Tom CLancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfig

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (what a name! we’ll call it GRAW from here on) might be a fairly bad game on most consoles, but on the Xbox 360 it shines. We’ll tell you why in our review.

We can bore you with the details. The number of levels, the number of weapons, the way Achievement Points are given out (always important for the people who want to impress girls online… maybe)… but in truth, only one thing is important when it comes down to GRAW on the Xbox 360: it takes the franchise to an entirely new level thanks to immersion.

Immersion. How important this word remains in games. We don’t need fantastic graphics with all sorts of effects. We don’t need a game to look exactly like real life. We need a game that is consistent in what it offers the player, both in looks and gameplay. We need to feel like we’re there, be it in Hyrule saving princess Zelda, or in the Mexico City of the near future saving the American president.

The latter situation is what you’ll come across in GRAW. True, the game has killer graphics and it does simulate real life. We can honestly say it’s one of the best looking 360 games out there, which says a lot. The suits your character and his fellow soldiers are in, the heat waves, the surroundings – all look incredible smooth.

But while these elements help to make you feel immersed, the thing that really draws you in the game is that it’s one big story, one big adventure, without the feeling that you’re playing through levels. This is what separates the Metal Gear Solids from the Splinter Cells. While you essentially play through the game in levels – you get dropped by a chopper, do your missions and get back in the chopper to fly to the next destination – the story keeps running through it all in real time graphics, and you never feel like you missed anything or you’re just playing through levels to reach the end of the game. You’re playing in your own action movie.

And still, even though it’s all Mexico City and all about immersion with nothing out of place, there is enough graphical variation to shake a stick at. Within the first few missions you’ll get used to the urban appearance of the modern city, after which you’ll have to adjust your tactical skills for some adventures in the night. But rocky desert landscapes also pass by. While the colour scheme largely stays the same, the variation in day and night and the different parts of the city ensure that your senses are never bored.

Essentially, GRAW often makes you feel like a GTA game might. You feel like you have a massive, realistic city at your disposal to explore and cause havoc in. This is of course not true. The level structure ensures you always have a limited amount of space to explore. While this would kill a game like GTA, it’s best for a genre like this.

So what exactly do you do? Someone unfamiliar with this franchise might ask him- or herself that. You run a small group of anti-terrorist soldiers. From a third person perspective, looking over the shoulder of your character – not unlike Resident Evil 4, actually – you try to sneak past enemies or kill them in silence, while telling your team with simple button presses what to do. They can shoot the bad guys down for you, or stay in the shadows so you can take the lead. Sneaking around is made easier with a little flying camera that can spot enemies from a distance for you – but look out. Enemies can spot the cam and shoot it down. You can also opt for a less discreet way to accomplish your goals – send a chopper or a tank to the enemy base and cause some havoc.

While GRAW is one of the easier games in the genre, it remains a game that asks a great deal of patience from it’s players. Often you’ll have to solve a level like a puzzle – get to know the structure and enemy positions piece by piece so you can figure out the best way to get around it or go right through it. This also ensures that you’ll die quite a few times – even in the normal mode for the less experienced ones – but it never really takes away from the fun you’re having, because you actually feel like you’re learning this game inside out while doing so. You will release your mistakes and try to act different the next time.

GRAW isn’t overly difficult like some other games in the genre, mainly because the enemy AI. They’re not particular smart at all, and place that with the often scripted events, and the game sometimes becomes less tactical and more action orientated. It delivers a more balanced game because of it, maybe not pleasing the die hard fans of the genre, but surely leaving the game open for mass market appeal more than some other games that have gone before.

While the single player of GRAW is quite exceptional, the online mode (or multiplayer or system link modes if you’d choose) are excellent additions to the mix. Up to 16 human controller characters can enter a battlefield to work against or with each other. 16 players can even team up to take on 16 computer controlled soldiers. Awesome would be a good word to describe those situations.

Graphically, playing GRAW online is of course a drawback from the single player experience, but such is to be expected with 16 human players in a match. Like in Call of Duty 2, the maps in the online game feel like they are taken out from the main game and slightly altered, which gives a neatly familiar feeling to the experience. The fact that we experienced almost no lag whatsoever and that the communication between teams seems to work fine is admirable and makes the online game a seamless experience worthy of anyone’s time. Of course there are different modes to try out here to keep variation at hand.

Conclusion

While we told you all the good and less good points of GRAW above, let one thing be clear: we are very excited for this game, and we believe it’s one of the best games available on the Xbox 360 right now, with the possible exception of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The game, with all the graphical bells and whistles and, more importantly, truly exceptional gameplay with a polished online mode, really feels like a next generation game and that’s exactly what 360 owners needed. While it can get difficult at times, we’d suggest all 360 owners with an appetite for tactical action try this beauty out. We think you have a good chance to get totally hooked by this experience – we sure did.

Pros:
- Gameplay is well balanced, difficult but not to the extreme.
- Graphics and presentation are admirable, truly next gen.
- Online mode is solid with a steady framerate and little lag.
- Gives the player a feeling of immersion thanks to ongoing story and locations.

Cons:
- Might be too difficult for some parts of the mainstream.
- Might be too simple for the die hard tactical shooter fans.
- AI of enemies (and sometimes team mates as well) could be a bit better.

This game is for: Everyone thirsty for some tactical action, almost all 360 owners.
This game is not for: People that really can’t cope both tactical gameplay or action.

Written by Moz La Punk / previously published on www.mozlapunk.net