So this is what they meant by "next-generation gaming." Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (GRAW) is definitely next-generation gaming on the Xbox 360. Where the other 11 games I have reviewed for the 360 generally had better presentation, but gameplay that could have been done on a current-generation Xbox, GRAW finally gives eager gamers a peek at what the future holds for them – and that future looks like a lot of fun.
GRAW continues the exploits of Tom Clancy’s intrepid band of elite fighters as they once again put their skill and training to the test for national security. But this time there is more than skills and training, there is also technology. GRAW takes the Ghosts into the not-so-far-off year of 2013, when the Army is scheduled to have new equipment online that makes the modern soldier about as familiar to a World War II soldier as a World War II soldier might look to a revolutionary war soldier. And it’s a good thing the Ghosts have all these neat gadgets. While in Mexico City to sign a new treaty, the US President is captured by military insurgents who also captured the Mexican President and killed the Canadian Prime Minister. It is apparent these thugs mean business. Now it is up to you as team leader Scott Mitchell to take your guys into the fray to rescue the Prez and save the world.
To accomplish your mission you have all the normal killing stuff at your disposal that you might expect any infantry man to have: bullet, rocket and grenade launchers. But what sets the warrior of the future apart from his present day counterpart is his ability to pierce the fog of battle and thus increase his lethality and survivability. Two new tools give the player that ability.
The first new tool is the Cross-Com window in the upper-left corner of your heads-up display. This sort of picture-in-a-picture display can be used to see what your three squad members see, what supporting elements like armored vehicles and helicopters see, and what your personal recon sees. That personal recon is the second big innovation, and it takes the shape of a small drone that can shadow your movements to give you a bird’s-eye view of your own squad and its surroundings or can be sent away from your squad to let you see what the enemy is doing in another part of the map.
All this additional information is key to your success and drastically cuts down on the nasty little surprises the enemy can spring on you. This is not to say that you will have an omnipresent knowledge of the battlefield and a walk in the park. What fun would that be? On the contrary, even with all that extra information, the fighting in GRAW is hard, bloody and you’ll get yourself and your teamed killed all too often.
The enemy is tough in GRAW. They fight well and will flank your position and get behind you if you let them. The first time you fire into a group of enemy soldiers and see them dive in every direction for cover, you know that these guys are not cannon fodder that are just going to wander into your sights. Of course there will be those occasions that a soldier will stand out in the open or break cover for no good reason, but real soldiers sometimes do that too and also often don’t live to repeat the error. What is more disturbing is that sometimes your own team members will step out into fire. I suppose attrition suffered in previous games has left some of the new cyber recruits with a little to be desired.
In addition to the single-player campaign, GRAW sports the most comprehensive multiplayer modes yet seen on the 360. Playable by up to four via split screen on one system and up to 16 via System Link or Live, GRAW allows for many user-configurable variations ranging from simple death matching to myriad cooperative styles of play. As fun as the single-player campaign is, it is the multiplayer mode that is going to keep this game close at hand for many players. Just as the original Ghost Recon on the Xbox made many people believers in Live and console online multiplayer, so too is GRAW going to make Xbox 360 owners rabid online players.
Of course there is more that is next-gen about GRAW than just its gameplay. The title’s presentation is the best that has been seen on the Xbox 360 so far.
In the single-player game you’ll be fighting in Mexico City. This sprawling urban landscape is incredibly detailed and fully realized as a gaming environment. The city looks lived in with plenty of abandoned vehicles and other flotsam and jetsam of everyday life about. The only element noticeably missing is non-combatants that would surely still be around even after the shooting had started. (Many civilians in Stalingrad during WWII stayed in their city throughout the approximately five months of fighting there. It sucks to be poor and have few choices.) The urban terrain offers lots of cover and many routes to objectives. Of course it also offers plenty of places for enemy units to hide. It is the kind of terrain every soldier hates the most. Death can come from almost anywhere.
The multiplayer maps offer a wide variety of terrains from jungle to rocky dessert. No matter which one you choose to play, they all look great. Viewing them on an HD monitor is almost like being there. It looked so good I wanted to pick up a postcard to show the folks back home, but never found the gift shop. It was all so realistic, I fully expected to run up on one during play.
