When you're in this line of work, there's a severe problem one can run into: being speechless. Yet, after playing through Ghost Recon for the Xbox 360, it's hard to find words to accurately describe the experience, drama, tension, and nearly flawless game-play mechanics. This is everything a 360 game should be, a new high point, and a blueprint for anything tactical to come in the future.
Ghost Recon's next generation update is massive, re-tooling the game for a wider audience while not losing what made the series popular in the first place. Set inside a disappointingly barren Mexico City, this is the best war zone you'll find in a video game outside of the countless recreations of D-Day. The skyscrapers, dilapidated slums, forests, and indoor environments are rarely repeated.
In-between all of those structures is a conflict. While there are certainly moments of one-man-army action, the core is to take things slow with the help of human or vehicles (sometimes both) alongside the player for assistance. Control is brilliant, dropping the player inside a helmet with what is called the Cross-Com. Think of it as picture-in-picture video feed, but used for all the right reasons.
Even if you're on the opposite side of a building, you're not forced to simply listen to the cries of fallen soldiers. You're able to assess the threat and determine if it's safe to try and make the save. You can see whatever it is the attacked soldiers are looking at. Commanding them is likewise intuitive, though a few more commands wouldn't hurt, especially given the sometimes-weak AI.
Enemies on the other hand do not fall victim to AI gaps. In fact, they're a little too smart at times, flanking the player, trapping them, and even holding them in place while more opposing troops swing around for the final kill. Even on the normal difficulty, Ghost Recon is deadly. You'll be wishing for more checkpoints and a way to heal yourself, since you can heal your squad members. But offering these options would mean you'd only experience these firefights once. This is a game to be savored, and replaying a brief section is more of an honor than a punishment.
The few minor faults in the single player game are barely worth noting, and the small majority of them come from glitches. Don't be surprised if your troops get stuck inside of a wall. It's not a game killing-problem (a quick restart from the last checkpoint should fix the problem), just a distracting and disappointing one. The finale, even with a superb piece of storytelling over the eight hours of play, is anti-climatic. The final shot doesn't really deliver as it should, even if the story does.
Article comments
1 - sal m
a 5-star agreement to great review.
2 - Derek
Dude, you so hid the nail on the head!
3 - Derek
uuumm yeah.. hit that is..