It hasn’t been that long since the Ghosts (a high calibre American military unit) were in action with the popular Ghost Recon 2 and with the release of Advanced War fighter (Ghost Recon 3) on the horizon it seems that the team are extremely busy right now. This time the team is hot on the heels of a Pakistani most wanted, who has regrouped in Kazakhstan to cause much mayhem and destruction. Well once again it’s up to you, the gamer to fill the shoes of the Ghost commander and lead the team to success as you hunt this criminal down.

Gameplay:

For anyone unfamiliar with the Ghost Recon games then let me brief you on what they are all about. In Summit Strike single player modes you take the lead of a 4 man unit (that’s you and 3 other troops) with the aim to carry out objectives in the field which include things like blowing up tanks, missile sites, killing enemies and such. The game can be played in either 3rd person or 1st person viewpoints although the first person view does not allow you to see your weapon on screen (for a larger field of view). The onus is shifted towards realism whereby one shot could ultimately mean your death!

Once you have been briefed which is handled using an overhead satellite map of the area and detailed instructions then it’s up to you to complete your objectives as you see fit. In most missions you will have the option to tackle the objectives in whatever order you choose which certainly gives the game a little more replay value. Before embarking on a mission you will have to choose your weapons load out and Summit Strike has plenty to choose from. There are 4 character classes to choose which include Gunner, Rifleman, Grenadier and Marksman. Each class has a wide variety of weapons to choose from and what is new to Summit Strike is the inclusion of some ultra modern SCAR weaponry. Players can also opt to use silenced weapons if they choose although you cannot choose the weapons of your team so in some respects it seems pointless to go silenced with the AI when they suddenly open fire blowing you cover; yes you can order them to hold fire but this is ropey at best.

In the field you do have rather limited control over your team and as previously mentioned you can order them to hold fire, hold positions, suppress an area, and move to a near location or flank left and right. This seems to work well enough but is rather weak in my opinion as the unit will split into two groups of two (one soldier staying with you). What also is a problem for me is that if you venture too far from your team after say giving them a hold command they will automatically return to your location, which basically prevents you from carrying out some more advanced flanking moves over a wider area. The AI can also be ordered to attack vehicles or place charges at designated points as well as healing a downed team mate (you can do this as well) however if you get shot then its game over and no team mate will heal you.

The team AI is somewhat problematic at times and although they will sometimes kill before you even see the enemy at other times the enemy will rush right up to them and they will just stare in disbelief before being shot to pieces. The enemy AI seems to be reasonable although again they are not the most intelligent bunch as often they will try and rush an area allowing you and the team to “turkey shoot” them to pieces. To their credit on rare occasions they will act intelligently but not as often as I would have liked.

The missions themselves (11 new maps) take place over some large maps and this time includes some snow themed levels. Lone Wolf missions also feature again and for the uninitiated, means that it’s just you (one soldier) verses many enemies, although you are equipped with the latest hi tech camera gun and have air support which is great for taking out those annoying armoured vehicles.

Talking of armoured vehicles it seems that in Summit Strike they have been beefed up a little and when you first play a mission they will suddenly appear from nowhere and then shoot up the entire team within seconds. I found this to be very cheap as you basically didn’t stand a chance until you remembered on your next go that a tank would appear at that point in the map; game play should be based on instinct not trial and error? Appearing helicopters were more realistic and at least gave you the chance to either order your team to attack or for you to get your rocket launcher out and take them down.

Other modes for the single player make a welcome return and include fire-fight which pits the team or solo verses terrorists where there are no objectives other than to wipe them all out. Recon which requires the player to reach zones on the map undetected and then reach an extraction zone, points are deducted if you kill enemies (Scout being the same but with re-spawns enabled). Defend which sees the team hold a position on the map whilst being overrun by swarms of enemies (Garrison being the same thing but with re-spawns). Then we have a brand new addition to the single player game in the form of Heli-Hunt which as the name implies, its either you being the hunter or the hunted as you are chased across the map by helicopters. The aim here is to destroy each wave whilst getting to the many ammo crates that litter the map (very fun but hard as) nails. There are up to 25 maps here to mess around with. All these modes can be played on or offline with or without friends although some maps and modes will not allow for AI backup.

Graphics:

The graphics remain sharp and reasonably detailed as its predecessor and definitely an improvement over the original Ghost Recon games. Whilst not as detailed as say, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Summit Strike does a grand job of conveying the team in the thick of it. The impressive night vision returns as does the impressive lighting when you blow something up. The character models are fairly detailed and animations are reasonable albeit a little stiff when it comes to the enemy deaths. I did notice some frame rate dips on some of the more open areas of the maps but was nothing to hamper game play. Overall the graphics are nice enough including the new sandstorm effects on one of the levels.

Sound:

Sound is suitably sparse and of course who is going to want music blaring out when you are on a mission? Well it wouldn’t fit so therefore music is non existent, although the game does feature some drone noise that was also present in GR2. I’m not quite sure what this is supposed to represent but at times is rather annoying. The team have plenty of lines this time and will congratulate you whenever you make a decent shot. It’s good to see that they have remained vocal as it adds much personality to the quiet nature of the game. Other sound effects are excellent as are the cries of your enemies despite them only using a few lines of speech. Turn up the speakers for full effect here and if you have a surround sound set up then that’s even better.

Longevity:

Summit Strike isn’t a full game and is released at a budget price but what is on offer is a reasonable amount of hours playtime; especially as modes like fire fight can be played over and over in many different ways. Summit strike also features a heavy multiplayer element which can be experienced over Xbox Live, system link or split screen. All the co-op and verses modes from GR2 make a return as well as the inclusion of some new ones. Armour Strike being one of them which pits two teams against each other with the aim of laser targeting 3 opposing team vehicles for the win. assassination, domination, SAR, siege, thief, recovery, sharpshooter, hamburger hill, last man standing to keep players happy and with the 25 odd maps on offer including the maps that were released as Downloadable Content, Summit strike will no doubt please fans and new comers. Overall there is enough here on and offline to keep you busy for quite some time.

Overall:

Summit Strike is a welcome addition to the Ghost Recon series and although does not address some of the issues that I had contention with in the previous game such as poor AI at times and lack of true control over team mates it does provide an excellent combat experience that is unmatched on Xbox. Yes, I found some of the trial and error moments in the campaign to be a little cheesy but overall my playing experience was enjoyable and totally immersive. The new modes are fun and challenging as are the old ones and once again will no doubt make this a popular choice for the Xbox Live gamer. Those without Live should also think about getting this game because as previously stated there is enough content here to keep you happy (especially with the budget price). Smooth graphics, smooth control, great sound and plenty of modes means that Summit Strike is well worth the price of entry for all you serious and perhaps non serious military gamers.