On paper, The Outfit must have seemed like an excellent idea. Take a well established video game setting, take some well intentioned game play devices from other games, like purchasing weapons, vehicles and troops; or being able to blow everything up; or being able to capture and hold strategic points. Mix it all together and throw in some colour to make it stand out from all the WWII games and BINGO!, best selling game ever... Unfortunately like Homer Simpson's claim about communism, it only works in theory. When it all comes together in the one place, it all seems to fall apart.

The story of the Outfit sees you take control of the titular Outfit of J.D. Tyler, Deuce Williams, and Tommy Mac, three tough action war movie stereotypes who lead a band of men through war torn Europe hunting evil Nazis and corrupt clergymen. It's clichéd enough as it is, but wait until you hear these guys talk! These guys make Arnie seem like William Shakespeare with the amount of hackneyed one liners they spew forth. Admittedly the odd line here and there is funny, but overall it's too over the top and gets tired very quickly. Furthermore, unlike other WWII games that seem to emphasize that war isn't about ego but rather teamwork, the story here glorifies the individual and his over inflated ego to a sickening degree.

Each of the three playable characters – Tyler, Williams and Mac – have their strengths and weaknesses. Mac is your all round guy, with a machine gun as his primary weapon and flame thrower as his secondary. Tyler is the sniper – rifle for long range shots and a shotgun for close range. Unfortunately he's a little weak and can't take too many hits. Williams rounds the three with a Bazooka and pistol. He's tough, but slow. You choose a character to play with at the start of the mission, and can change whenever you die.

The game itself is a pain to play. There are tons of enemies and they keep coming, but they're not overly intelligent, and this is what causes the major frustration. Although they do take cover and use weapon emplacements and vehicles, they never use any kind of tactics against your squad. There are no flanking moves, and they rarely try and bail out of a damaged vehicle. They take many hits to kill and you'd think running over Nazis in a tank or half-track would pretty much be the end of them, but quite often they just get back up. Also whether of foot or in vehicles the aiming reticule feels sluggish and hard to control, so it feels like you are battling the controls as much as the enemy.

Also, although there is a massive amount of destruction to be dished out, it's nearly all for show. If you were standing next to a house, a tank shot it and it fell down around you, you'd have to be very lucky to survive. Well in this game it seems the Nazi's are very lucky, as a wall can fall down, or a missile land right next to them and they receive no splash damage. It's especially frustrating when you call in an air strike or use a tank to try to remove enemies in an area you otherwise can't reach.

There is a point to destruction though – it gives you credits to buy troops and equipment. Blowing things up give you credits, and in most areas there are bonus missions such as blow up four Nazi communication posts and the like, where you get extra credits. Credits then can be used to purchase extra troops, gun emplacements, airstrikes and vehicle drops. This is what the game terms the 'destruction of demand'. By pressing Y, a circle menu appears and you can call what you need, depending on the strategic points you hold. The menu is pretty easy to use, and the equipment is supplied pretty damn quickly, which can be handy in instances where your tank is too damaged and you need another quick, or you need to drop in some defensive gunners to hold an area.

The strategy portion of the game involves a Battlefield 1942 style set up of capturing and holding strategic points on the map. These include communication, armory and mechanical bases, and give you access to new equipment, as giving you a slight edge. Holding strategic points is way too easy. When you capture a point, a wave or two of enemies may assault it, but once you have captured an area, call in some AA and machine gunners, set up a perimeter and go on your merry way to capture the next point. I never felt a need to backtrack to protect the captured areas.

Driving vehicles is a pain. Every vehicle is harder to control than a tank, which makes the tank harder to drive than a rock. What puzzles me is why fiddle with driving controls when so many other games get it right. And when you do have a handle on the controls, the environment conspires to confound you too. There are some things that can be driven through and smashed, but others which simply stop you flat. And even when you do try and avoid certain objects, the physics extends beyond the visual mesh and you get caught on invisible walls. The shoddy controls coupled with dodgy environments suck all the fun out of what could have been the best part of the game.

The game doesn't even look like an Xbox360 title. It's more colourful compared to other WWII titles, but there's nothing here that shouts next gen. The explosions are pretty average considering this is a total destruction type game, and whilst the graphics may appear to be higher definition, the vehicles and character models are quite simple and plain compared to other 'next gen' games. Sound wise the game is adequate, but not outstanding. And as mentioned the dialogue of the heroes both in game and during cut scenes is cliched and trite.

Honestly, I never got to play the game online. I tried, I really did. I sat down for an hour each day over a period of 3 days looking for someone, anyone to play the game with. Not a soul. Not even one. I find this confounding as many people say the game is best played online. Surely if the game was as good as people say they wouldn't still be playing Halo2 or UNO, would they?