9.5

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

It does not seem that long ago that the first wave of what was called the next generation of gaming hit the store shelves. Now here we are and the sequels to some of those games are gracing us with a whole new hunk of gaming goodness.

Yet again we are boots on the ground with our hero, Scott Mitchell. Ghost Recon Advanced War fighter 2 builds on what the first Advanced War fighter did so well. Tweaks here and there and some improved eye catching graphics make GRAW2 one of those must have games for any shooter fan.

While there is enough run , get to cover and gun and run some more to please any shoot anything that moves fan… there is also some back story to stir the pot enough to make you feel as if your playing a game based on some really cool action film or TV show.

The adventure starts off on the second day after the last adventure (And the first game ended). This time around though it’s not only Mexico that has some worries, now the fighting is getting close to home as the adventure takes us to the U.S and Mexico border. The player, taking control of Scott Mitchell commands the Ghosts …the military’s kick- butt elite of the elite. Scott and his team are called in and the battles are fast and some times furious. While Advanced War Fighter fans will be right at home, there are enough tweaks in the game and some really cool extras this time around to make it one hell of a ride.

The first thing that stood out for me was the improved AI. Not only does the Ghost team members, who by the way, would call out enemy positions when they are seen.

Such as telling the player where the enemy is located, “Two behind the red truck!” Which unto itself is ultra cool. The enemy AI seems to be improved as well. Enemy soldiers lay down cover fire for one another. And move for better position and cover, and even employ snipers to pin you down with rifle fire while their buddies on the ground try to flank you.

The cross com system has improved and has become an even better tool on the battle field. Choosing a soldier, or other ground support vehicle given to the player to command…then pressing one of the bumper controls, the player can see from either that soldiers, or vehicles position. This makes commanding a heck of a lot easier. Using the cross com and the map, the player can position those assets to optimum positions.
Some of the extra little much needed tweaks include a new Medic class that will come in real handy in some of those pitched battles. Add to this some at times much needed air support for some really pleasing explosions and you have some happy smiles on the faces of us Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter players. The impressive blast when calling in a jet plane strike on a ground target is top notch.

I cannot even begin to say enough about the graphics. The light rays filter through smoke, debris, broken buildings and all the environments looks VERY realistic and amazing.

GRAW 2 is a spectacular sequel to a great game, it’s sure to keep gamers coming back for more. I cannot even imagine what they will do for a follow up…if at all.

With the wickedly cool looking graphics, is the speaker shaking sounds of war, or Advanced War Fighter 2 if you will. Bullets flying past, and gun fire all sound crisp coming through our surround sound system. Don’t even get me started on the explosions, set your speakers up including the sub woofer just right and you will feel the blast of the subwoofer tremble under your feet. Now that’s what I call some gaming goodness.

Up’s to the game? Definitely. Downs to the game? That all depends. The first few little missions are training missions. So some players who have played the first game may feel a bit annoyed at having to go through the motions again, just to get to the meat of the game and the start of the adventure. The training missions do serve to show the controls of course, but also serve to show the player before the bullets start flying what new little tweaks are in the game, including some of the cool stuff with the Cross Com system. So, like it or not, your going to have some refresher course in the controls. There is no option to skip the training.

The adventure starts off in the Desert, while some players have made comments that they did not like the looks, I feel the Desert environment lent itself very well to the over all feel of the game. A change of scenery goes a long way, and in each new environment there are the ambient sounds to go along with it. The full on experience with the visuals and the surround sound is very immersive and loads of fun.

Without giving too much away (For those who have not played or read about the game) it’s the classic style of tense adventure that any Tom Clancy Novel is brimming with. Bad guys acquire some extra special bombs (nukes!) and it is up to the player and the team that they lead to stop them before they can pull of what ever it is they are planning.

If the single player awesome experience is not enough, there is some truly inspiring multi player gaming to be had. GRAW 2 delivers the one two punch, single player and multi player, both solid parts to the whole. There are a whopping 18 different maps, with some customizations such as the look of your online soldier; there are enough weapon types to please just about any first person shooter fan out there. There are of course plenty of game types, and if that is not enough you can even combine different elements from the different game types. This is why you would even want Xbox Live. There is a ranking system, and the ability to play one of four different soldier classes. Each one of them with their own unique weapons. If I my be so bold the Online play is solid and has some really good improvements over GRAW 1. If there are any gripes it seems like the single player adventure is just way too short, either that or I am just spoiled and want more of what GRAW 2 has delivered.

Have fun play games
Edwin Millheim