Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (Xbox 360)

It’s not just the gameplay that’s been tweaked in GRAW 2 either, Ubisoft have listened a lot to the feedback they got from the original and have made significant changes to the AI. Your squad actually (most of the time) tries to function as a cohesive unit, based upon their engagement mode (Recon or Assault) they’ll make tactical decisions and change position depending on what’s going on.

I always like to give an example of this rather than just talking about it in general terms, so I can pull a particular moment from an early mission where we are in cover behind a wall, there are bullets everywhere and my team’s under heavy fire from the ground based forces in the distance. I have the sniper, Alicia Diaz in my squad and she’s tucked nicely on the right hand side of the area, in cover.

I pop Scott’s scope up and get a view of the area, a quick check with the UAV and it confirms that there are at least twelve or more soldiers dug in. I switch the squad to Assault and they begin to exchange fire, even Alicia shoots off a couple of good shots without being told who to aim at.

It feels like a battlefield to me, because my team aren’t silent, they’re calling out enemy positions and talking back to each other, even to me. I take a few shots at the bad guys and the gunner informs me that it was some nice shooting, I’m feeling confident now and I pop up again, spot a rebel who’s making a break from cover to move to another section and give the snipe order.

He’s out of Alicia’s line of sight, I know this now, I just checked in Cross Com 2.0 – so before I do anything she informs me she needs to move, does just that, comes to my left and leans out. Bang, rebel dead, and then she moves back to different cover at the right.

That’s good AI.

My team are moving cover, taking shots and generally plugging bad guys. They call out enemy positions, they give me constant updates and we eventually get the job done. It’s silent and there’s a feeling of accomplishment coupled with teamwork, I start to actually give a damn about these soldiers at my side.

That’s great AI.

The enemy provide a fantastic challenge, they use cover and flanking techniques, and they work in squads and will often make sure they have something extremely solid between you and them – especially Armour like tanks or APC’s. They will press you hard and they are relentless with varying levels of accuracy, often however they will just saturate (suppress) an area with fire whilst shouting out orders of their own or taunting you (a fairly human reaction).

They are fond of grenades if you remain in one place too long, they will use them to attempt to flush you out. Your squad and the enemy have pretty good grenade avoidance AI as well so they will attempt to get the hell out of the way of one before it goes up.

Great gameplay, excellent AI and solid controls are married to some extremely gorgeous graphics. I can say that the explosions in GRAW 2 are without a shadow of a doubt some of the best and most pyrotechnical I have seen in a shooter to date. When you call in that airstrike for the first time and the bombs and rockets hit, you’ll be treated to a visual spectacle that nearly takes your breath away. It’s one of those sad ‘punch the air’ moments in games that you hope no one sees.

The graphics of GRAW 2 are a step above the previous title and are brimming with smoke effects, particles and lighting. The tutorial level that takes place as a simulated mission moves swiftly from day to dusk and the change is apparent as the real time lighting kicks in, the shadows lengthen and the dust creates impressive glowing beams of light from the sun.

The level of detail in level design and the architecture means that you are looking at some of the most detailed war-zones on a modern military shooter to date. Ubisoft have put a lot of time and effort in every element of these massive engagement areas, and it shows. The back alleys of Juarez coupled with the wide open vistas of the Mexican mountain ranges and deserts are brought to life near-perfectly.

Ubisoft have also taken the time and effort to make sure that the Ghosts look good as well; they have the latest in battlefield equipment and the latest gear – all of it looks damn-near authentic and extremely well detailed. I love the gleam on the Cross Com 2.0 for instance and the details on the various weapons.

Every weapon, every support, every vehicle enemy or ally has been detailed to the same level. Usually there’s a loss of detailing on the enemy units, but not this time, they are fully realised characters in their own right with a visual personality as well as their AI.

It isn’t just the look of GRAW 2 that holds it together, but the animations as well play a significant part in the whole experience. Some games have been accused of having stiff or clunky animations for characters and other elements, I can tell you now that GRAW 2 has some of the best character animations this side of Epic’s: Gears of War and Ubisoft’s own R6 Vegas and I am a sucker for good quality animation to be honest.

So with excellent top-notch next-gen graphics that don’t slip a frame even when things are getting pretty insane, good quality animations and detail in terms of level design and character/equipment/assets GRAW 2 also delivers on the audio front with a belting epic war-rumbling soundtrack and some gritty visceral sounds for weapons and vehicles. The hammer of staccato gunfire and the zip of ricocheting bullets make you duck your head on a good TV and sound system.

GRAW 2 is also packed with returning voice talent from the previous title as well as some new voice actors, once again Ubisoft have made sure that the performances are in character and produced with a passion for the role and job they’re doing. There’s nothing in the game that voice-wise, drags you out back into the real world and makes you go – my god that’s a lame sounding accent.