Much like the previous game, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter can be controlled from either first or third person viewing perspectives. While the first person view remains faithful to the original, the various new mechanics of the game certainly lend themselves better to being played in third person. The new Splinter Cell-style cover system is particularly effective in third person. Here you simply walk to any wall or large object and you will ‘stick’ to it. From here you can move in complete cover while you plan your next step of action. Using the stick you can lean around corners for a better view, and then, in conjunction with the L trigger, take aim to lay down fire. It’s similar to the cover mode we saw in Perfect Dark Zero, but far more effective and easier to make use of.
Basic controls are what you would expect. Weapon changing and fire modes are all changeable using various button taps, and using scopes and changing your stance are only a click of stick away. Firing your weapon or throwing grenades are predictably on the R trigger while the L trigger steadies your aim. When zooming you can hold your breath for a more accurate shot while outside of the scope view holding L has a similar effect for more close combat situations.
Controlling your squad is relatively simple. By either aiming your reticule at the spot you want them to move to, or finding the appropriate area on the overheard map, you only need to press Up on the Dpad and they’ll move to the said position with swiftness. The same goes for any tanks or helicopters under your command too, those of which you can switch to and from using left and right. You can also order them to fire via the same method. Place your reticule over an enemy target and press Up and your squad/supporting units will attack on your say so. For the most part the friendly AI does a good job at performing what you ask, but there are times of stupidity that threaten to somewhat ruin the experience at times. On more than one occasion one of the team members have decided it upon themselves to stand in the middle of nowhere and shoot rather than take cover leaning around corners like his fellow team mates were. There are also moments where they won’t take a shot because they’re not exactly in line with it. Rather than using a little common sense and taking a few steps to the side to get a clearer view you have to manually move them yourself.
The special HUD helps identify enemy and friendly targets.
But for all its faults, there’s no denying that your support team helps far more than it hinders. This is in no small part due to the addition of the Cross-Com. The Cross-Com is a small window in the top left corner of the screen which shows the environment from the viewpoint of your squad, all in real time. This can come in handy in planning co-coordinated attacks as you can split from your squad and approach from another direction while all the time being able to keep an on things from their side too. The Cross-Com also plays an important role when it comes to using in the AUV Cypher. Controlled in exactly the same way as anything else via the Dpad, this is a motorized spy drone that can ascend and descend into enemy territory to pick up enemy locations and nark them with red targets on your HUD. It’s a great addition and adds another tactical string to your hypothetical bow.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter’s single player is made up of around a dozen missions, each commendably trying to be different from the other. While the basic structure rarely evolves beyond cautiously advancing through enemy-laden streets as you make your way to the next objective marker, it’s the variety of events that await at the said markers that keep the game interesting. An early mission has you defending a US Embassy from a heavy wave of enemy soldiers and tanks, while another has you protecting a V.I.P inside a multistory car park. You’re also given tasks such as destroying scrambling radars that are jamming communications or clearing a street of marksmen. There’s also a fair share of tanks and choppers to shoot down along the way too.
To mix things up a little there also some machinegun-mounted helicopter sections thrown in. While these sorts of things in games usually end up detracting from the experience it actually works rather well here. They offer brief, faster paced thrills and tend to pop up in all the right places. While the emphasis of the Ghost Recon games has always been put on controlling a squad, there are plenty of times here where you’re left to fight alone. This again adds some much welcome variety to proceedings as some parts are much better suited to working on your own. One of the later missions for example has you traversing your way through an abandoned train station. With many stairways and narrow corridors filling the building it could have potentially caused problems if you had to lead a squad through there, but wisely the situation is gratifyingly avoided.
The most important aspect of any shooting game is of course the combat, something that Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter excels at. The guns feel right, and as a result so does the combat. There’s a huge selection of weaponry on offer, each with their own slightly different characteristics. Some offer better accuracy at range while others deal with close combat situations with more efficiency. Some have different strength scopes and larger magazine, others have grenade launchers or a suppressor fitted. Then there’s different fire rates and general stopping power to consider. There’s a gun here for everyone for every situation. Most importantly though, enemies die when you shoot them. Ghost Recon has always aimed for realism and more often than not one shot is enough, so there’s no Far Cry-like clip emptying needed here.
Desert Gultch, certainly one of the more intimate multiplayer maps
The AI, though not completely devoid of silly mistakes at times, is reasonably smart can be a formidable challenge, especially on the hard setting. Hard mode is where the game really shines in fact. It punishes stupidity and rewards patience and planning as enemies are much more accurate and will take you out in an instant if you’re careless. While the game is perfectly enjoyable in normal mode, you’ve not experienced the game properly until you’ve tackled the harder setting such is the way it not only increases the tension, but also requires smarter commanding of your team.
As good as the single player campaign is, the multiplayer is equally as impressive. It’s got all the modes and settings you could ever ask for. Customise the weapon set, the spawn limit, enable the CYPHER drone or disable all enemy marking completely, it’s all editable. There’s a decent set of game modes in there ranging from simple elimination matches to CTF and Territory style games. The multiplayer shares pretty much everything that the single player mode gives you bar the cover mode. The cross-com works fantastically allowing you to see what other teammates are seeing, which helps improve communication immensely as it cuts down on time spend explaining things, as does being able to mark out checkpoints on the map. With a tap of Up on the Dpad you can lay a marker down anywhere you want. The amount this helps in relaying enemy positions or showing planned tactical routes can’t be expressed enough.
The maps are diverse in both size and design. Desert Glutch and Boneyard are very much close combat orientated, while the Rocky Cove and Nowhere maps are better suited to sniper rifle usage. Each map has its own style meaning you will often have certain weapons and tactics in mind going into each game. Fishing Village is a wonderful map that’s actually on a large slope from one spawn to the other. While this gives one team the height advantage over the other, it’s evened out by some clever sunlight effects that come into play when using a cope, thus reducing the team on higher ground’s advantage as their vision is impaired somewhat. There’s also a selection of co-op missions available to play over LIVE or split screen. Here you can play through scripted objectives created for a handful of the multiplayer maps, or just choose to face a wave of 40+ enemies while at the same time limiting your spawn count. While it’d be a lie to say it’s not a disappointment that you can’t play through the single player campaign in split screen with a friend, what they have provided is great fun in its own way.
Above all else though, the one thing that makes the online multiplayer such a hit is how well it runs. Rarely do you experience any lag, while at the same time enemies will die if you shoot them. Those familiar with UbiSoft’s Xbox titles, Rainbow Six 3 and Far Cry in particular, will be more than aware of the almost randomness that played a part in each of those games. One time a single headshot would be enough while another time you could both be putting 2-3 clips of ammo into each other and still survive, With Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter there is none of that. The netcode is excellent so if you shoot someone, they’re going down. Although some may well have experienced random dropouts in games, this is only the game telling you that the host can’t handle that amount of players with their current upload speed. Drop a server back down to 8 players and anyone with a 256kb upload speed shouldn’t have any problems.
Sometimes it's just better to stand back and let everyone else do the hard work for you.
Visually, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is one of the most impressive looking Xbox 360 games so far. It’s not without its problems of course, there are some minor issues with pop-in and things do generally look a little too boxy at times, but that doesn’t prevent the game being a thing of beauty. Bloom lighting is used extensively and although it’s becoming a bit of a pet hate with many, it really works here. Combined with the subtle heat waves on the horizon, they’ve given the look and feel of Mexico City something that you’ll remember in years to come. Character animation is believable and suitably smooth while the physics all feel as they should be. The HUD itself feels initially cluttered but you soon adjust to it and use it to your benefit, as do the pop-up windows that all the in-game communication takes place within. The entire story is presented in-game with no FMV’s or cutscenes to needlessly pull you out of the action.
Voice acting is a bit of a hit and miss affair, but the game is hard to fault in terms of audio everywhere else. The soundtrack is the typical collection over-dramatic but surprisingly catchy themes we’ve come to expect from the Tom Clancy games over recent years, mixed in with the odd licensed track (there’s a few from Ill Nino, which makes sense given the South American setting). The game really comes alive in 5.1 which each gun making an impressively loud, but crystal clear sound when fired while various crashes and explosions won’t hesitate in shaking your room if you don’t keep an eye on how loud your speakers are turned up to.
In terms of being a complete package, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is the best game so far on the Xbox 360. Its thoroughly enjoyable single player campaign is complimented beautifully by its splendid multiplayer options. It looks stunning, sounds intense throughout and really shows some of the kind of things the advantage extra power will give to games like this. The whole cross-com idea, while a reasonably good addition in the single player mode, is an invaluable addition to the multiplayer. Combined with the use of the marker system, communication has never been easier making it the best multiplayer game on the machine currently.
like leonmc
I Hate Tom Clancy Games with a Beautiful Passion 
though if red october comes onto 360 thatd be worth a look too me thinks 
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