Warpath

Three groups of people have found a nice planet, and no-one seems inclined to share it So everyone agrees to kill each other, and that's where you join in. Hello. Being made by the same team, it's an understatement to say that WarPath is from the same coop as Pariah. It's the product of a monogamous relationship between the same cock and hen. No - it's more like someone hid a chicken behind their back for 18 months then pulled it out again. "Nice new chicken, eh?" they say. "That's Henrietta," you reply. "I thought I'd lost her."

From the sound effects to that portable medical gadget, this game virtually is Pariah. The ammo boxes and the OK-that's-cool upgradeable weapons are all there, albeit with minor makeovers. Even the menus are utterly identical. Not even the whispered suspicion of a shyly mooted tweak. The single-player campaign has changed, however, into a series of not-very-intelligent bots populating a series of deathmatch, CTF and assault levels, leading to unlocked weapons (that are never locked in multiplayer mode) and a 'surprise' boss. The boss is anti-climactic - he has one weapon and it's a rubbish level - but when I left the computer mid-fight to get a cup of coffee, I'd lost 11-6 and was rewarded with victory. I've since rebranded 'walking away' as a 'wily plan'.

The multiplayer is what you'd expect; solid, if generic, shooting action around the levels that bored you in single-player. If you treat it as a few extra maps and a little makeover for Pariah, then fair enough. But pretending it's a new game is pretty cheeky.