"We Have Permission to Blow Things Up."

Author's Rating:

Pros: Graphics, sound, lots of trees, realistic enemy AI, heavy weapons.

Cons: Occasionally frustrating, friendly AI isn't good enough to rely on when things heat up.

The Bottom Line: 
If you liked Rainbow Six, you should definitely snap up Ghost Recon. It has the same realistic combat, better graphics, better sound, and a more "military" approach to things.

Author's Review
Are you tired of having an “SD” added to the name of every weapon you carry? Does general mayhem ensue when you realize that you’ve been assigned to another hostage-rescue mission? Do you sometimes wish that you could detonate that bomb instead of defusing it?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any, all, or none of these questions, read on.

The first two games in Redstorm Entertainment’s Tom Clancy series (Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear) both focused mainly on anti-terrorist operations. You were usually expected to rescue hostages, defuse a bomb, or both. Sometimes, “The use of deadly force was not sanctioned”, meaning that you couldn’t even defend yourself. The focus of the games was generally on stealth. There’s nothing wrong with stealth, and I enjoyed both games immensely. However, after sneaking my way through both of them, silenced submachine gun in hand, I began to feel the need for something more powerful—something loud, something that could rip through walls, preferably something that had a large magazine…

Something like the MG-3 Squad Automatic Weapon.

Ghost Recon, the third installment in the now well-known Tom Clancy series, takes a departure from the rest in both its gameplay and its objectives. There’s also a plethora of new weapons, including the M203 grenade launcher and the AT-4 antitank weapon. For good measure, vastly improved graphics have been thrown in, as well as advanced AI, enormous environments, and (rejoice!) a save system.

Overall: 5

I think I just gave away what I was going to say here. Once again though: Ghost Recon focuses on military operations, which means that you’ll get to place the bombs rather than defuse them, and powerful, non-silenced weapons are the norm. There are also several stealth missions thrown in, so the game still has its share of sneaking. The AI is much smarter and also less inhumanly accurate. There are huge environments to romp around in, and a save system has been implemented. Graphics are breathtaking, even on a system close to the minimum requirements. Sound is also excellent. If you’ve got the money to spare, buy Ghost Recon. If you don’t, I’d recommend finding some.

Gameplay: 5

As I said, Ghost Recon focuses on military operations, not counter-terrorist operations. (To be fair though, there are two missions in which you need to rescue someone.) So, your squad will be facing better-organized enemies, who always have a huge numerical advantage, and usually have heavy weaponry. In general, you can expect the enemies to have the same types of equipment that you do—grenade launchers, sniper rifles, and machine guns to provide suppressing fire.

You might wonder how your squad (which can only have 6 soldiers in it now, reduced from the previous 8) can stand a chance against these odds. First of all, the enemy doesn’t expect your squad to be arriving, while you do know that it has arrived. Secondly, an “enemy indicator” tells you the rough location of where the enemies are, as well as how close they are—but only to a certain extent. The indicator isn’t too exact, but it is still invaluable in finding and killing the enemy.

The most important advantage, though, is that you can almost always stay hidden until you actually engage the enemy. I may have made it sound as if this game is played Quake-style, but it’s not. This is still a tactical shooter, and that means that you’ll still need to be careful and methodical. Using the three available stances—standing, crouching, or going prone—you will generally find it best to sneak, then let all heck break loose. Examples: You sneak up to the enemy stronghold with your machine gun, then open fire at close range, killing them all. You sneak up to the tank, then pull out the AT-4 rocket launcher and fire a rocket up its tailpipe. You sneak up to the top of a hill, and then rain down grenades upon the enemies below.

And to aid you in this sneaking, the designers thoughtfully provided trees. There are lots and lots of fully 3D trees. This game has the best-looking forests I have ever seen. Not only do these trees look nice, but they also mean that you won’t have to crawl everywhere. It’s often best to run crouched, losing a bit of stealth, but gaining a lot of speed.

There are 15 missions in which to exercise your expertise. There are always four objectives. In the first 12 missions, the fourth objective is a “bonus” objective, meaning that while it is optional, you will “unlock” a “hero” by completing it. The words “unlock” and “hero” always raise little red flags to me, particularly in a “realistic” tactical-action game. However, the concept is very well used. The “heroes” (also known as “specialists”) have different weapons than your normal team members. I always looked forward to finding out what equipment my new squad member carried.

Another new aspect to the Tom Clancy series is the concept of "Combat points". Every squad member is rated in four categories: Weapon, Stealth, Endurance, and Leadership. The maximum number of points is 8. At the start of the game, everyone has only 1 or 2 points in each category. Every time someone goes on a mission, he/she is given 1 point that can be assigned to any of the four categories. By the end of the game, you can expect to have some pretty dangerous soldiers on your side. The combat points really do make a difference in how well everyone performs.

On the subject of weapons, the selection system is much less sophisticated than in the previous two games. There are four types of team member—assault, support, demolitions, and sniper. Each class has a specific firearm: The M16, the M249 SAW, the M4, and the M24, respectively. In addition to their primary weapon, everyone can carry another slot. Everyone has the option of a pistol or extra ammo, demolitions can carry antitank rockets, and assault specialists have the option of grenade launchers. There are also binoculars, frag grenades, claymores, and movement sensors, but each team member can carry only two items at a time. This is balanced by the fact that they carry lots of ammunition—a default of 10 30 round clips for the M16, for example. The specialists, with their non-standard weapons, also help make up for this.

And, of course, the computer characters are there for you to empty bullets into. The AI has been vastly improved. You’ll generally get only one good shot at someone with a sniper, because once you do fire everyone In the vicinity will drop to the ground and empty 1 or 2 magazines in the direction that the bullet came from. These shots almost never hit, unless you get lucky. After a while, a team of 3 or more troops will be sent to investigate. If you kill everyone at a small outpost, you can expect anything from 6 to 12 troops as a response. They are quite smart. In addition, the accuracy level has diminished greatly, lowering it to much more realistic levels. You will no longer be hit on the first shot by someone who’s 100 yards away.

I’ve heard the complaints about friendly AI, and apparently the version that I bought was patched. I will admit that they aren’t as smart as they could be, but they aren’t extremely stupid, either. The best rule of thumb is to assign an AI team to cover you while the team that you are in control of does most of the work. Speaking of teams, you can switch between control of any of them, if you so desire. It is also now possible to control anyone on your squad, not just the team leaders. Another major change made is that there is no longer a planning phase. You do everything on the fly. It is possible to assign waypoints and Rules of Engagement using an easily accessed command interface. There are a few missing commands that would have been helpful, though. For example, it would have been helpful to be able to tell your team members to go prone. Other than that, there aren’t many complaints.

Graphics: 5

The graphics are phenomenal. I already mentioned trees, and I never thought that trees could look so good. Forested areas look very green and inviting. Explosions also look great, and when a grenade lands close enough, the entire screen will shake. Simple as it is, a shaking screen is one of the best ways to simulate a feeling of power, and it is used very effectively. The weapons are all modeled well, and so are characters within the game. The camouflage that is used is very effective. I often had a difficult time picking my sniper out of the surrounding brush. There are also some very excellent character animations. Death animations are numerous and varied. Shooting someone with a low-power 9mm pistol will result in their body crumpling to the ground, while shooting someone with a .50 caliber sniper rifle will cause their whole body to jerk backwards.

Sound: 5

Some good advice: Turn the speakers up, unless someone lives in the same house as you. If that is the case, you should use headphones. One of the missions (Coincidentally, my favorite) involves storming an occupied city with tank support. The quality of the sound is probably demonstrated best then. The tanks are incredibly loud, as are their machine guns and cannons. When you destroy a tank, pained screams will come from the crew as they burn to death. The weapons, particularly the machine guns, all sound very loud and powerful, like they should. The aforementioned grenade effect is accompianied by an explosion that seems powerful enough to shake the screen on its own.

But there’s also a lot to appreciate in the quieter aspects of the sound effects. You spend much of the game preparing to engage in combat, and there are all sorts of birds, crickets, and other ambient effects that almost seem to increase the silence. This makes the times that you are in combat all the more intense.

So, I hope you enjoy Ghost Recon when you buy it, and I hope it doesn’t cause you to strain any relationships. Thanks for reading, and Happy Hunting!