Where to Buy Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon - Xbox

Description

Set in the year 2008, Ghost Recon is a Tom Clancy-inspired war game that puts you in command of a Special Forces unit pitted against Russian ultranationalists trying to rebuild the former Soviet Union. Although the story arc is grand in scale (in keeping with Clancy's style), the game doesn't involve you in the war's major battles. You'll actually spend most of your time behind enemy lines--rescuing downed fighter pilots, knocking out enemy patrols, ambushing armor columns. You control a six-man squad, divided into two teams, and you have the opportunity to handpick your squad members (and their equipment) after each mission briefing. You can switch your point of view to any of the six active soldiers--the soldier you control automatically becomes the leader of his team, while the other team operates according to orders you give via a map interface. Thus, you can move one team into a covering position, leave them with orders to provide cover fire, and then lead the other team in to reach your objective. Or, break up your squad and try to achieve two objectives simultaneously. The level of detail and realism is incredible, right down to the way the soldiers communicate in hushed tones and with gestures. The complexity of the game requires an elaborate controller setup that takes a while to get used to (luckily there are plenty of training missions designed to help you learn the multitude of movement, weapons, and command functions). Once you get the hang of it, you'll find it's worth the time spent in boot camp. --Maile Bohlmann Pros: Incredible graphics and realism Wide array of tactical options integrates strategy into the action Missions are diverse and challenging Cons: Controls are complicated, hard to master, and sometimes counterintuitive Dramatic music and "drill sergeant" narration between missions is pretty campy Enemy soldiers sometimes behave too predictably Note: This review refers to the PlayStation2 version of this game.

Features

• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Genre: Action/Adventure

Customer Reviews

Highly Recommended.
Walter Reade

Ghost Recon is a welcome break from death match, you-must-be-on-speed-to-keep-up type games. Instead of pulling a trigger and running around until you kill someone, this game forces you to develop detailed strategies to accomplish your tasks. The action you do encounter (and there is plenty) is intensified by the fact the stakes are much higher -- a couple of bullets or a well-placed grenade takes you out of the game. This forces you to develop a properly planned and well executed course of action.The game is squad based. During single player mode, you play one of six soldiers and can switch between them at any time. Your player leads one squad of three, and you set a course of action for the other squad which is controlled by AI. As you complete missions and tasks, you unlock addition items such as new soldiers to choose from. Surviving missions also increases soldier skill.Ghost Recon has significant replay value. It has 15 levels and 50 different tasks to complete, but because there are so many strategies that can be used to complete a level, they can be played numerous times with the same enjoyment level. Of course, on-line play adds tremendous replay and excitement.In my opinion, the mark of a good game is how quickly time slips by while you are playing. Time after time I have intended to wrap up in 10 minutes only to find that an hour has passed. This is a fantastic game.I do have a few complaints. The graphics are generally good, but can be on the choppy side at times. I have also experienced instances where the AI squad didn't do what I had mapped out. But, for the most part, the game is a welcome addition to my game library.

The Thinking Gamer's Halo
M. S. Hillis

After burning out on Halo deathmatch and hankering for some good action to get the gaming juices flowing, I finally bought this game a couple weeks ago. The result? I am seriously addicted, and find myself creeping out of bed after the wife is asleep to just try one more mission!I pretty much missed the whole tactical shooter phenomenon on the PC. I had gotten bored with endless varieties of Quake and tournament deathmatch and more or less gave up on the genre in favor of strategy games that take more thought and planning. So it's been a pleasant surprise to see how far a shooter can be taken and how a game like Ghost Recon is more of a military simulator than anything else.I wanted a game that has both a compelling single-player mode as well as deathmatch capabilities. Ghost Recon delivers on both. The single player game is great for the ability to select and customize the six soldiers that comprise your squad. You only directly control one at a time, but can guide the actions of the others through a command interface that sets movement waypoints as well as aggressiveness, and you can take control of any soldier at any time. In playing against others you control a squad of three. The command interface and squad set-up interfaces take a bit of getting used to, but I had it down pat after a couple sessions.The gameplay is great and full of suspense and anticipation. You usually need to proceed through the map very carefully, keeping a low stance to evade detection while constantly scanning the terrain for your enemies. Unlike Halo, in which your targetting reticle lights up when it scans over an opponent, you may be unsure at times over what you're really aiming at: an enemy soldier or just a tree? Also, forget about taking insane amounts of damage or finding a "health pack" to fix your wounds. A couple shots will kill your soldiers, and if they get wounded, they limp around for the rest of the mission. If they die, you lose that character forever and have to train a newbie for your next mission.The game is great at creating a sort of spooky atmosphere. You are plunked down in a strange area with a map but no idea where your enemies are. The blowing wind makes trees sway and rustle, adding random movement that keeps you constantly on your toes. When gunfire has erupted from aside or behind me, I have literally jumped in my seat. One drawback is the total lack of interactivity with the environment. You cannot pickup objects, even weapons or ammo from your own dead. You cannot even open or close doors.I have seen lots of complaints about graphics and while they are not stellar, as in Splinter Cell, they are good enough to convey a sense of realism. There are also complaints that the AI is too dumb to rely on to guide your other squad members. My biggest gripe with the AI is that it is sometimes TOO effective. Often my soldiers have taken out the enemy without me ever seeing where they bad guy was. I wish there was some sort of notification after which you could instruct your unit to fire at will or something. The bad guy AI is generally decent, with them running for cover, etc. In one scenario, I watched a dude drop to the ground, then crawl around the other side of a car, then re-emerge to try to shoot at me.The only other main complaint I have is that the deathmatch option only supports two people playing on one Xbox, as opposed to the four allowed by Halo. And I understand if you do a system link, it is only one person per box. Unfortunately I am living outside the US and don't have access to Xbox Live, but everything I have read says this game rocks when playing multiplayer online.It short, Ghost Recon has a few shortcomings, but the outstanding gameplay simply overrides all of that. This is one of the best game purchases I have made -- up there with Halo and Max Payne. I am a new convert to tactical shooters, and will definitely keep my eye on further Tom Clancy-tagged games and those from the wizzes at Ubi Soft. Read more ›

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Lisa Shea

With Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, squad based combat on the XBox lets you play through single player missions or take it online with XBox Live for up to 16 simultaneous players.Gameplay involves you running a team of up to 6 members. The team members can be snipers, foot soldiers, engineers, and more. As in Rainbox Six, you can build your teammates up through the levels so they can gain more skills.The single player missions are interesting, with landscapes varying from countryside to small towns to big city streets. You have to use stealth and strategy to achieve your objectives without dying or running out of ammo. Each teammate must use his strengths and help cover for each other's weaknesses.The graphics aren't exactly stunning - while the buildings have windows and doors drawn on them, for example, you can't shoot out the windows. It's more like they are giant squares with murals painting on them. On the other hand, the human bodies are extremely well done, with their movement and actions.The sounds are immersive and draw you in. There's background noises of wind and cars which can make it harder for you to hear the footsteps of your enemy ... or at times mask the noise of your own footsteps. If a loud noise happens near you, it gives the realistic temporary 'underwater' sensation as in real life.Single player is just practice for the real fun of Ghost Recon - XBox Live play. Unlike PS2 or Computer gameplay, with XBox Live you're guaranteed that other players all have a high speed (Cable Modem) connection speed. This means the lag you see in many other on line games is pretty much completely avoided.We play a ton of games on line and this is one of our current favorites. Recommended for XBox Live owners who enjoy team-based gameplay.