the difficulty of war with plentiful shots to the head, Frontline allows for a more gung-ho Rambo approach to proceedings. Indeed, those who found the 'walk forwards a bit, get shot in the head, die, try and remember where the sniper was for next time' gameplay frustrating in Allied Assault should probably get a PS2 just to vent their pique in the many bodycount-heavy action sequences in Frontline.

Speaking of action - AI in the game is satisfyingly like that in a movie. First Person Shooter purists may sniff, but I like the Medal of Honor style; the soliders attack in an arcadey fashion (especially early on) and until you're greatly outnumbered by hardened soldiers in later levels, there's lots of enjoyment to be had whirling around generally outfoxing them. When it needs to, the AI cranks up - with soldiers dashing for alarms, hiding behind cranes and squatting in a sniper fashion to shoot you from rooftops above.

Allied Soldiers however, can be a pest - one even blocked me into an alleyway, until I shot him several times in the head to get him out of the way (it was a mercy killing!) Generally speaking though, the other characters will stay out of your hair.

Once you've got over any cultural hang-ups and adopted the new control method, you'll find this is classic console FPS. Sniping is extremely satisfying with the steady 'hand' afforded by a thumbstick - though being able to move around once you've got sniper sights active would be nice.

Graphically, the game has its little tricks - the explosions and characters will blow you away compared to the PSone version, but aren't great compared to Allied Assault.

Basically, if you loved Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor Underground, then you'll love this game - but don't expect anything more than new levels and a graphical overhaul. Compared to what Halo did for the Xbox, Medal of Honor Frontline is just a comfortable continuation. Having said that, nothing much has revolutionised the FPS world to a great degree in the last two or three years - and as time and experience has shown, delivering what people want and no more can be a very sucessful strategy.