Pilot Down: Behind Enemy Lines

Are Kuju And Oxygen Interactive stuck in 2001 or something? Last month we had the criminally bad Conspiracy: Weapons Of Mass Destruction (20 minutes of your life you'll never get back); this month it's Pilot Down and things aren't much better.

Trapped in World War II (or a bland, texture-free, sub-standard, Al-filled version of it anyway), you have to sneak about from one level to the next, silently offing the odd German soldier in a manner that would have Sam Fisher laughing into his goggles, and working your way towards freedom.

To look at the recent output by Kuju, in terms of game mechanics, visual quality, or even interest, you can't help but think the staff has been replaced by a bunch of work experience kids programming with copies of My First Game Creator rather than C++, or the whole team is busy ploughing through a series of contractual obligation titles in order to clear the decks for something better. On a personal level, my hopes for it making a decent fist of EA's Rail Simulator are fading with each passing release.

There are occasional flashes of originality that indicate someone in the office was looking at the stars from the gutter of his desk. RPG-style stat improvement, comic-book level interludes, inventory juggling - but it's all too little, too late, as the whole thing is just woefully unengaging. Free from polish, variety or flair, at 30 quid you're far better off with just about any other game. Apart from Conspiracy of course.