Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - 1300 Hours: Day 2 - Second Play

The explosion ripped apart the US Embassy. Walls collapsed and dust filled the air as the survivors ran for cover. From his vantage point he could still see the Mexican President was alright. Looking to his squad members he ordered them across the plaza towards the embassy. Their mission was to secure the President and then escort him to the airport for extraction. As they came up on the rubble they secured the area, taking up cover in key defensive positions. Capt Mitchell checked on the survivors to see if they were capable of moving when gun shots began ripping into the buildings. “Incoming sir! We’ve got incoming!”

Being a game that at its core is a tactical military shooter, one would normally expect long missions and lots of worrying about enemies around each corner getting lucky with one crazy shot to the head. With GRAW you can expect the tactics and the worrying, but do not expect this game to be slow. As I played I found myself throwing smoke grenades for some cover as I ran from car to car on a vacant street, diving to the turf at the first sign of rebel resistance so I could return fire.

Tactical shooters have a tendency for the player to want to slow the action down. You end up wanting to peek around each corner, find your target and eliminate it quickly and quietly. The goal of GRAW is to incorporate tactics with a military feel, but still keep a fast almost arcade style pace. For example, by moving my character towards a wall he would automatically press himself against it. By moving along the wall and reaching the corner, just a quick flick of the analog stick allows me to peek around the corner. As I move my players’ head around scanning the street, red diamonds show up highlighting enemies in view. I can then press the left trigger to precise aim and my character will exit cover prepared to fire. If the coast is clear, I can set my reticule towards a wall or any piece of cover and one quick press of the directional pad sends the rest of my squad to that location. Every so often as the missions require, you will gain other elements such as Bradley Fighting vehicles or AH-60 Blackhawks that you can command as well. Here is where the game gets really tactical.

As the game advanced and I became more accustomed to the faster gameplay, I found it more beneficial to act and move quickly than to play the waiting game that was established in earlier tactical shooters. Instead of hiding behind the corner peeking every so often to take a shot, I would lob a smoke grenade to cover the street while my squad would set up behind a car for a clearer shot. Most times if I paused to think about what to do next we would get flanked or grenades lobbed at us. The terrain also goes a long way as to dictating how quickly you need to move down a street. Some areas provide little to no solid cover. Cars degrade and eventually blow up, and hiding behind a pot or a barrel only stops so many bullets. Thus requiring you to quickly eliminate enemies and get your squad to solid cover.

The fast gameplay is intensified by several factors. First the story pulls you in and progresses as you are playing. One of the best benefits is that as I would move my squad down a street in a little shanty town outside of Mexico City, I would receive updates from other squads in the area about how the battle is proceeding. For instance, in the shanty town my team is sent in to clear it out and help support another Ghost squad who was having problems completing their objectives. For support I was given control of a Bradley fighting vehicle. Using it for cover, I moved my squad and armor support down a narrow street fighting back lots of resistance. The whole while I attempted to get there I would get updates from the other squad that was under fire. Secondly the camera work while you take suppressive fire from enemies brings into play the hectic feel of the battle. As bullets rip into the cars or corners you use for cover the camera will shake. Heavier the fire, the more shaking of the camera you get.

All through out the game you can really tell that the developers really got their heads in the right place when they were working on GRAW. There is enough action and an awesome pace to the game. With the addition of control over support units such as M1-Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Apache Helicopters at your disposal, you really feel immersed in the storyline and in control of an actual military operation. Mixed with great sounds, excellent visuals and a storyline from the likes of a Tom Clancy novel, GRAW is a game that will always have a spot on my active gaming list.

Keep-an-eye out for my next play rating where I take Capt. Mitchell online and see if I have what it takes to battle online.