The latest episode in the Command and Conquer (C&C) universe is a bitter disappointment.

Renegade is mindless, repetitive, ugly and nowhere near good enough to keep discerning gamers happy.

It is set in the near future when the forces of the evil Nod faction are up to all sorts of shenanigans. You take the role of Major Havoc, a maverick officer in the quasi-Nato Global Defence Initiative (GDI) whose mission it is to rescue a group of kidnapped scientists.

Needless to say, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders.

Throughout the game you are given secondary objectives, such as taking out the missile launcher that will enable your general to send in reinforcements who will then lay down covering fire and take a fair few bullets on your behalf.

But it is a kind of pantomime war.

Things get a little more interesting whenever you take control of a tank or humvee but any excitement soon crumbles under the weight of dumb enemies, who reduce the game to a shooting gallery, and the poor graphics.

As well as being stupid, the Nod soldiers are identical which adds to the repetition. The missions are all assault-based with no cunning tweaks to reward you for playing.

The multiplayer section is poor, except for the C&C mode where players get their own base with tanks, harvesters and soldiers.

Renegade has plenty of things to kill but someone should have told Westwood that isn't enough anymore.

Price: £29.99.

Contact: www.ea.com
Feel good factor: 3 out of 10.