Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Review (XB360)

"You seem rather kind to first-person shooters, don't you?"

A friend of mine asked me this the other day as they were cataloguing through previous reviews of mine. "I mean, just look," he said. "Far Cry, Doom 3, Call of Duty 2...they all got like 4.5 out of 5 from you."

"Well, they were all good games," I said. "Really good. They managed to survive the port from PC to console without losing a hint of their essence. And even you gotta admit that they're great in multiplayer."

"Yeah," said my friend, sipping on his soda. "I just hope the rating's not a matter of the action at hand, you know? People would hate to look at scores and seeing you give love to one brand while not to another."

"That's not the way I work at all," I said. "I mean, I took a good look at Black last week and gave it 3.5 out of 5. Could've gotten more if there was more to it, so go figure. And have you even read my Splinter Cell reviews? I give them high scores for a reason, you know. I don't just pass them out like junk mailers."

"Right," he said. "I guess I can see where you're coming from."

My friend did pique a bit of curiosity out of me, though, so I decided to read through a few of my older reviews to see what really grabbed me about those games, and mostly it all came about with the experience in playing them. With Doom 3, there was nary a lapse in the suspense it provided. Far Cry Instincts packed a punch all its own with beautiful environments and a control scheme that didn't leave those without the luxury of a PC or a keyboard yanking out their hair. And as for Call of Duty 2, well, I figured that was next-gen military shooting refined. Unitl, of course, I stumbled upon Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.

Advanced Warfighter is an absolute experience in its own right, not only refining its own pattern for next-generation tactical action, but also for the brand itself. It strays away from Ghost Recon games of the past, while still keeping in mind many of the elements that drew gamers to the series to begin with. In short, it's basically reborn, taking place a few years in the future in the war-torn Mexico City, and with that, brings a new experience that, like Call of Duty 2, has its own place on the shelf.

In the game, you take control of Captain Scott Mitchell, a tactical leader of a group known as the Ghosts, a "clean-up crew" of sorts that makes sure peace is kept at every cost. They're called upon for security duty in Mexico City, where a summit is taking place involving the leaders of the Mexican, United States, and Canadian nations. This includes our president, thus the severity of the matter. However, the mission kicks off when disaster strikes, and Mexican rebels of some kind invade the summit, making waste of the Prime Minister of Canada. Following that, the US and Mexican leaders go missing, and the Ghosts step into action to ensure not only their safety, but the safety of Mexico City as well, as the rebels are growing in numbers and a possible coup d'etat could result in massive losses.

The game takes place in various areas around Mexico City, and involve either ground work in a solo effort or with a crew of three fellow soldiers that you command, or sitting in a chopper, manning one gigantic machine gun as you shoot at stationary targets on the ground. No matter which type of mission you're playing, however, it'll soon set in that the game doesn't take any kind of easy path. These rebels are not only damn good shots and pack a whopping AI that's similar to real-thinking enemies, but the damage is even more realistic. If the enemy gets off a well-timed shot, you feel the effects. Get hit one or two more times, and you are dead in the water. No life bar here, just an approach that will make you appreciative...and cautious...about stopping the enemy during a mission and reaching your next location.

The gameplay is terrific, combining the best elements of a over-the-shoulder shooting game with that of tactical games. The tactics come into play with your D-pad, as you're able to call upon command the three soldiers, directing them to certain spots in the level or in the virtual map (which can be accessed with the SELECT button), or calling them back to your location for back-up. You can also switch between "Recon" and "Assault", either taking a careful approach to a situation or going all Honcho and running in, guns blazing. You also have access to an overhead virtual tracking device, but you'll want to be careful with it, as an enemy can blast it from the sky upon tracking it.

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