This doesn’t take place in a post-apocalyptic world. There’s no brooding score. Its characters don’t chomp cigars. But dismiss it at your peril. This 32-player online game expands on the ‘capture the flag’ mode found in every multiplayer game since the introduction of broadband. But there’s an enjoyable tactical slant to it. For one thing, you can swap your character’s class on the fly by picking up different hats. Need to stop the enemy from taking over your outpost? Pick up a Ranger’s cap and ping an arrow into his soft bits. Need to fix your castle doors before the enemy gets in? Get your engineer hat on and start chopping wood.

You’ll also have to weigh up whether to apply your energies to sapping the opposing team’s defences or building up your own. Do you over-feed your imprisoned princess with cake or build a catapult and leap to your missing monarch’s rescue? It’s brilliantly addictive, rewarding stuff.

With so many tactical options and a maximum 16 players per team, it can get a bit unfocused: without a headset you’re likely to get confused. That said, we teamed up with just one mate and had a whale of a time. This is arguably Sony’s most interesting and quirky exclusive since Little Big Planet.

Aug 13, 2009