Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Paris (Xbox 360) (campaign) Red Storm Entertainment (Xbox 360) (multiplayer) Ubisoft Shanghai (Xbox) Ubisoft Paris (PS2) GRIN (Windows)
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Designer(s)	Christian Allen, Giles Matuba
Composer(s)	Tom Salta
Series	Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Engine	YETI engine (Xbox 360) Unreal Engine 2 (Xbox & PS2) Diesel engine (Windows)
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Windows
Release	March 9, 2006 Xbox 360 Xbox PlayStation 2 Windows
Genre(s)	Tactical shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW) is the third installment in the popular Ghost Recon tactical shooter video game series, published by Ubisoft in 2006. As in previous Ghost Recon games, players command their team of Ghosts while neutralizing hostile forces and completing various mission objectives. These objectives can range from escorting friendly units across the map to rescuing hostages or taking out enemy artillery.

Being a tactical shooter, Advanced Warfighter places emphasis on using cover effectively in order to stay alive, together with sound strategic co-ordination to successfully complete mission objectives. A new feature is the Integrated Warfighter System, a system based upon the Future Force Warrior program.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, the game's direct sequel, was released a year later, in 2007.

Gameplay

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is slightly unusual in that there are three versions of the game for four different platforms, with minor varied storyline/missions. The PS2 and Xbox versions are essentially the same title, while the Xbox 360 and the Windows versions stand on their own.

Early screenshot of Xbox 360 version

Gameplay emphasis is placed upon the player to do the bulk of the fighting while AI teammates tag along. The player controls a single squad of soldiers, but only directly controls the squad leader. However, the player can issue commands to the AI-controlled team members to maneuver them indirectly.

Combat in Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is more forgiving than previous games in the series. Players can often survive several bullet hits before dying, instead of dying after only a couple of shots like in the original Ghost Recon series. However, players are unable to heal their health in the middle of a mission, and a single headshot or a sustained burst of assault rifle fire can kill the player instantly, so the game still relies more on tactical combat rather than arcade run-and-gun shooting.

GRAW features numerous firearms, many based on real weapons, including the Heckler & Koch G36, the Beretta M9, and the FN SCAR. A few, such as the MR-C, are actually hypothetical prototypes. The game also makes use of various other pieces of equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, and remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles.

Xbox 360 version

Unlike all other versions of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, the Xbox 360 version gives the player the choice to use either a third person or first person view during the campaign mode. This version features a unique covering system, which allows the player to duck behind objects for covering and perform tactical maneuvers such as pop-and-shoot. In the Xbox 360 version, the player is accompanied by a squad of 3 AI-controlled teammates. While the player may issue orders to the entire squad, they cannot issue orders to any individual team member.

The Xbox 360 and Windows versions of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter feature a cross-com system. This system allows the player to command not only his squad, but also other friendly units (e.g. helicopters, UAV drones, etc.). The cross-com system can be used in conjunction with the Intel map, which is a tactical map showing the entire play area, to issue commands. Additionally, the cross-com system highlights the position of any enemy soldiers that are spotted by the player or any members of the player's squad.

Xbox / PS2 version

The Xbox / PS2 console version of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is a first-person shooter. Notably, these versions feature fewer features than the Xbox 360 or Windows versions; players only have a single AI-controlled teammate following them on missions (as opposed to a squad of 3 soldiers). Scott Mitchell (the main character) never speaks in this version.

PC version

The PC version of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter takes place from a first-person perspective. This version allows the player to issue different commands to each individual squad member, in an effort to appeal to the fans of the original Ghost Recon series. It requires the player to use squad tactics in order to achieve success. It also features larger levels than the console versions, with enemy AI more likely to use ambush tactics, thus requiring more situational awareness from the player.

Like the Xbox 360 version, the PC version features a cross-com system that allows the player to issue commands to other friendly units (i.e. UAV drones or tanks), as well as to lay out attack routes and battle plans on a real-time tactical map. The cross-com system also highlights enemy soldiers spotted by friendly units, however unlike the Xbox 360 version, the cross-com will only highlight enemy soldiers spotted by computer-controlled squadmates, rather than those in the player's own field of vision.

The PC version can take advantage of the presence of an Ageia PhysX card, however the enhancements are only cosmetic and do not affect gameplay.

Inventory (PC)

Before the start of a mission, the player is allowed to choose the weapons for the Ghost team, although this is done with no briefing given. A Ghost may carry a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, and extra ammunition or a heat-seeking anti-tank weapon. Every Ghost has a maximum weight he can carry. The more equipment a Ghost is carrying, the faster he will become fatigued when sprinting. Some of the weapons may be modified and the player can add various modifications to them such as optical sights, grenade launchers, silencers, and vertical foregrips. Every modification has its advantages and disadvantages. The combat/red dot sight increases accuracy by replacing the standard iron sights, but adds some weight. Grenade launchers reduce accuracy and are heavy, but give the option of launching grenades. Silencers decrease the sound level of the weapon firing and also reduce the muzzle flash at the expense of accuracy and range. Vertical fore grips increase stability at the expense of accuracy.

Players can also take ammunition from the weapons of dead enemies or allies if the player's weapon is of the same caliber, but players are not allowed to pick up the discarded weapons themselves.

Multiplayer

Online multiplayer on the PC edition has both versus and co-op mode. Versus mode features 32 players, which is double that of the Xbox 360 version. The online co-op mode only supports up to 4 players maximum on Windows (the Xbox 360 version supports up to 16 co-op players).

For those with the Xbox 360 version, some new Xbox Live features are included. For the Xbox 360 version the co-operative campaign (which currently features 8 missions - 4 of which are now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace) and multiplayer maps are all set in Nicaragua as a follow-up to the Mexico City missions of the single player campaign.

• On June 22, Ubisoft released the Chapter 2 Downloadable Content for 1,200 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
• The price of 1,200 Points was later reduced to 600.

In the UK, a special Game of the Year edition was released in late 2006 containing a card enabling the player to obtain (for free) all the marketplace content, including the Chapter 2 download. The game is also budget priced.

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions have some similar online game modes and can be played with up to 8 players.

Plot

Overview

Captain Scott Mitchell commands the fictitious elite Ghost Recon team in an attempt to protect the U.S. and Mexican Presidents, recover stolen U.S. technology, and battle the rebellious Mexican forces. The story unfolds entirely in a realistic and detailed modeling of Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities. It is this size that allows Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter to provide multiple locations like in previous Ghost Recon games, ranging from heavily industrialized areas to local parks and landmarks to office districts.

Story

The game takes place over the course of three days in 2013, beginning in Mexico City. A US spy plane carrying Guardrail IX, a device capable of disrupting wireless communications, is shot down over Nicaragua. Intelligence discovers a plot to transfer the device to rebels in Mexico City and the Ghosts are sent in to retrieve it. One of the rebels is identified as Colonel Carlos Ontiveros, son of Mexican Gen Ontiveros who is a student of Bud, Mitchell's friend and a UH-60 pilot. The mission is aborted when a coup d'état begins in Mexico City and the Ghosts are ordered to the capital immediately, where a summit involving US President Ballantine, an unnamed Canadian Prime Minister, and Mexican President Ruiz-Peña, who are signing the North American Joint Security Agreement (NAJSA), is taking place. The summit is attacked by Mexican revolutionaries who kill the Canadian Prime Minister and force the Presidents of the US and Mexico into hiding. Mitchell is sent to extract both leaders.

President Ballantine is safely evacuated to Air Force One but is unable to take off due to the danger of being shot down. President Ruiz-Peña is evacuated to the US Embassy in Mexico City where a bomb destroys the embassy, but the Ghosts fend off a massive onslaught long enough for help to arrive. Ruiz-Peña allows the US forces to fight the rebels and restore order. Mitchell is tasked with destroying artillery to open the road for an assault on Chapultepec, where 50 M1A2 Abrams tanks given to the Mexican government as part of NAJSA lie idle. He is later ordered to rescue the American advisory group who had been training the Mexicans in how to use them and "borrow" a few tanks.

The rebels use Guardrail IX to monitor US communications and a rebel special forces group called the Aguila 7 ambush the Ghosts protecting President Ballantine. Mitchell is ordered to rescue him, which is successful, but the Nuclear Football is stolen by the rebels and with the Guardrail IX, the rebels are able to control US ICBMs, which cause China and Russia to ready their own.

Mitchell is ordered to retrieve the Guardrail IX and the Football, but only disables the Guardrail IX. His team is then ordered to clear several blockades in Mexico City to allow US tanks to pass. While being extracted, Major General Martin's Black Hawk Helicopter is shot down and Mitchell is ordered to defend him until he can be extracted. US forces then begin a final push towards the Zocalo Plaza where General Ontiveros is held up inside the Palacio Nacional.

Mitchell destroys the last pieces of the Guardrail IX before sneaking into the palace. General Ontiveros is there, captured while attempting to flee. Ontiveros manages to escape and hijacks Bud's Black Hawk, killing Bud in the process. He flies to the wrecked US embassy and begins transferring the codes for the US nuclear arsenal. Mitchell and his team raid the embassy, recover the football and kill Carlos. A retired US Army general who was opposed to the NAJSA is discovered to be the traitor within the US government that had been assisting Ontiveros and Aguila 7 in their activities.

Characters

• President James Ballantine - President of the United States. Ballantine comes under fire during the coup, and tries to escape through the airport with Captain Jennifer Burke's team. However, Burke is presumably killed in action and Ballantine is taken hostage. He is later rescued by Captain Mitchell's Ghost team and returned safely to the U.S.
• President Ruiz-Peña - The Mexican President. He comes under fire when the coup begins, and is rescued by Mitchell's unit. He is transported to the Embassy, which explodes, killing Captain Abreu. Ruiz-Peña survives, and is moved to safety.
• Prime Minister of Canada (unnamed) - Killed during the coup.

Antagonists

• General Ontiveros - Carlos's father, and mastermind of the coup. Friend and ally of General James Monroe. He is captured by US Forces in Palacio Nacional.
• Colonel Carlos Ontiveros - General Ontiveros's son and Aguilla Seven's leader. He opposes the NAJSA idea, and stages the coup to prevent it from happening. He is killed at the destroyed U.S. Embassy when Mitchell shoots him off the roof, causing him to fall to his death.
• General James Monroe - Ontiveros' ally in the United States. Monroe is a retired General, who was opposed to the concept of NAJSA, and fed information to the rebels in an attempt to put his close friend General Ontiveros in power. He is not seen until a news broadcast at the end of the Xbox360 version of the game where he is seen being escorted by police, having been arrested for his part in the coup.

Development

Ghost Recon 3 was originally revealed to be in development to be released in 2004 before Halo 2 but it was delayed. In mid-March 2005, Ubisoft published its financial expectations for the 2005 fiscal year with Ghost Recon 3 on that list and revealed to be coming to Xbox, PS2, PC and Xbox 360. A Gamecube version was also announced, but was eventually canceled. The game's official subtitle of Advanced Warfighter was later announced by Ubisoft in late June.

In May, the Xbox 360 edition of Advanced Warfighter was shown to the press in trailer form at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) convention in Los Angeles. The trailer was heavily praised for its intense urban combat and its outstanding graphical effects such as light bloom, accurate lighting and shadowing, its particle effects and its superb weapon and soldier animations — all in high-definition. Because of this, Advanced Warfighter quickly became one of the Xbox 360's most anticipated titles.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	80.07% (PC) 50.67% (PS2) 64.57% (Xbox) 90.49% (Xbox 360)
Metacritic	80% (PC) 44% (PS2) 66% (Xbox) 90% (Xbox 360)

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A
Electronic Gaming Monthly	A, A, A+
Game Informer	9.5/10
GameSpot	9.2/10
GameSpy	5/5
GameTrailers	9.9/10
IGN	9.2/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	9.0/10
TeamXbox	9.3/10
X-Play	4/5
USA Today	9.5/10
A.P.E. Reviews	9.3/10

Awards

Publication	Award
BAFTA	Best Game
BAFTA	Best Technical Achievement

The Xbox 360 HD version of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter was released on March 9, 2006 to multiple rave reviews. Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's stunning next-generation presentation and high entertainment value, giving it review scores of 9.0, 9.5 and a perfect 10. The game was noted for its deeply immersive atmosphere, smart A.I. (though flawed for the squad and VIP A.I.), wide variety of weapons, multiple action scenes and believable storyline. The Xbox 360's version was noted for its realistic graphics, and Ubisoft had stated that it would port a version of Advanced Warfighter to other 7th generation consoles. Gametrailers gave the game its highest review ever, a 9.9 out of 10, stating that GRAW is a landmark next-gen game that redefines shooters.

The PS2 and original Xbox versions have been mostly panned by critics as watered-down versions of the Xbox 360 version, most noticeably in graphics and content. While the Xbox 360 version received an average of 91% from reviews, the original Xbox and PS2 versions score 66% and 60% in average respectively. The Windows version averages in about 79%.

On October 5, 2006, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter won two out of the eight nominated BAFTA awards including, "Best Technical Achievement" and "Best Game".

External links

• Official website
• Ghost Recon.net
• USA Today Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Xbox 360 review
• Ghost Recon Wiki at Wikia