Eidos' Shellshock: Nam '67 for the PS2 is one of the few controversial war-based games and for good reason. After all, it's based on the Vietnam War, one of the most hotly debated conflicts the world's ever seen. With that being said, while the game is at times fun to play, the choice to include some eyebrow-raising content really keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending it, which is a shame, because if you can look past the game's issues, it's an above average shooter that provides some cheap thrills.

"Ho Chi Minh Forever!" Those words echoed through my television's speakers, and as I watched the Vietnamese soldier running towards me, his gun spraying bullets, I couldn't help but think, "Damn. That wasn't right."

Unfortunately, that experience pretty much sums up my impression of Eidos' Shellshock: Nam '67. It's a decent shooter no question, filled to the brim with firefights, blood and dismembered bodies, and tons of weapons. It looks pretty, sounds great, and its presentation, while not incredible, definitely puts you in the mood.

But what mood are we talking about? Eidos and developer Guerrilla have taken their portrayal of one of the world's most controversial wars a bit too far. Their characterization of the Vietnamese people just comes off all wrong, as they appear too stereotypical. Some of what they say is borderline offensive, in part because they sound like some non-Asian guy/gal doing their best Vietnamese impressions, but also because of the actual things that they say. It's one thing to shoot at Nazis, characterized as the evil scourge of the early to mid 1900s, but as I slaughtered Vietnamese men and women, I couldn't help but think that I was doing something bad. Should I even be in this country? Are these people really as bad as the game makes them out to be?

I don't mean to demean Eidos or Guerrilla by those statements. They chose to portray the war a certain way and yes, it was a lot more brutal than the gunfights in Shellshock, and there was certainly no love loss on either side. Still, it's something that needs to be addressed so you know what to expect going in. It's not like I'm trying to issue a Surgeon General's warning, but it was something that actually began to bother me. Now that that's been said, we can move onto the better, and technically annoying parts of the game.

In Shellshock, you play as a rookie on his first tour of duty. The game lets you choose from three soldiers, and you're quickly dropped into the jungle with some fellow army buddies. After a brief tutorial, you engage the enemy very quickly, and believe me, there's a lot more to the game than just mindless shooting. It's not that the AI is very intelligent, but rather, they're very good shots, so planning your strategy and effectively using cover is a necessity. Because of this, some firefights may take well over ten minutes to get past! Of course, this may also be due to the constant enemy re-spawning when you have objectives to complete, which makes completing said objectives very stressful. It's one thing to battle smart AI, but it's another when the computer cheats.

While the game features tons of action, the missions are thankfully varied. You take out gun nests, destroy tunnels, and go on assassination runs, and while this helps to give the game some longevity, it doesn't stop the experience from becoming boring after a time. Shooting people in the head and seeing their brains splatter is a lot of fun, but it can only carry a game for so long, but you may be surprised how long you'll keep playing this repetitive shooter because there are quite a few high-powered guns to play with, gorgeous jungle and city environments to explore, and all of the explosions and gunshots sound great!

Unfortunately, Shellshock has some nagging technical issues. While friendly fire happens in actual warfare, your teammates are just stupid and get in the way too much, though they won't die if you shoot them. Also, objectives are sometimes unclear, so you may aimlessly wander around or wait for an OBJECTIVE icon to pop up to understand what needs to be done. Of course, you can also wait to see which direction your fellow soldiers go.

Graphically, the game is very solid. The environments are varied, ranging from jungles to cities to temples, and each is very detailed. The excessive gore is cool, and explosions and bullets whizzing by look and sound great. The game isn't pushing the envelope, but Shellshock will look great on a big screen TV and sound even better.

Shellshock's a fun shooter filled with intense fire fights and over the top violence, and while I for the most part enjoyed the game, it sort of made me feel dirty. For some reason it just didn't feel right shooting at the Vietnamese given the controversy surrounding the war and the U.S.'s involvement in said war. Still, if you're looking for a decent shooter and you're not bothered by the content, Shellshock's a good rental.