GR:AW comes back for more…

Even with the Xbox 360 famed for being something of a shooters machine, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter stands out as something a little bit special. The original GR:AW release lent the console credibility when it appeared in 2006 and nabbed the Best Game BAFTA award in the process, which leaves the sequel – having been in development for a mere 12 months – with a lot to prove.

Gaming purists bemoan annual updates for a reason; they usually differ very little from their forebear and can feel somewhat of a cash-in. Thankfully, not so GR:AW 2. Yes, the familiarity is definitely there, but the award-winning template has been refined here with precision and panache; making for the finest title the Ghost Recon series has yet seen.

See what your team sees

Take the Cross Com, for example. Now carrying a pretty noticeable 2.0 after its name, it’s far easier to use than last year’s clunky effort, making the issuing of orders to your team and tactical technology support all the more intuitive.

You can, for instance, now map the tiny top-corner Cross Com thumbnail view to the full-screen by merely holding the R bumper, allowing you to see what your team sees through their eyes, which makes giving attack orders far easier than before. The first time you move into Cross Com view, task your grenadier with taking out an enemy truck disappearing into the distance, and he actually follows those orders to a tee, you’ll be wondering how GR:AW ever worked without it.

Likewise, the flying Drone has been vastly improved, with the full-screen view letting you not only see from its viewpoint, but actually control its movements directly – guiding it above the battlefield to reconnoitre the area and frame enemies with those helpful red targeting boxes.

Joining the Drone is the Mule, a miniature mobile armoury on wheels which can also act as a forward scout and moveable cover – something which the new Rainbow Six-style cover system takes full advantage of. Simply pressing into most vertical surfaces will see you flatten against it, from where you can peer round, jump out to pull off shots, and even hop right over low walls with the Y button. It’s basically all a natural continuation of the first game, and it all works very well indeed.

All very familiar

As too is the story. Planted once again back on Mexican soil at the start of the game, the Ghosts, commanded once again by player character Captain Scot Mitchell, are on a mission to prevent a rebel uprising which could spell catastrophe for the United states – particularly the residents of El Paso Texas, which plays host to later levels in the game.

At the outset, however, the plot has the effect of making the game feel all very familiar – and it’s not until those later levels that the game begins to feel like a fully fledged sequel. When it does, the tactical play, plot pacing and explosive set pieces really do prove a sight to behold, so it’s even sadder that it all comes to a head relatively quickly. At only 8-10 hours long, GR:AW 2 is significantly shorter than it’s forebear, and more on a par with the playtime of something like Gears of War – though the fact that it stands up well next even to Epic’s brutal blaster speaks volumes for the sheer enjoyment this latest Tom Clancy title has to offer.

Thankfully the multiplayer aspect makes up for the campaign mode’s relative brevity, and can likewise claim to give Gears of War a very good run for its money. It’s admittedly a slower game than Gears, but thankfully a more accomplished one than last year’s GR:AW, with visuals in particular every bit on a par with the singleplayer’s powerful presentation.

Quality by the clipfull

Moreover, the multiplayer options presented by GR:AW 2 are, quite frankly, a little bit scary. Free-for-all and team deathmatch modes are joined by several objective-based variants across 18 maps, each with a play area easily vast enough for epic 16 player conflicts. Indeed, GR:AW 2 multiplayer comes into it’s own when played on Xbox Live, where there’s also a hefty co-op campaign that’s entirely separate from the singleplayer offering to get your teeth into. This is quite possibly the most complete multiplayer offering on the Xbox 360, bar-none.

Despite being something of a mixed bag in terms of quantity, then, GR:AW 2 is a release which boasts quality by the clipfull. It’s every bit the essential purchase the original was for singleplayer gamers, who will find each of the three difficulty settings markedly different experiences to triple the title’s replay value, while giving Xbox Live subscribers a viable, more tactical alternative to the ballistic arcadey brilliance of Gears of War. Whether it will scoop another BAFTA remains to be seen, but Ubisoft can still feel happy here that they’ve done the series and its legion of fans proud.

GAME's Verdict

• Improved Cross Com 2.0 makes tactical play a cinch
• Stll stunning to look at
• A fantastically comprehensive multiplayer suite

• Relatively short singleplayer campaign
• Feels familiar for large portions of the game
• Slower tactical shooters aren't everyone's cup of tea

Review by: Mark Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 09.03.07

“Agh, Gringo!”

Last year’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter marked a step up in quality for the Xbox 360, setting the standard for next-gen visuals, cinematic shooter action and competitive online play over Xbox Live, earning Parisian publisher Ubisoft a coveted Best Game BAFTA Award for their endeavours. One year on and the system’s games catalogue is in far finer shape, but the French outfit remains optimistic about the brand maintaining its momentum this March.

More an evolution than a revolution

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, represents a continuation of the successful formula; more an evolution than a revolution, but one which fans of the first game will enjoy. Having said that, the number of changes here certainly isn’t small; practically everything that made GRAW great has been refined, making for one of the more polished and stylish action offerings even on a console positively punctured by shooters.

Taking its cue from Tom Clancy’s other anti-terrorist series, Rainbow Six, GRAW implements team-based gunplay from either a third-person, or first person perspective, but unlike the Rainbow games places tactics severely below action on its list of priorities. Indeed, as with its forebear, GRAW 2 immediately sees you planted in hostile territory and moving with aggression against enemy forces – notably in Mexico, which was the location for the first GRAW game, and remains so for the GRAW 2 Campaign demo currently available on Live.

Fortunately, fans fearing over-familiarity needn’t worry; later levels in GRAW 2 will shift the focus from Mexico to Texas, and all will benefit from further development of the graphics engine. While characters, environments and especially explosions all looked spectacular last time around, they’ve only been improved on for the sequel – coupled with refinements like persistent smoke, realistic weather effects, and a real-time change from daytime to pitch-black night that’s almost distractingly seamless.

Typical Ghost Recon gameplay

These cosmetic changes, however, pale in comparison to those which alter the typical Ghost Recon gameplay. In terms of your squad, for instance, the presence of a Medic now means you won’t bear the sole burden of reviving fallen squad mates – while (importantly) still retaining the ability to heal yourself. Thankfully, this doesn’t make the going any more complicated; with orders issued in much the same way as before, you’ll be pointing with the right analogue stick and pressing up on the D-pad to co-ordinate your team’s advances.

Helping this will be the Drone – a floating mid-air metal recon unit used to scope out targets and terrain ahead of you. Returning from GRAW 1, the Drone has undergone something of an overhaul, with the R1 button now letting you see what it sees from above in full-screen fashion, and control it in real time to get a good idea of what awaits you. The small vision window in the top left corner is still present, but the full-screen function looks set to be far more useful for planning progress through what remains a thinking man’s shooter.

Joining the drone in GRAW 2 will be the Mule; a new addition to the Ghost’s arsenal which acts as a miniature mobile armoury. Like the drone, the Mule can be steered manually, or positioned advantageously like your squad with D-pad orders. It’s also a viable offensive option; easily implemented as a distraction to draw enemy fire, or ducked behind using the new Rainbow Six style cover system. If Ubi gets the implementation right, these factors could all come together for an exceptionally balanced singleplayer outing.

Gunning for Gears of War

Multiplayer, of course, is what will keep gamers coming back time and time again – and with Ubi-Soft gunning for Gears of War’s title as the most played Xbox Live title, it’s something the GRAW team have been paying special attention to. With GRAW 1’s multiplayer mode taking criticism for being too dissimilar to the singleplayer experience, we’re now being promised a much tighter online frag fest – one benefiting from 18 new weapons, 16 players over Xbox Live (and double that on PC), plus six all-new co-op missions. Marcus Phoenix may have some competition this March.

Launching only a year after its forebear thrust Xbox 360 owners explosively into the next generation, GRAW 2 will have to prove it does enough different to be worth a purchase, but still familiar enough for fans to find themselves instantly at home. It’s a fine line, but one Ubisoft seems aware of, and that will be encouraging for the series’ army of admirers. With a multiplayer demo due to launch on Live before February’s finished, and the final game itself only a month away, we’ll soon see if this year’s Ghost Recon provides another award-winning performance.

Preview by: Mark Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Preview Published: 08.02.07