Ghost Recon gets a major face lift in the first next-gen tactical shooter to hit the XBox 360.
Step aside Maste Chief, because there are no energy shields in Ghost Recon. Hit once? Well, you're going to have to listen to the grunts and sighs of your soldier for the rest of the mission as you limp your way through the level. Hit twice? Well, maybe it's time to have a little break from the warzone.
GRAW hasn't moved too far from this traditional, brutal style of gameplay. And believe me, that's a good thing. The major step forward here is one of visuals, rather than huge gameplay changes. Mexico City is very much a different choice of location, in contrast to the open hills or bombed out towns the games usually take place in. This time you feel as if you're in a real, living, vibrant city which has been brought to it's knees by rebellion. And it's your job to sweep up.
The opening level sees you flying above the skyline inside a military helicopter, looking out onto the breath-taking vista of the largest city on earth. The real shock comes when you hop out of the chopper and take a few steps foward, realising that it wasn't actually a cut-scene but a real piece of gameplay. And things only get better from here. Lighting effects are wonderful, with the sun reflecting off the concrete and blurring your scope if you move to quickly, or stare at the sun. Shadows are cast to a near-real degree, and the whole world is reflected in the glass windows of shops and abandoned buildings. GRAW is a pretty game to say the least.
But enough of that. Let's talk about the gameplay. Well, it's solid, but not without it's flaws. There are some major improvements over previous outings, such as the ability to command armoured vehicles from trucks, to tanks, to freakin' APACHE HELICOPTERS. Sorry. Also, there's a lot more variation and continuity to the levels. Now you always know what it is you're doing, why you're doing it and what purpose it will serve in contrast to say, Ghost Recon 2, which often saw you blasting your way through an enemy position, with no idea what connection it has to any storyline. Now you have a start, a middle an end. Good stuff.
Despite this, there are actually a few things which seem to have taken a step back. Or in the case of the AI, a few steps back and then a jump, for good measure. Your comrades will often sit, completely in the open, bullets bouncing around their feet as they aimlessly shoot at bad guys. You look at them and sigh, "for god's sake, get out of open!" before hearing the inevitable "man, down!". This becomes even more irritating when you are given a grade at the end of the level relating to how many of your men were killed and wounded - it's hardly my fault if he decides to sit in the middle of the road, is it? Commands have also become very basic. Massively basic in fact, with the only real instuctions being "go there" or "come back". What happened to Bravo and Alpha teams, both being sent to different parts of the map to fulfil their own roles?
The sound? Fantastic. Really, i dont think i've played a game more immersive. If you have surround sound, you're really in for a treat. Particularly when vehicles, or abandoned cars explode. Or grenades. Or when a grenade goes off, causing a car to explode. "Could you please turn down world war three?" to quote on neighbour.
The game's solid sinlge player experience also comes with a multiplayer conterpart, although this suffers from the same problem found with many Tom Clancy games. And that is the two different studios tackling two sides of the game. There's a noticeable difference in graphics as you jump into a multiplayer game, although that's not to say the visuals are at all ugly here. Also, the beautiful animations in the campaign mode aren't here - why not? Why does that mini-progress bar come up when you reload, like in Ghost Recon 2? It's all very disorientating if you jump from single to multiplayer and vice versa, but hey, at least the controls are consistant, unlike Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory which featured two completely different schemes for it's single and multiplayer games.
Overall, Ghost Recon offers a real next gen experience. It's not without it's flaws, but without doubt it's the game which you cried out for when you first invested in that XBox 360 - the game which tells you next-gen has arrived. Everything from the graphics, to the sound has had every effort put into it to ensure an authentic, immersive experience.
Best Ghost Recon to date, and highly recommended for veteran and newcomer alike.