2006's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was rightly acclaimed to be one of the outset truly adjacent-generation games, cheers to its intense gameplay and luscious graphics. Of course, it shipped only for the Xbox 360, given that the PlayStation 3 was even so in gestation at the time. Now that information technology's 2007, Ubisoft has delivered the first GRAW game for the PS3. However, instead of presenting the original GRAW, Ubisoft has instead provided Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, the sequel that was delivered on the Xbox 360 before this year. That'south sort of similar starting a book in the centre, only to be off-white, the GRAW games are less nigh story and more than most shooting things upward with side by side-generation weaponry.

Welcome back to Mexico in GRAW2. Now take out some more rebels.
Welcome back to United mexican states in GRAW2. Now take out some more rebels.

GRAW2 puts you in the steel-toed combat boots of The states Army Captain Scott Mitchell of the fictional 5th Special Forces Group (the Ghosts) for a grueling battle southward of the border in United mexican states. While you needn't accept played the first game to enjoy the second, it certainly helps to understand the overarching plot. A Mexican civil war has erupted between mutinous army units. For various reasons, the elected civilian government and the U.s. accept been fatigued into the conflict. In the new game, the fighting threatens to spill over onto United states soil along with the threat of nuclear weapons, which gives your superiors even more than reasons to scream at y'all over the radio to defeat the rebels.

What follows is more than of the intense infantry combat that featured in the original GRAW. You will become on both solo and team missions to achieve a varied prepare of objectives, from rescuing a Mexican journalist who has clues almost the insurgency, to neutralizing enemy encampments, and more. The action unfolds on both sides of the edge this time, and the game ably captures the outset-globe and second-earth settings. The Mexican side of the border faces even more turmoil than in the first game. The visuals in GRAW2 are also more stunning than in the original, cheers to sumptuous atmospheric lighting and furnishings. The incredible calibration remains; once again you lot'll wait out over vast cityscapes that consist of hundreds of buildings as you wing over in your Black Hawk helicopter. But now, you lot can also take in the stunning vista of a setting dominicus over the desert, or gaze at gigantic pillars of smoke rise from the fires of a war-torn Mexican urban center. Also, the PS3 suffers from a chip more aliasing than the Xbox 360, the colors are duller, and the frame rate struggles at times.

Similar to its predecessor, GRAW2 features a mix of on-foot and in-vehicle action sequences. Near of the time you'll exist on pes, hugging every bit of cover bachelor equally you engage a mix of Mexican Regular army rebels and strange mercenaries. The cover system remains solid, and you can "hug" most forms of cover simply by moving upward to them. In one case at that place, you can swing out or up to engage an enemy before dropping back to cover. It's this organisation that makes the GRAW games feel more authentic than other types of shooters in which you can only stand in the open. On top of that, the squad arrangement lets y'all command a small infantry squad, so information technology's not just yourself that you have to worry about.

Combat is visually intense, especially since you can see the wake of each bullet as it cuts through the air.
Gainsay is visually intense, specially since you tin see the wake of each bullet as it cuts through the air.

Control of your teammates, vehicles, or drones is a lot easier now thanks to the improved communications system. At present you tin can go a total-screen video feed from any friendly asset on the battlefield, which essentially lets you lot exist in two places at once. You lot can notice some embrace, tell your men to move to some other position, and and so employ their video cameras to locate and call out targets for them to engage. A absurd new battlefield drone called the mule has many uses, which include battleground resupply and healing, mobile cover, and remote-controlled sentry. You're able to control the mule directly from the camera view or give it movement orders on the fly. The overhead drone that was cumbersome to use in GRAW is also improved in the sequel considering information technology'southward far easier to control, and yous tin view its video feed in total screen rather than in a postage stamp-postage stamp-sized window. The game uses the Sixaxis movement controls in a limited, mostly ignorable fashion (the few motions bachelor aren't very good), but the bigger issue with the PS3 controls is that while in that location are multiple command configurations to choose from, none of them permit yous use R2 as the trigger. This seems similar an annoying oversight, especially because Rainbow Six: Vegas for the PS3 (a cousin to GRAW) did accept such an option.

Thankfully, GRAW2 manages to eliminate some of the frustrating gameplay elements that appeared in the first game, such as the annoying rooftop sniper hunts, which were more than of an exercise in trial and error than bodily skill. Those have been replaced with some riveting set-piece battles, including a Black Militarist Down scenario, likewise every bit drastic defend-and-hold situations. And while you lot can go through the game stealthily if you want by using suppressed weapons and sneaking almost, it'south just as much fun--if not more than--to get through with guns blazing. The large battles in GRAW2 are usually pretty awesome considering vehicles are exploding around you, helicopters are buzzing above, and the situation is going crazy. Possibly the best moment in the campaign is when yous're temporarily deprived of your high-tech gear, which deprives you lot of all the oh-then-helpful targeting information that can make the combat in GRAW2 feel a bit besides easy at times. Suddenly having to locate and identify your targets raises the intensity quite a bit.

The artificial intelligence in GRAW2 seems to be on par with the previous game in that information technology's OK and not encephalon-expressionless. Your teammates do a dutiful task of following you lot around, simply you lot'll still need to exercise most of the heavy lifting when information technology comes to combat. However, ane of the nice new features of the AI is that it does a fantastic chore of calling out enemy locations. For case, if at that place are 2 bad guys next to a cherry auto shooting at y'all, your teammates will yell out that very fact. Their "awareness" of the level and power to describe that to you is a squeamish bear on, which adds an actress chip of authenticity to a firefight. And the rest of the sound in the game is besides fantastic. With that said, it's worth noting that the plot feels similar information technology'southward starting to veer toward a territory of silliness, even for a video game. General Keating, your immediate superior, is more than overbearing than ever. He's constantly telling you what to do and behaving like he can rewrite the intensity of the situation simply by yelling louder. And and then there'southward the moment when the president of the The states gives you a personal pep talk in the center of a huge firefight, which suddenly makes GRAW2 experience like it's emulating the over-the-superlative histrionics of the television evidence 24.

The multiplayer suite is incredibly varied and has plenty of content.
The multiplayer suite is incredibly varied and has plenty of content.

The principal downside to the campaign is that it'south very brusk, and you tin get through information technology in maybe 4 or five hours at most, which means that it'south over before you know it. The good news at that place is that GRAW2 offers a huge amount of multiplayer goodness, even more than the original. There's something in the multiplayer suite for everyone, from a six-mission cooperative entrada that takes place in Panama, to an incredibly open-concluded competitive suite. The PS3 also ships with some exclusive maps, including some that are updates of classic Ghost Recon maps.

Not merely is in that location more multiplayer content in the form of new maps and new weapons, but in that location'south likewise stronger gameplay. For example, the graphics in multiplayer now match the quality of the unmarried-player game, which didn't happen in the original GRAW. The new levels are fairly big, large enough to make even 16-histrion games experience roomy, and their blueprint is inspired. For instance, "Crash Site" is prepare amidst the called-for wreckage of a downed US send aircraft. Maps can come in several variations, reflecting dissimilar times of 24-hour interval and lighting weather condition, which is a nice affect that shows off the cool new effects.

The host can set up upwardly a wide range of competitive games, from objective-based to simple team deathmatch. With all the variables that can be adjusted, from the amount of respawns, the weapon restrictions, the objectives, and such, there are effectively countless custom modes that can be created. Simply there can be a lot of silliness in multiplayer also. For instance, the new helicopter-hunt mode has you and your teammates doing nothing more than shooting down gunship and ship helicopters out of the heaven with rocket launchers. This task isn't too easy considering of the speed and maneuverability of the helicopters, equally well as the fact that they can strafe you with rockets.

The visuals are excellent all around and a huge leap up from the Ghost Recon games on the PS2.
The visuals are first-class all around and a huge jump upwardly from the Ghost Recon games on the PS2.

Meanwhile, the 6-mission co-op campaign is also a lot of fun considering you can romp through a separate storyline along with up to 15 other players. The gist of the co-op story is that a Panamanian strongman is funding the Mexican rebels up north, and a split up team of Ghosts is dispatched to go the chore washed. Battles rage effectually the Panama Canal and its outlying areas, with dynamic objectives and other neat new features adding an extra layer of challenge and coordination to the entire affair. Previously, you had to worry only about killing all the bad guys every bit fast as you could, but with dynamic objectives, your team has to coordinate its deportment to accomplish secondary goals. These goals include blowing up 2 radio towers simultaneously; destroying them separately would risk the appearance of enemy reinforcements.

The teamwork in the game is also enhanced in the co-op and competitive modes past the new aid arrangement. If you're shot in a manner that wouldn't instantly kill you, your graphic symbol will driblet and curl around on the footing, wounded. Y'all tin can cull to die and instantly respawn, only if there are friendlies around, they have a limited amount of time to patch you lot up before you dice. This adds an extra chip of urgency to the voice channel as players cry for aid and others blitz in to save them.

There'due south such a wealth of content in the multiplayer suite that it alone makes GRAW2 an like shooting fish in a barrel buy for multiplayer fans. The flip side to this is that if you don't similar to play online, then GRAW2 is an iffier proposition. The single-actor game is fun, just its brevity is certainly an effect. Still, if you're a fan of modern combat, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter ii makes a compelling example for a game that you lot have to play.

Editor's notation 08/31/07: The original review text stated that the game did not support Sixaxis motion controls, which is incorrect. GameSpot regrets the error.