Battlefield: Bad Company 2 reviewed on PlayStation 3 by Harry Neary. Game supplied for review by Electronic Arts

Recently I've been thinking I don't like shooters anymore, certainly not shooters on consoles. But having spent the last week playing Bad Company 2 I realise that I love shooters - I was just very fed up of playing mediocre releases.

This latest game from DICE shows how a console shooter should work. It features a hugely entertaining single player game and backs it up with an equally well thought out slice of multiplayer action. There will be people who play both - or people who play just one of these two components - but unlike many similar games each component is worth the asking price.

Not only is DICE showing rivals how a modern console shooter should be constructed, it also superbly demonstrates how to get the best from PlayStation 3. While not quite as smooth as the X360 version - thought there's very little in it - this is one of those times that you won't feel like you're getting the poorer version by booting up this PlayStation 3 game.

The single player game is exciting, varied and often very funny. The script style is very Shane Black - so much so that the characters have a brilliant conversation about the scene in Predator where Billy tries to take on the beast, a movie featuring Black and his dialogue writing skills. This isn't some po-faced right-wing hymn to the American flag, it's a cynical ramble through warfare reminiscent of Kelly's Heroes. In fact the team's chopper pilot isn't a million miles away from Donald Sutherland's character in that movie.

That's not to say the action isn't serious. Sure there's no cover button - we didn't have to copy everything from the other game did we - but on the whole the gunplay works really well. Unlike some games where you have to keep shooting respawning enemies until reaching a certain trigger point on the ground BC2 offers you a choice in how to approach each firefight. You can pick off targets long range with a scoped rifle, or get in there with an SMG.

Your AI buddies are smart enough to help yet at the same time won't pick off all the targets and leave you nothing to do. Some games use AI squadmates as atmosphere rather than gameplay elements - but your team really does put in some effort. I was stuck at one point in the game where we were funnelled into an ambush. After dying several times I decided to wander back to a resupply point and change weapons, when I got back my AI team had actually mostly defeated the enemy. I like that. I also like the destructive environments that really lend an air of unpredictability to the proceedings - you can't take cover for granted.

One irritant is that there's no prone position. This was removed due to criticism by players in the multiplayer beta. Fair enough. But it seems odd that it was removed from the single player game, there are plenty of times where it would have been really useful.

Some of the pacing later in the campaign felt a little off too. I really enjoy the gunplay in the game but at one point in the campaign we get stuck in gimmicksville for a while. First there's a solo section, then a tank driving section, then riding humvees. Now all these work pretty well - the solo section requires you to light fires to keep warm on a mountain, the tank section could be a brilliant game on its own. But when strung together they seem to take the momentum out of the game a little - perhaps they should have been spaced out between regular levels.

That niggle aside I had a huge amount of fun playing through the campaign and have already gone back and played through some of the missions again with different weapons and different approaches. Yes it's a linear game, and sometimes it's even on rails, but there's enough leeway to allow the player to do things there way - there's even a more open world section where you can the order to tackle the objectives.

Moving on to the multiplayer the result is equally strong. DICE really knows how to do online multiplayer. While it may annoy the hardcore PC BF players I thought the game's streamlined approach works very well.

It is unnerving though how quickly some people have reached higher levels and its about time we either had regional matchmaking or worldwide release dates for games like this. Many of you in Europe will be buying the game today and will be facing players who've reached higher levels and have had nearly a weak's practice.

The game's eight maps are beautifully designed - offering myriad ways of funnelling combatants together without it seeming forced. Equally well balanced is the gameplay and I've taken part in many a fight that's seemed lost only for the tables to be turned - and more than a few where our victory to seem certain only to be defeated. DICE has done a great job balancing the maps and the way such modes as conquest play out.

There's balance too in the progression system. While veteran players will have an advantage there's no sense that they can become unbeatable just because they've earned all the pins possible by winning matches, designating targets or becoming a headshot maniac.

There's plenty to admire in the game's technical and artistic aspects too. This is one heck of a beautiful game. DICE has taken the decision to go with 30fps and detailed visuals over the 60fps and sparse graphics approach. This could have easily backfired if the controls weren't up to the task. Thankfully even with the shooter-unfriendly PS3 controller the game feels smooth pretty much all the time.

And those visuals? At times it rivals Crysis in the jungle sections. Then we have the huge rolling green hills for tank combat, huge crumbling castles, snowy wastes, mountain bases, rusting freighters - all looking fabulous. Character design is equally strong and the texture details and effects are gorgeous. All this on PS3 too - which for once doesn't feel like the poor relation. This really is one of the best looking console shooters I've ever played.

Add to that a superbly funny script, an engaging story about some Japanese super-weapon, likeable characters, a really strong atmospheric score, myriad cultural references, destruction on a grand scale, honed multiplayer and great controls. What's not to like really? Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a fantastic example of the console shooter balanced to near perfection with only a few minor niggles of pacing to drag it down. What's most impressive is that both elements of the game are of such a high quality - there hasn't been a bias between single and multiplayer yet both are so very strong. Bad Company 2 simply rocks.