Tactical games have become increasingly popular over the years, what with several games based on modern day warfare and tactical situations being plentiful on most systems. The PC had really dominated this field with the excellent Ghost recon and Rainbow Six games which although appearing on consoles (I remember the PSone version of Rainbow Six) didn’t quite live up to their PC counterparts even though they were fairly diverse and pretty intense (especially Rogue Spear on the Dreamcast).

Xbox gamers have also had their fair share of tactical games such as Rainbow Six 3 and the original Ghost Recon and Ghost Recon Island Thunder, also not forgetting games such as Full Spectrum Warrior which all have catered for gamers not interested in shields, power ups and jumping based combat. The element of tension in these games has raised the bar when it comes to immersive game play which totally absorbs the player into the role of combat soldier.

With Xbox Live there came a new outlet for likeminded tactical players to congregate and form squads either against each other or working co-operatively. It seems that for Xbox at least Tom Clancy endorsed products have become pretty much the mainstay of tactical games appearing on the console. Focusing on gritty realism (to a degree) Rainbow Six 3 and Ghost Recon have paved the way for even more games in the genre due to their immense popularity even though at the end of the day they are simply variants of first person shooting games.

The forerunner to the Rainbow Six games Ghost Recon set the standards when it was released in 2002. Then followed by GR: Island Thunder, which was well received although it was more of an expansion rather than a sequel, offering more maps and some extra weapons to play with. Well 2005 is almost upon us and once again tactical players can get to grips with Xbox’s next tactical instalment. Yes it’s another Clancy game and yes it’s a true sequel to Ghost Recon. That’s right fans; the Ghosts are back in business.

For those unfamiliar with games of this nature the premise is rather simple. Take a team of specialized trained troops, drop them into a hotspot (preferably open terrain) and let them get on and defuse the situation at hand. What this usually means is you the player get to kick some butt in first/third person shooting action. However rather than being a walking one man army, the play style forces players to work as a team and take their time as best they can. In other words the game is tense as one well placed shot from an enemy will send you home in a body bag.

Gameplay:

Right then, onto Ghost Recon 2. This time round the Ghosts have had a reshuffle and have lost two men from the team, so to speak. In the original, players got to use two teams comprised of 3 men in each team whereas GR2 has one team made up of 4 men (including you). At times you will be accompanied by other foreign troops such as the British and Germans who will display reasonable AI and work with your team to complete objectives, although at times your job will be to protect these troops. The hotspot for the campaign this time is North Korea where your battles will be taking place against well armed and organised soldiers.

What is immediately noticeable about the game is the way in which the campaign is presented. Rather than go with a mission briefing from a commanding officer, the game offers a TV program which takes a look at the crisis after it has happened. Therefore players get to go back in time and relive those moments hopefully being victorious.

Once the game begins players are thrust into a landing zone where its time to select which role you are going to play. The four soldier classes remain the same albeit with different names; gunner, grenadier, marksman and rifleman, although this time you cannot choose your team or their starting equipment and more so you cannot take direct control of them either. This is quite a departure from the previous GR games and is an obvious move to make the game more appealing to the casual gamers among us. While this may annoy fans of the original what the developers have done as a compromise is enabled players to switch roles on the fly by picking up weapons from the fallen. So for example you might start a mission as a sniper, then come into a close quarter’s situation and require a close range weapon so you could pick up an enemy AK-47 or whatever is available. To make up for not directly controlling your other units, players can now order them in a similar way to Rainbow Six 3, using voice commands or the onscreen menu. However this is rather limited as troops will only go so far before automatically returning to your position. In Ghost Recon, players where able to move the other fire team using the map to flank or cover areas whilst your team would be elsewhere. With this feature absent from GR2 has perhaps left a sour taste in the mouths of many, mine included.

Well after the rather negative start to this review lets talk about the good bits of the game. For starters, whilst the maps are not as open as the original they are varied enough and offer plenty of intense moments of combat. There are plenty of new weapons to choose from (seeing as the game is based on developing military technology of the future) including the awesome M29. What is unique about this weapon is the fact that it is suited for Lone operatives giving them an edge in tactical situations. The M29’s gun camera which enables the user to scope around and over objects without exposing oneself to enemy fire is an excellent tool. The airburst grenades that are the M29’s secondary fire which can have the range set prior to firing is useful for clearing out dug in enemies and far more precise than a regular grenade launcher attachment. These features are played out through the games campaign in a Lone Wolf Mode where as the name suggests its just you, your M29 and wide number of eager terrorists. With the ability to pinpoint specific targets such as tanks using backup from the air makes playing Lone Wolf missions an exciting and exhilarating experience.

GR2 does feature a wide variety of modes and maps that single players can get to grips with. There is the campaign which follows the North Korean plot. Quick mission which enables players to play individual missions at will (although you’ll have to play the campaign to unlock more). Recon and Scout modes which are more stealth based game types requiring you to get a team to an extraction zone without any casualties. Defend mode returns where the team has to defend a specific location from enemy assault and finally Fire fight and Battle Modes, which pits the Ghosts verses loads of enemies with the job being to eliminate them all before they can eliminate you.

Graphics:

This is perhaps one of the biggest areas of improvements compared to the original. One of the many complaints with GR were the rather dreary looking graphics which although very ambient and conveyed the locations well, were perhaps not as crisp as they could have been. Well, from the character models to the maps themselves, GR2 certainly looks much better and offers a more involving experience. The night missions in particular look spectacular as players switch to a more realistic night vision mode where explosions cause brilliant white flashes on screen and look totally authentic at times.

The biggest change as far as graphics are concerned is the introduction of a third person camera viewpoint which is now the default view. This will no doubt please those that complained at not seeing weapons in the original. For purists the classic first person view is available and is a view I tend to use. However at times, especially when prone there is often a distinct disadvantage to using first person as now swaying long grasses litter the maps often preventing you from seeing your targets until it’s too late.

GR2 has been rated “Teen” for obvious reasons and therefore means that there is no blood this time round which for some may take away some of the realism. Also bodies seem to disappear a lot quicker as well although this is probably necessary to maintain the frame rate. At times enemies will spawn in view which looks a little unpolished as do some AI issues with enemies running on the spot or getting stuck behind objects. Also the menus look dated and horrid in my opinion and definitely not on par with the rest of the game, but that is rather a minor issue. Overall the graphics are definitely much improved and make the game worthy of being an Xbox title despite some noticeable flaws.

Sound:

From the intro music to the voice acting in game, the sound is excellent and again a lot more ambient than the original. The Ghosts seem to have a lot more personality this time and offer plenty of talk during missions. These characters are well acted and offer a nice contrast to the ambience of the game. Everything from footsteps to shuffling when prone is featured and encourages the player to become more aware of sound in general, especially as enemies can give themselves away by talking. Overall the sound is top notch and more so if you have a decent home sound system.

Longevity:

Whilst the campaign won’t take players that long to complete, the other modes of play certainly make up for it from a single player point of view. There are two levels of difficulty which should please fans as it seems the absence of an easy mode is a good move, however the option to save at anytime during a mission somewhat contradicts the difficulty and will require some “will” power to avoid simply saving after every encounter. That said, even on the normal difficulty there are times when the enemy can be unforgiving and take you out in one shot from seemingly no where, so the save can be useful on the tougher missions.

GR2 features a strong multiplayer set up where players can engage in 4 player split screen and over Xbox Live or system link. Many more game types are available here for adversarial play such as the traditional death match and team based games as well as the co-op modes. This is where GR2 really comes to life as co-op is a truly tactical and team based experience especially over Xbox Live. For the first time players can host up to 16 players in a co-op game which although could cause lag, the prospect is one to perhaps behold. I haven’t managed to play a full 16 man co-op game yet but I am sure it’s as hectic and fun as it sounds and offers plenty of opportunity for splitting into squads of say 4x4. There are far more enemies on the maps than the original and due to the map design means that everyone gets a slice of action as opposed to following a lead through narrow corridors and rooms such as in Rainbow Six 3.

In my opinion the online play is worth the purchase alone as there is enough to do here to keep players entertained for a long time. There is also the prospect of downloadable content in the future, which in the past has catered for co-op and adversarial players alike so should keep both groups happy indeed.

Overall:

As a huge fan of the originals and one of Rainbow Six 3 I’m in too minds about the single player part of the game. Whilst the missions are incredibly fun and engaging, the new watered down approach adopted by the developers seems to have hurt the game in my opinion, yes I prefer the original set up a lot more. That said, what is available is still very good and just as entertaining, albeit in a different way and will no doubt make the game more accessible to new comers and casual gamers.

The multiplayer is perhaps the best part of the game on or offline and holds true to the original especially when you turn the auto aim and radar off then bump up the difficulty. The levels of co-op tension within the game is unmatched by any title other than the original, and will truly separate the men from the boys.

So if you are looking for something a bit more taxing and slower paced than the frantic shooters out there then GR2 could be for you. Whilst I am not so keen on the way the single player game has been rearranged the game still has that GR feel to it which is a good thing. A must buy for online tacticians.