Ghost Recon 3: Advanced Warfighter

War-huh. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing were the immortal words sung by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, however sales figure show that war or conflict as it is now known as is good for one thing, and that’s generating large revenues for publishers. Ubisoft have been responsible for producing some cracking games over the last few years, as its impressive list of franchises continue to do well in the market place. No wonder EA have been a stalking horse for the last couple of years now.

The Ghost Recon franchise has being holding its own in the market place over the last few years without ever really excelling. I personally have always found there to be something missing from the games which prevented me from becoming a massive fan, however there was something about this particular incarnation which captured my interest. Having honed by skills from the early days of PC FPS I often wondered how far the whole genre could advance, and this particular branch of the shooter tree is proving to have some of the most interesting gameplay features in recent times.

The first thing that strikes you about this game is how beautiful it looks. You find yourself in the sprawling metropolis that is Mexico City. You are Scott Mitchell the Captain of a crack team of Commandos who are use to working against insurmountable odds. (I always feel for maximum effect that the music from the A-Team should be playing in the background) You have been brought in to help guard the summit between the leaders of the US, Canada and Mexico when predictably something goes horribly wrong. Now at this point I could go into detail revealing the twist and the turns of the story but it’s a game best left for you to explore yourselves.

Now as I mentioned before the game looks stunning, the realization of the city is fantastic, although I have never seen Mexico City streets look so empty, but you can forgive this because they would only get in the way, and I at some point I would be tempted to open fire on them. This also keeps the frame rate running smoothly, and at last we have a game that looks like it is a next gen game.

The game starts with you in a training ground, and I do strongly suggest you pay attention otherwise you will die repeatedly and quickly in the first few missions. After the initial move and hit the target routine, you are introduced to your squad. The squad movement and general AI is what can make or break a game, and in my experience more often than not its break, but I am glad to announce that the squad AI is pretty good. Using the D-Pad you point to a location in front of you and they will dutifully move there. Depending on whether you tell them to move defensively or offensively they will actively engage enemies along the way.

You also have a map which you can call up and then you can assign your squad, or in later levels vehicles to move to places well in advance of you, and when your squad moves, you get a small screen appear in the top left of the screen giving you a squad eye view. In the heat of combat you can really feel for your squad as you send them into a heavily defended area to lay you down some covering fire. If one of your team in badly injured then you can go across and administer first aid to them, and then they will be back up on their feet.

The game employs a number of waypoint indicators which will tell you where to go, and so as long as you keep an eye on what you are doing you shouldn’t get too lost around the city. The missions themselves are varied and I really enjoyed being in the gunning position of a helicopter cutting down hapless soldiers, something I found most satisfying. However the game is quite difficult in places, and can prove to be a real challenge. Keeping with the setting of the game, if you get shot a couple of times then you will die, however the games checkpoint saving system works well and prevented me from getting too annoyed.

What elevates this game however is the Xbox Live play. It is simply fantastic. We have a developer that has really thought very hard about the types of game to play. There are Elimination, Territory, and Objective game modes, both with single and co-op play options. However they are pretty much fully customizable so you and your friends can come up with any number of different game variations. Another great touch is that you can also completely customize your avatar and so you get a real sense of ownership over your character. I very strongly recommend playing co-op with a headset with a group of good friends, and watch as you see each other darting around from one position to the next.

The sound in game is another job well done. The sounds of the weapons are great, and the dramatic music seamlessly fades in and out when and where appropriate.
However GRAW isn’t without its faults. In places the game is a little buggy. I came across soldiers just standing still whilst you hit them. There were parts of buildings that I wasn’t obviously supposed to get to, and the screen darkened and I was stuck in there and had to reboot. I also found that in co-op mode sometimes the waypoints would lie to me, and when I got where I suppose to, I found out actually I was supposed to be somewhere completely different.

In conclusion GRAW is shaping up to be one of the best games on the Xbox 360. The Xbox Live play ensures that the game will have lots of longevity, the single player gaming experience is great. RARE take note that it is possible to have a game that is good in both departments. The slight niggles that I have mentioned are only niggles, and overall the game gets a resounding thumbs up!

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Our rating

9/10