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				Graphics: 9.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Sound: 9.5 Control: 8.5 Replay Value: 9.0 Live play: 10.0 Rating: 9.0 Publisher:  Ubisoft Developer:  Redstorm / Ubisoft Paris Number Of Players:  1-4 (1-16 Online) Cheats Screenshots
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  Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter from Red Storm Entertainment and Ubisoft is the most eagerly anticipated game for the Xbox 360 to date. After a disappointing showing at X05 last October, Ubisoft sent its teams back to the drawing board to retool the game and delayed its launch (it was originally going to be released in the 360’s launch window). From all accounts of the earlier previews, the extra time has paid off.

  But addicts of the Ghost Recon series will find that as Ubisoft giveth, Ubisoft taketh away, with some useful features from Ghost Recon 2 and its sequel Ghost Recon: Summit Strike (both for the Xbox) missing. But those omissions were probably necessary given the complexity of the new game’s features. (This review is for the Xbox 360 version of the game; a Classic Xbox version of the game is similar but not simply a dumbed-down version of the 360 version and thus will not be addressed here.)

  Two games in one

  As in past versions, GRAW has both a single-player campaign and a robust multiplayer component, playable locally, by system link or on Xbox Live. But there’s where the similarity ends. GR and GR2 had similar single-player and multiplayer components. Single-player missions in which you command AI teammates were largely replicated for multiplayer co-op. Versions of the same maps used in single-player mode were used for multiplayer squad and solo play.

  But in GRAW, not only are the maps largely different, the look of your character model, the graphics in general and the control scheme are completely different. Why? It’s because the single-player campaign and the multiplayer were designed by two completely different studios.

  On one hand, this would appear to be a great gaming value, giving the player two completely different gaming experiences for one $60 purchase. On the other hand, it creates a challenge for the more casual gamer who must learn the differences in order to be successful at either mode. It’s a bit like packing Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and Call of Duty 2 together on the same disk.

  Single player: more difficult, complex and realistic

  The single-player campaign puts you and the three Ghosts you command in Mexico City. (There is now only one female character, sniper Alicia Diaz. Riflewoman Jennifer Burke must have left the Army to go home and have babies.) Leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico are together in Mexico City to sign the “North American Joint Security Agreement,” a treaty to jointly combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking on the continent.

  Rebel Mexican soldiers (evidently fans of illegal immigration and drug trafficking) attack the leaders during the signing ceremony, and the Ghosts’ job is to rescue the President, who has fallen into enemy hands, and secure truth, justice and the American way in Mexico.

  The first mission starts at a point before all international hell breaks loose; Ghost leader Scott Mitchell is dropped by Blackhawk helicopter to recon an illicit meeting, but his orders change after the rebels attack. Mitchell has to link up with the rest of his team and evacuate via Blackhawk to the next mission. (The helicopter ride to the drop point features a view of the rooftops and metal version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” The cover of a legendary 1960s song gives the game a little bit of Full Metal Jacket cool, something new for a series that has always been proudly nerdy.)

  From there, the Ghosts embark on madcap adventures, taking out military camps in shantytowns, blowing up tanks, rescuing foreign leaders, disabling communication devices and generally creating mayhem in order to restore normalcy. The player moves seamlessly from one mission to the next via the Blackhawk; sometimes it’s just a ride, but sometimes Mitchell must use the mounted machine gun in the crew door to take out enemies on rooftops and on the ground to make way for a safe landing. It’s not sufficient to simply hold down the trigger and spray the enemy with bullets; the gun overheats and jams with overuse and is more effective in short, controlled bursts.

  Shooting from the helicopter is a blast. If the chopper takes too much fire from the ground, it stalls and crashes, ending the mission. The vibration of the controller appears to vary depending on how the helicopter is running, adding to the realism.

  The entire Ghost Recon series has been built on gee-whiz gadgetry and weapons of the future; it’s what sets the series apart from other military shooters. True to its name, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter pushes the envelope, showing us what the developers believe, based on consultation with military sources and good old-fashioned imagination, a well-equipped American soldier will use, carry and wear in 2013.

  Two new gadgets make their debut in GRAW and provide a radical departure in gameplay. First, there is the “cross-com,” a device that displays video in the upper left-hand corner of your HUD. The video gives you views from your teammates’ visors and from another cool new toy, an unmanned aerial drone that resembles a flying saucer and tells you where enemy soldiers are hiding.

  You can order teammates and the drone around the map using a 3-D representation that you call up with the “back” button. Your HUD also displays handy red markers showing you where enemies are still alive and a big yellow box that helps you find your current objective. On the other hand, the Mexican rebels in this game might have the Ghosts outnumbered, but they’re all equipped with nothing more than machine guns, t-shirts and boonie hats.

  There is not a single button on the 360 controller that doesn’t have some sort of function in the single-player mode of GRAW, and mastering the controls requires more practice than the training mission provides. As in GR2, the left analog stick moves Mitchell through the map, and the right stick controls the camera. The D-pad no longer controls player position and leaning, however; it is now used to navigate the cross-com display and to issue quick orders to teammates and vehicles. Clicking down on the left stick puts the player in a crouch, while holding it down puts the player prone. This particular scheme is difficult to master for a while, because failing to hold the stick down long enough brings the player back to a standing position, which is the opposite of the player’s intent and a quick ticket to the morgue.

  The game allows the player to choose among three controller configurations. For this review, the first configuration was used. As before, the “A” button reloads, and holding it down allows the player to pick rate of fire for the automatic weapon. The “B” button allows the player to switch from the rifle to the pistol or grenade. Once the grenade is equipped, the “A” button allows the player to choose between frag and smoke grenades (a weapon I was accustomed to in other Clancy games but never thought I’d see in a Ghost Recon game). The “Y” button allows for certain context-specific actions, like hopping over an obstacle, peeking from behind cover or healing an injured teammate. The “X” button selects night vision.

  The right trigger fires, of course, and the left trigger allows Mitchell to hold his breath to steady his aim. Clicking down on the right thumbstick zooms the weapon. Your Ghost can take cover behind a building or other obstacle simply by pressing into it. The right shoulder button then allows Mitchell to switch directions behind the obstacle. Once behind the obstacle, the “Y” button allows you to peek and fire.

  GRAW may be a tougher transition for the GR faithful than for casual players. Those like me who were addicted to GR2: Summit Strike and played it right up until GRAW’s release have a tougher time adjusting to the new control scheme and gadgets than those who came to the game cold, perhaps not having ever played any of the GR games or dropping them soon after their release – there’s far less for them to unlearn. (There’s nothing like pressing down on the D pad to go prone and instead having your entire team cross into unfriendly fire to regroup behind you.)

  Alas, team AI is still lacking. Your teammates are enthusiastic but slow-witted, and you won’t be able to rely on them to kill many of your enemies. They are most useful as a diversion for the AI enemies. You have a certain degree of control over them; you can tell them where to go and whether to use suppressive fire or to shoot only when shot at, but they can’t be counted on for much else. In fact, the games gets simpler in a way when they’re all dead, because they serve no tactical purpose other than to provide a little additional firepower. And there’s no penalty for losing all your teammates. The mission fails when you die but not when you lose Parker. So while it feels good to heal an injured teammate, the risk may be greater than the reward.

  The enemy AI players aren’t much better. There doesn’t appear to be much improvement over earlier iterations of GR. Turning up the difficulty setting makes them better shots but not better tacticians.

  Speaking of difficulty, weapons are now a bit harder to handle than in past versions. There was a time, in GR and GR2, when you could pick up any rifle and expect a certain amount of accuracy without too much effort. Sadly, soldier, that is no longer the case. Automatic weapons recoil more realistically, and holding the trigger down for any length of time will have your shots landing all over the place. Short, controlled bursts are in order, along with using the left trigger to hold your breath and steady your aim. (So realistic is the game that I often catch myself holding my own breath while firing on enemies.) Reloading takes the appropriate amount of time, which means a poorly planned reload can place you in jeopardy. Switching between weapons also takes a bit longer than in the past. Reloading and weapon-switching animations look realistic.

  Graphically, the game pops off the screen, especially on a high-def TV. Because the action takes place in Mexico, the designers gave the single-player game a bright-yellow, washed-out palette that really gives one the sense of being in dusty, dry heat. The draw distance likewise is amazing; items on the horizon do not magically pop into view as you get closer. Rather, you can see as far as the horizon. It’s clear that GRAW gives the 360’s video hardware a workout. (In fact, the game may give the 360 too much of a workout; my console overheated for the first time ever during the first single-player mission.)

  Sound is good as well

  Well-designed combat sims make the most of surround sound, and GRAW is no exception. Shouting voices from your rear speakers give you ample warning that you’ve been flanked, and gunfire sounds realistic. The voice acting is nothing to write home about. Enemies still shout generically (I look forward to seeing translations online), and your teammates growl tough-guy talk with a Clint Eastwood rasp.

  Multiplayer: it’s all about the tradeoffs

  For those with Xbox Live, the Ghost Recon series has offered an online experience matched by few games other than Rainbow Six or Halo 2. GRAW continues the tradition. (The game also supports local split-screen play or System Link, for LAN parties.)

  Multiplayer is a different experience than single-player in more than just the obvious ways. The multiplayer component of GRAW was designed and implemented by Red Storm, while Ubisoft Paris developed the single-player portion.

  As such, it has a whole different control scheme (much to the chagrin of those of us trying to play both components and remain sane). Your character in multiplayer is not able to press against walls and peek. At most, you can get behind things and use your left shoulder button to lean. This is also a change from GR2, which allowed you to lean by pressing left or right on the D-pad.

  The ten multiplayer maps also are completely different than those in the single-player missions; in fact, the MP component is set in Nicaragua instead of Mexico. The game is still very pretty but in a different way than in the single-player mode. Environments are far more varied, from the urban environment of the Treaury map to the tall grass and ruins of Temple. A rainy nighttime map called “Dry Docks” is difficult to play on but undeniably impressive.

  Multiplayer play falls into three major categories: team and solo adversarial modes and co-op. The adversarial modes pit you and up to 15 of your good friends against one another in a variety of game types, most of them carried over from earlier versions. An insane number of options allows the host to create truly custom game experiences. The host can limit weapons, select almost any number of respawns (the hard-core players prefer zero), disable the overhead drone and in general mix it up enough so that one never has to play the same game twice.

  My first friends-only matches were an exercise in frustration, because the host was running no-respawn Last Man Standing matches, and everyone in the room had a couple of hours headstart on me. I spent more time in the lobby than in the game, which made it difficult to get a feel for the weapons or to learn anything about the maps. After some time practicing in my own infinite respawn server with other frustrated GRAW newbies, I got more comfortable. Online multiplayer with friends is just about the height of gaming goodness, no matter what gametype the host is serving up.

  When creating a server, the host can make it private or public. A private server allows players to enter the room by joining someone on their friends list. A public server, on the other hand, is a gateway to hell in which everyone needs a shower after just one game.

  Private servers are still a little buggy. An apparent glitch makes it impossible to enter a room by joining a friend if that friend happens to be the host of the room; “join this game in progress” simply doesn’t appear as an option. Another annoying bug is that you are not told a server is full until after you choose to join a friend and leave the 360 dashboard. Once you get this message, you have to open your friends list all over again.

  Remember the star system in GR2? GRAW has a similar numeric ranking system. But unfortunately in today’s status-driven society, one can only rank up by playing with the unwashed masses in a public server. A private, friends-only game, while more fun and infinitely less likely to expose one to racist and homophobic slurs, gets you nowhere rankings-wise.

  GRAW picks up one feature from the original GR: player classes. When first setting up a profile, you can choose a class (rifleman, automatic rifleman, marksman, grenadier), but you’re not stuck with it. In the lobby, you can switch your class on the fly so that your abilities match the demands of the map and gametype you’ll be on. And class is important in this game; your performance suffers if you enter a game as a rifleman but then decide to play with a marksman weapon. The weapon is harder to aim, and your accuracy takes a hit.

  You can customize your avatar's look in GRAW far more than in previous versions, choosing everything from complexion to uniform to headgear to eyewear. Alas, if you're a female or just like dressing your avatar up as one, you're out of luck this go-round - there are no female models available.

  There are still the four major classes of weapons (what used to be called “gunner” weapons are now “automatic rifles). Many old favorites are back, and there are some new guns as well. Single-player and multiplayer have 21 weapons in common, and there are 15 weapons exclusive to multiplayer.

  Ubisoft decided to make weapons more difficult to use in GRAW. For example, the gunner weapons now lack the ability to scope in. This is unfortunate for those of us in the “spray and pray” school of combat. My trusty MG36, with its variable fire rate, 100-round magazine and scope, was my favorite weapon in GR2. Now it’s missing, and its gunner brethren are only effective at short range because there’s no real ability to aim beyond that. Most of the rifles can be scoped in, but they only hold 30 rounds at a time max. Smoke grenades are a welcome addition to the multiplayer component and can be useful, especially in siege games.

  Ubisoft has been bragging lately about the numbers of people who can play in a co-op room together, but hosting such a room is still a struggle for those with average bandwidth. As in past versions, co-op games have such a high bandwidth cost that few people are able to host more than a handful of teammates. However, I am aware of some people who couldn’t host squad games at all in GR2 who can now handle rooms of 16 without lag.

  The extra features in the multiplayer modes apparently forced Ubi to make some usability sacrifices. For example, there’s no longer a compass. In order to get oriented and alert teammates to threats, one must open the overhead map. That takes time that could be better spent killing others. There’s also no in-game scoreboard that tells you who’s still alive and who’s dead. If the cross-com is turned on, you can sometimes make a good guess based on what view you see from other players’ visors, but you’re still not able to find out who might still be alive from the opposing team.

  In co-op games, it’s clear the enemy AI are both smarter than in earlier versions and their single-player brethren. They run for cover better, and they often will go prone among the dead bodies of their comrades and play possum. They are patient little buggers and will kill you as soon as you think they’re all dead. It’s difficult to tell whether Ubisoft has gone back to canned death animations or is sticking with the ragdoll physics it first used in GR2; enemies all react pretty much the same way if you kill them while they’re prone. There’s not a lot of variety in the AI programming. On several occasions I saw three or more AI players get up from the prone position in unison, kneel in unison and then march off together.

  The bottom line

  GRAW is as big a leap forward as we saw between GR and GR2, and it is one of the deepest and most sophisticated games we’ve seen on the 360 or the original black box. For the old-school players, the sheer complexity of the game takes some getting used to, but with a little practice the fancy newness becomes second nature. In time, we will all learn to stop worrying and love the drone.

  Nitpicks

  •  Grid indicators on the map are hard to see in multiplayer, causing you to waste precious time telling teammates where you saw an enemy.

  •  Lefties and others who just prefer to play “southpaw” don’t have that option in GRAW, nor is a “legacy” controller scheme available. Ubisoft and Red Storm are aware of the demand for southpaw support; perhaps they’ll address it in a patch. Others are lobbying Mad Catz, a leading maker of aftermarket gaming accessories, to develop a southpaw 360 controller.

  •  As with most Ubisoft games, GRAW has a lot of bugs and glitches. None that I’ve observed so far are deal-killers, but I hope they get patched.

  •  Night vision has been replaced by thermal vision, which one can only take in small doses because of the brightness.

  •  I miss Helo Hunt. Downloadable content, maybe?

3/13/2006  Tracey 'Jerri Blank' McCartney