DESCRIPTION

Taking place in the year 2014, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 finds the Ghost team once again fighting rebels from Mexico, only this time it's on the U.S. border between El Paso and Juárez. In order to prevent an imminent attack on American soil, players must lead a four-man team on an 11-mission campaign, with battles taking place in mountainous regions, deserts, rural areas, and small towns. A sophisticated graphics engine incorporates such elements as real-time day and night cycles, a dynamic weather system, and destructible environments.

The artificial intelligence of computer-controlled teammates has been an area of focus for this installment, with two new orders available to squad commanders: recon and assault. Issuing the recon order will have troops gathering intelligence and only attacking an enemy if fired upon, while the assault order has soldiers concentrating all their firepower on a specific target. The game also does away with the checkpoint system, allowing players to save their mission progress at any time instead of at specific intervals.

As players issue commands to their squad and carefully plan out their attacks, they can once again rely on CrossCom technology to view the battlefield from the eyes of their soldiers. CrossCom 2.0 lets players expand the picture-in-picture display to a full-screen view for a more detailed look at the environment. A tactical approach is essential, as rebels will not only attempt to flank your outnumbered squad on the ground, but they will also take advantage of elevated positions for sniper fire.

To help improve your team's chance of success, air strikes can be called, mobile cover can be utilized, and weapons can be replenished with unmanned artillery mules. Each squad member can also be healed directly on the battlefield with the new medic soldier class. The PC version is Swedish developer GRIN's second attempt at the franchise, with up to 24 players supported online in the exclusive Recon vs. Assault mode, pitting the agile Ghosts against the heavily armed Mexican insurgency on a choice of maps and victory conditions. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide