Forge Games, the development studio that created classics such as "Pong Extreme", "Golden Dragon Sword War Ultimate" and "Killmaster 2: More Bullets" has released a new masterpiece: Blackwater: The Game. Based loosely upon a series of over-the-top action novels, Blackwater is definitely the FPS of the year, if not game of the century.

The game controls extremely well: as you spread machine gun fire into crowds of Iraqi civilians, the responsive, well laid out controls make you feel like you're doing it yourself. The quality graphics make every detail of roundhouse kicking a Kurdish teen for looking at you cross-eyed incredibly realistic. No expense is spared in the sound department either: the screams and curses of your victims are in authentic Arabic.

There is a large selection of weaponry, armor, and vehicles for the player to choose from. As a Blackwater mercenary, you're far better funded and armed than any US army soldier. This reviewer's favorite weapon is the "Rage gun", an experimental weapon that shoots beams of purified hatred gathered from earlier foes.

In the game's main story mode, you take control of Rex Extra, a chiseled, gruff, well-armored loner with a mysterious past. The game opens with Rex Extra getting kicked out of the US Marines for use of extreme force during a PR event at a retirement home which, unbeknownst to our hero, is full of terrorists. Hold on, from here on things get a bit contrived: Rex Extra signs up with a mercenary core called Blackwater in the employ of the US government. Before long, he finds a mentor in the enigmatic Blackwater founder Erik Prince. After several missions killing baby-eating commie-terrorists (Bagdad's full of them) the game's key twist occurs: Rex discovers the organizations secret malignant nature.

I must take issue with how unrealistic the game's story can be at times. The idea of any competent government utilizing an organization as overtly evil as Blackwater is ludicrous. The twist is delivered with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and Rex simply seems stupid for not noticing. Its simply too over the top. Really: a private army of unstable mercenaries, accused of selling weapons to terrorists they fight, with a shoot first-ask questions later attitude, needless slaying of innocents, and blocking investigations into deaths of its members? Wait, there's more: it has deep ties with fringe elements of the government, trains over 40,000 people per year, a black wolf's paw in the middle of a blood-red crosshair as its logo, and free reign to produce airships and armored vehicles. Even by video game standards, it's a tad far fetched. Even the name of the organization sounds malicious!

After the twist, the action increases tenfold in intensity as the game builds up to its conclusion. Rex spends several missions mowing through wave after wave of Blackwater soldiers. Like every other FPS on the market, you'll need to kill enemies (robo-terrorists and Blackwater alike) in near genocidal numbers. After a series of increasingly huge boss fights, (including, but not limited to fights with a tank, the commie-terrorists' sentient dirigible, and a giant flying robotic fist approximately the size of Tennessee) you finally face off against Erik Prince in his North Carolina headquarters. Erik explains how you and him are not so different, then tries shooting you in the chest. Thus begins the final boss fight against Erik Prince, who triple-wields pistols and can take more bullets than any human should. Fortunately, by this point in the game you are in possession of more firearms and ammunition than god, and can dispatch him with relative ease. The self-destruct sequence of the base activates, and you escape the exploding compound upon a hoverboard while mowing down minigun-wielding Blackwater commandos. The last scene of the game shows Erik Prince's corpse sprawled among the ruins of the base, when suddenly his eyes open. Look for "Blackwater 2: The Revenge" to appear in stores Spring 2012.

The multiplayer is where Blackwater truly shines. There are 7 cooperative-only missions, where as an elite team of Blackwater troopers, you complete various objectives. These objectives include eradicating entire Iraqi neighborhoods, protecting arms shipments to Kurdish militants, and obtaining federal pardons for your innumerable crimes. But the unique "duck and cover" mode is far more amusing. In this mode, players take the roles of innocent passerby trying to stay alive. Tactics like duck, rolling, playing dead and praying are available to try and cling to life. The player who stays alive for the longest period of time is the victor.

Blackwater: The Game is available on all major gaming platforms. the difference between the different versions is marginal: the PC can hold seven times as many people in online matches, the Wii controls have the minor issue of "not functioning", and your PS3 will physically implode if you insert the disk. The 360 version comes with a free Blackwater t-shirt with an authentic bullet hole.