Pros: Awesome Graphics, presentation, endless replay, it's the gunner of the future
Cons: Not everyone may like the tactical style of gunplay here
The bottom line: Play Ghost Recon only on 360, because that is how it is meant to be played! Find a way to play this game or steal it from you friend!
Here we are in March and the Xbox 360 is finally starting to see some real gaming love. Ghost Recon 3, along with the New Elder Scrolls game are really going to shine. So I picked up this game because I was hoping for a truly great experience and GRAW has delivered. The single player game is very strong and solid with a robust amount of missions. The multiplayer and co-op are what give this it's near infinite replay value as long as you don't get bored.

So first lets get right to the first thing many people do when they pick up an action game, start the campaign. Ghost Recon unlike many games out there doesn't use to many cut-scenes to explain the plot to you. Instead you'll be seeing in game via a small screen that pops up or while your riding your helicopter from mission to mission. The game does this very well and I really got the sense I was in the middle of this fictional war. The action is set in the year 2013 and the military has some very cool new technology in its arsenal. The marine of the future is fitted with a high tech headset, top of the line gear and outfit, but most importantly powerful weaponry. The storyline is this: the Mexicans have been thrown out by the terrorists and you must win the city back, the Mexican President must also be saved along with the U.S. President later on. It’s not the most original story but the game more than makes up for it with an outstanding presentation. In terms of new in game additions the most obvious is the cross-com program integrated into the soldier’s helmet. You see a blue line around the screen and friendly units are also highlighting in blue. Enemies show up as little red diamonds from afar but when you get close enough they will have a red outline. This high tech stuff may seem to make the game play to easy but it really isn't. Your enemies won't show up red unless your drone, which flies overhead, isn't in the area. The cross com also points out your objectives in brownish orange. I learned to love this new setup and again it really feels like a war of the future.

So anyway who is this new war against and where? Well as with every Tom Clancy game these days there are terrorists involved. They are currently residing in Mexico City. So you and a squad of three mates are dropped off via helicopter and are expected to clear out and defeat them. These Mexican terrorists are not pushovers either; they are usually very smart thanks to the advanced AI on the Xbox 360. They shoot quite well, and use cover just as you do. Also you are not a super soldier, just your gear is. As well trained as any soldier ever is, he is still venerable to bullets, so dying is commonplace. You get three stages of health, green, yellow and red. If your shot close up, or they get a lucky shot on you then say goodbye and hello to a restart. I found this very frustrating and found myself using a trial and error approach much of the time. So no matter whether you play the game on normal or hard, the game gives you a big time challenge. Who thought Mexican terrorists could be so successful? Anyway I love the way this game is a rewarding run through Mexico, more so than a lot of army games.

Onto the game play, your typical workday goes like this. Hop aboard the old copter, get the mission briefing, mow down stray enemies with the mounted machine gun, always fun, then land, get out and kill enemies in the area. Many times you also must call in an air strike from the copter. Among the units you get to control include your squad and possibly a tank. Your squad, who you will mostly be fighting alongside with, is for the most part, helpful allies. They can never be as smart as you are, considering tactics, but they don’t get hurt to often, and will kill a great deal of enemies for you. In the game you use the cross com to order them around, by pointing out a location to go to or have them follow behind you. Using the helicopter is almost the same way and killing enemies with the deadly copter is mad fun. So how does your fighter control. Well among all the high tech gadgetry and stuff, you also have some very technical controls. At first I found the game difficult to get my hands on. Maneuvering in the game is key to survival. This means finding cover is essential. So shooting is the standard right trigger, but getting used to adjusting your soldier from one stance to another is where it’s tough. In G.R.A.W the walls are made to let you suck onto them with your back pressed against it. This gives you great cover, along with ducking behind something. The greatest moments in the game are when you are popping out from behind an obstacle and blazing the Latinos to their sudden death. Running in with reckless abandon almost never works, the terrorists are smart enough to get you here. Unless you aim and fire very quickly this approach almost never works. This game rewards you for being patient and precise, you must think through the situation before you go in guns a blazing. If a teammate is hurt you must get to him and heal him before the action gets to heavy. At certain point in the game you will be swamped so bad that a comrade must go to his grave. The fun of the game lies in the way you handle these ruthless terrorists. Getting the bullet in them first before you is what it's all about.

So because gunning is the main action here you’d wonder if the game gives you a good arsenal. That is partly true, a lot of the guns are high tech sniping type guns. Also in zoom modes you can’t rattle of bullets without repeatedly pressing R trigger. This offers more realistic gunplay. You are also equipped with a handgun and grenades. The handgun isn’t all that helpful; it’s cool but not effective. I guess if your main gun runs out of ammo then this would be fine. Grenades are great for taking out large chunks of guys and heavy vehicles. From time to time you also get a rocket launcher that kills just about everything but you can’t have it anytime you want.

So that is all the great game play GRAW has to offer but how does it look? Spectacular actually. It’s one of the finest graphical achievements on the Xbox 360 so far. The levels in Mexico are vast and capture the smoggy look of the landscape. The feel is definitely captured of being in the mother city of the country. Palm trees sway in the wind, the heat off the pavement radiates into the air, and the building give off shadows that are a real feast for the eyes. Your men look top notch too, given tons of polygonal detail. The uniforms look very lifelike and have lots of detail. The explosion and weapon effects are excellent as well, close to the effects of Call of Duty 2, which look amazing as well. Blowing up a tank is every bit as good as blowing one up in real life (ok not really) with the fire shooting everywhere, and the ground trembling. The enemy soldiers aren’t as good looking from way up close but who cares when you’re shooting these dudes from a hundred yards away. I also liked the way the cross com really highlighted my objectives and who I needed to watch out for. Although the game looks very good I can't say it's the best thing I've ever seen. Alot of times you can catch many graphical slack off like seeing undetailed textures in the buildings and such. This game is awesome looking as a whole, but when you pick it apart it's not as stunning. Then I saw what this game looked like on older systems it was shocking to see the difference so I have to hand this game a big star in this category. Aside from just the way static things are, GRAW features some outstanding animations that make this war seem that much more authentic. Watching your men rush up to a wall for cover is very well done. In a tense situation you can dive foward for a commado slide. Plus the enemies duck and dodge like real terrorists would. Not every animation is perfect but overall it's really stunning how much of the movements they got dead on.

Graphics are one thing but the sounds are great as well. Explosions are booming and the sounds of the guns are so well done it has to be recording of live weapons. The yells and echoes of the troops are very real as well. The game has some very good music as well but doesn’t get much time to show it off unless you’re in the menus. So in the category of voice acting I give an A plus as well, because the shouts and verbal cues sound just like the military did it themselves. Another little bonus is hearing your enemies in Spanish. All you bilinguals will have an easier time with the game if you know what their saying. Unfortunately I’m not fluent enough to understand.

Finally I have to give this game props for it’s outstanding replay value. Like Halo 2 you are given tons of multiplayer option so that you never have to play the same way twice. Setting up an online game is quick and painless. Customizing is made easy with the well-designed interface. Much of the online experience is just as good as the campaign and is every bit as fun. You can hook up with up to 16 people in tactical skirmishes that will have you entranced for months to come. Not only that but you are given online co-op too. So that 16 people can take on brand new missions in a smaller but fun campaign. It’s like the normal multiplayer except your back to taking out the computer with your friends. GRAW doesn’t slack off in any area of game play and fun and that is why I give it my highest recommendation. If you have an Xbox 360 look into renting or buying this game because it will have you hooked in a matter of hours. The only thing that could possible turn someone away is if they don’t like the tactical style of play but even I wasn’t a big fan of this before but Advanced War fighter changed my view completely. NOW GET ON IT SOLDIER!