Parabellum

After the presentation, it was time to get bloody. Jumping onto a server packed with hardened testers, we were surprised to find how quickly we became accustomed to the game’s intuitive interface and welcoming gameplay.

Each round began with a loadout phase. Rather than using Counter-Strike’s familiar credit system, Parabellum places no restrictions on your choice of weapons and equipment. If something fits into your size-sensitive inventory, you can carry it - a feature that could well help prevent the uphill struggle faced by Counter-Strike teams who haven’t registered a victory for two or three rounds and are short on cash.

While the action felt very much like Counter-Strike - though with considerably less satisfying weapons - it was the strategic elements that proved of most interest. As my team-mates and I moved our squads around the tactical grid of New York, a fascinating game of cat-and-mouse unfolded as we and the enemy charged towards the strategic locations in order to gain a valuable tactical foothold.

Thankfully, however, these strategic moments were kept brief by a stringent time limit that had us quickly back in the danger zone for some more shooting mayhem.