BIOS: Technology Means Business

With more than 80 million books sold - including ‘The Hunt for Red October’ & ‘Clear and Present Danger’ - Tom Clancy is arguably the world’s most recognised author. Games lending his name are also pretty sweet. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW) is the latest instalment in the smash-hit squad-based action franchise. And while it was a flagship launch for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 earlier in the year, the game has only just made it over to the PC.

According to Ubisoft, the delay was a result of the company wanting to achieve better quality and deliver all the features it wanted to have in the game. The gameplay is very different from the console versions as the ghosts are controlled in a way that is specific to the PC, with a much more accurate order system. This involved adapting all the game content (including reprogramming completely the enemy AI) and tuning it to this way of playing. The storyline and setting of the Xbox 360 is shared, but all the rest had to be reworked to appeal to a Ghost Recon 1 audience while at the same time taking into account the new PC specific features. The other major differences are, of course, full first-person control and PC-specific multiplayer modes.

Ghost Recon 3 Advanced Warrior (Best Current Price: £23.99) is a typical first-person shooter, although it’s set in the year 2013. The US Army has been developing - and can now deploy - the Integrated Warfighter System (IWS), a complex combination of cutting-edge technologies that transforms an individual soldier into the ‘ultimate’ fighting force. This isn’t exactly true, as you’ll soon find that it’s extremely easy to get killed.

In GRAW, players embody Captain Scott Mitchell as he commands the Ghosts and Special Forces allies equipped with the IWS in the quest to save the president of the United States, recover stolen nuclear codes and eliminate a vicious band of renegade soldiers hell-bent on unleashing catastrophe. The game, on all platforms, unfolds entirely in Mexico City, where numerous detailed environments help to deliver complete immersion into the future of urban warfare.

The Ghosts have been ordered to participate in a Joint Operation designed to capture Mexican military officials engaged in illegal technology sales to Columbian rebels. The US President has joined the Canadian Prime Minister and the Mexican President in Mexico City to sign NAJSA (the North American Joint Security Agreement), a new policy designed to share the policing responsibilities along the borders of these three countries and control illegal immigration and the movement of drugs and terrorists in the hemisphere.

As a symbolic gesture a number of US military weapons and vehicles have been sold to the Mexican Government and are now situated at the Mexican Whitehouse - Chapultepec castle. However, during the public signing of the document the three leaders are attacked by Mexican soldiers opposed to what they consider an unreasonable concentration of military power in civilian hands (and even worse, in politicians’ hands).

The Ghosts, as the only US Special Forces on the ground, are ordered to meet up with Secret Service agents protecting the US President and ensure his safety until he is extracted. While the US president is on route to the Airport, the Ghosts secure the Mexican president. Thanks to the Ghosts actions, the Mexican President ‘Green lights’ US intervention on Mexican soil in order to re-establish Democracy. Unfortunately, the US president never reached the Airport and is now in enemy hands. The Ghosts must now hunt down his captors in a war-torn Mexico City and fight off a well-equipped Mexican force.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 shifted its game design from a 100 per cent tactical shooter to a more action-based game in order to broaden the audience. Fans of the original Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon questioned this shift. GRAW keeps the realism that the core fan base has loved since the original Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, but gives the game a huge boost with the help of next generation technology. There are 12 single player missions, with an average of six sub missions within each. There is also plenty of additional multiplayer levels. You can expect the single-player campaign to last around 20 hours.

IWS is a neat twist to the game as it combines advanced weapons systems, satellite communication devices and enhanced survivability into one fully integrated combat system. For instance, at any time you can view a squad members’ head-mounted video camera or call up a beautifully rendered map of the battlefield. From this map you can also set rallypoints and instruct droids (think ‘eye in the sky’).

The Cross-Com is a communication device powered by satellite technology. Attached to the soldier’s monocle, the Cross-Com provides full situational awareness and command of the battlefield. It allows you to command your Ghost squad (Follow, Attack, Cover and so on) and remote allied forces and drones, and direct artillery and air strikes. It also provides visual and auditory intelligence from allied forces and unmanned drones.

Combining the advantages of next-generation gaming technology with future military technologies, GRAW sports breathtaking graphics, lighting and textures, multi-windowing, and state-of-the-art physics. It offers loads of intense firefights in massive urban settings and some first-rate visuals. It’s not the most enemy-intensive FPS you’ll play this year, but the level design is intelligent and you’ll need to perform ‘proper’ military tactics instead of running around Quake style.

The sound effects and music are stunning, and the gorgeous details of Mexico City really do add to the atmosphere. It’s also worth mentioning that the interface is remarkably clean and efficient, and your soldier can run, lean and crouch, as well as dive and slide if you go prone while running. Other Ghost members are good at shooting and hiding on their own too, which makes a great change from other games that require you to permanently baby-sit. Enemy AI is also spot-on, creating a real challenge on later levels. The only downside is that a dozen levels in Mexico City can tend to get a little monotonous, and the save checkpoints are sometimes too sparse. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed GRAW and thoroughly recommend it!

[9] - Editor’s Choice

[Best Game Pricing UK]
[Best Game Pricing US]