An incredible tactical experience!

User Rating: 9.6 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter X360
By blkgto | Review Date:
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon games have always been quite enjoyable for me, but also extremely aggravating. With the release of Advanced Warfighter however, comes the release of the most well balanced, most intense, and most incredible tactical experiences offered yet by the series. The graphics are incredible, however the lighting can and does make it very hard to see in certain areas, and in certain areas you can see the enemies spawn before they launch an attack on you. Though this is slightly annoying, in the long run it does not really detract from the gameplay experience in any way. The city itself is immense, for when you hop on a helo at the end of a mission and take to the skies, it literally sprawls out beneath you as far as you can see. At a distance the windows in the buildings do a good job of reflecting the world around you, yet when you go up close to them its not nearly as sharp. The only gripe that I have is that considering how heavily populated mexico city is, there is no one around. Nobody is trying to go about their daily lives, there are no cars driving up and down the streets, save those that belong to the rebels trying to kill you. This is somewhat flustering but again it does not really detract from the gameplay experience. Take a moment to worry about that while you are playing and the next thing you know you are in a firefight and its the last thing on your mind. The soldiers look incredible too, both the members of your squad and the enemies look really good. However I personally love big gaping flesh wounds, and there are none on the bodies of the dead. With the kind of power the 360 offers, every shooter should have realistic bullet wounds. Fire fights however do leave very nice scarring across the faces of buildings, and if the enemy (or you) decides to take cover behind a vehicle, the windows can be shot out and the doors can be shot off, making for a good experience. Be warned though, eventually, the gas tank will go and the car will explode.

The sound is incredible as well, with the realistic thud of soft soled combat boots pounding the pavement as you make your way up through the various areas in the game ranging from the business district to the warehouse district, and eventually the shanty towns at the outskirts of the city. Soldiers call out orders to each other, and they echo quite realistically through out the map. I noticed two rebels talking to each other (in spanish) trying to figure out where me and my squad had disappeared to, and it really brought feeling into the game. The explosions are earth shattering with surround sound, yet unfortunately all the explosions look the same.

Tactically, this game is far superior to any of the other ghost recons in the series. There are borders to the levels, but you rarely run into them (if you play right) so again this does not really detract from the gameplay experience. Most of the time you have the opportunity to flank your opponent or establish fire superiority in a way that protects your team from harm so there is room for maneuver. The enemy AI is very good as well. They will pop smoke to cover their position, throw grenades, flank you, call for back up, anything real ppl would do to come out on top. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for your teammates. Who let these imbeciles through boot camp? Not only do the prove to be a danger to themselves, they can be a danger to you as well. When with your squad you need to be extra careful. I have noticed that paul smith (rifleman) really has a problem following orders too, but you can always shoot him in the head for disobeying you. I do. I dont know what it is about him. Maybe they gave him a seperate personality, but of all the teammates he is the one most likely to screw it up. He doesnt move when told to, and when he does sometimes he just decides to keep running. When in recon mode he is the only one who will open fire, and consequently he gets my team killed (go with ramirez).

The multiplayer is incredible. This is where the game shines. Absolutely incredible intense online multiplayer. There are additional campaign lvls included in multiplayer that you dont cover in the single player campaign, so you and your buddies can go head to head as a fully operational special forces chalk and unleash pain and suffering upon all who stand in your way. Other modes are Co-op Elimination (self explanatory) Co-op Fire Fight (my personal fave) and a few others, all of which are quite entertaining. You also have the ability to customize your own character, though its not nearly as in depth as say Oblivion, but you can choose their class, helmet style, face, whether or not they have face paint, etc. The guns are a lot of fun to use too. The big MGs really chew through ammo, car, and human tissue, and they feel extremely realistic thus providing a great deal of entertainment.

You can tackle any of these modes in multiplayer in a singleplayer manner too, so have fun with it, this game has a lot of replayability due not only to this but ability to change your tactics. The only real nusances are the scramblers that mess up your hud. I find those extremely frustrating. All in all however, this is everything you hoped it would be. I strongly encourage everyone to check this game out. You will not be disappointed.

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