By Mark Ward BBC News Online technology correspondent

The street fighting is intense in Call of Duty

Wolfenstein 3D had it, Half-Life had it and Call of Duty has got it in spades.

The shooter has just been recognised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as the best game of 2003.

As you would expect, Call of Duty does the basics well. It looks good, the weapons are authentic enough and their restrictions are balanced against the number of German troops you face.

The Germans try to outflank you, avoid the hand grenades you throw and wait for you to appear before shooting.

Levels are well-designed and set in lots of different locations, do a seamless job of drawing you on, and are very varied.

You get to carry out British, American and Russian missions that include tank warfare, using an anti-aircraft gun to shoot down Stukas, daring rescues, car chases and even a short sojourn on the German battleship Tirpitz.

War is hell

But it is in the squad-based missions that Call of Duty really shines.

Call of Duty: It's not just about you

In most first-person shooters you only have to worry about yourself.

But in Call of Duty it is all about your unit. You have to back each other up, provide covering fire, make sure no-one is caught by friendly fire and work together to finish the mission.

If you hang back and do not play your part, everyone dies.

Sometimes it can be hard to get yourself moving when you have seen a machine gun rip your squad apart but you know that if you hesitate, everyone suffers.

Officers and other squad members are preserved through some of the missions and the scripting is done so well you soon get to recognise, and care about, your fellow infantrymen.

Sometimes the odds are almost overwhelming, such as in the Pegasus Bridge mission, and give you a tiny inkling of what some soldiers in WWII really faced.

It's atmospheric, as authentic as Saving Private Ryan and often genuinely gripping.