For a game ostensibly all about tanks and jets and explosions, there's a surprising amount of depth to the actual battles of Battlefield 4. While there's nothing that revolutionises the franchise – like its predecessors, this is all about large multiplayer conflict on land, sea and in the air – the real pleasure isn't in the raw mechanical parts but in how the action flows effortlessly across the sprawling maps. Combat is never just a case of insanely rushing the enemy, and there's real strategy to player decision-making. The most satisfying moments come from out-thinking the enemy rather than out-shooting them, and there's enough content here to keep you engaged for a very long time.

Battlefield 4 also has the potential to look stunning, though platforms vary wildly in visual quality. It just looks tired on the old consoles, compared with a new PC or the upcoming next-generation releases, and that really matters in a game all about large-scale spectacle. There are a few irksome bugs which can spoil the experience at the moment, but doubtless they'll be fixed soon enough. At its best, Battlefield 4 is a clear success – the next word in team warfare.