Having exhausted the gaming potential of both World Wars, more and more developers have been turning their attention to Vietnam to sate players bloodlust. However, while many designers have shied away from the fuzzy morality and sickening violence of real historical events, ShellShock embraces the dark side of Americas longest war.
Taking its lead from gritty Nam movies such as Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, ShellShock refuses to pull any punches;
one early scene sees a group of farmers savagely cut down by jittery American troops when they raid their village, while another sees a cornered Vietcong sniper blowing his own head off rather than surrender to US troops.
Sadly, the gun-totin action is similar to most other action games albeit it with the added menace of jungle mantraps but ShellShock nonetheless treats real events with honesty and an unwavering eye for visceral detail.