Joystiq hands-on: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360)
by Jennie Lees 
{ Nov 17th 2005 at 6:00PM }
Joystiq managed to spend some quality time trying out the multiplayer component of Ubisoft's upcoming Xbox 360 title, Ghost Recon 3: Advanced Warfighter, at a world exclusive showing in the UK. Online and LAN play can make or break a title, as the continuing success of games like Halo 2 shows. The Ghost Recon series has been steadily gaining followers.
As Ghost Recon 3 is in the earliest stages of pre-release, after being delayed to 2006, the game presented was fairly unstable and had a tendency to crash if something complicated happened, such as pressing the Back button, or joining a game in progress. Teething troubles aside, the LAN game setup consists mainly of well-known elements from Ghost Recon 2's multiplayer mode, but also adds some new options and gametypes such as the enigmatic Bounty Hunter mode, which a handy Ubisoft rep refused to explain. The familiar option to choose a player 'class', such as Rifleman, is made in the pre-game lobby and displayed for all players to see, echoing Rainbow Six: Lockdown's soldier class system, although this choice does not restrict players' weapon selection (according to Ubisoft).
Most of the controls are the same as in previous Ghost Recon titles,
albeit mapped to the 360s controller, taking full advantage of the new shoulder buttons. This makes them easy to
learn, but also dulls the excitement of a new game on a new platform and makes the title feel more recycled. Jumping
into the game is easy for anyone familiar with the various Tom Clancy-inspired games, and the gameplay feels almost
identical to GR2, although movement is more fluid and the graphics are
sharper.
Only one mapthe desert-themed Arroyowas available for testing, so no
conclusions can be drawn there; however, the high-definition TV made a big difference to the visual quality of the map.
Careful placement of rocks and stones in the distance, now crisply visible, caused most players to shoot at walls,
deceived into thinking they were enemy soldiers; others wandered into pools of water and admired the graphical effects
whilst getting shot in the head from afar. It certainly made a change from the endless parade of sandy rocks that made
up the rest of the map.
Overall, the multiplayer modes seemed little different from those in Ghost Recon 2, other than the expected improvements caused by a faster console with better graphics. The promised technological feel of the storyline was subdued during the multiplayer mode, although the single player game promises to be a rich and engrossing experience. Diehard fans will love it, but the jurys out for now on whether new players will be convinced. Especially if they hate rocks.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Johan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
Lol, yup O RLY, more or less, but that's because that's all that 360 is offering.
I mean, is everyone here too young to remember being 'wow-ed' by a console? Well, it's been almost 6 years since the beginning of this generation... that's a lot of doubling of processing power... so forgive us if we're not impressed by the exact same game with slightly better graphics!!
TEH FIRST @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
I AM TEH FIRST AHDFKLDSNJGSAGNLKJ
This looks so sweet, I can't wait for this.
PC or 360!! Bah! I'll never know!
MegaWatts @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
I sure hope they fix that abortion of menus they had in GR2. That wrecked the game for me. I suppose the XBOX 360 glowing ring button thingy should have nice LIVE menus and organization. I sure hope. Oh, and fix the fricking spawn campers!!!
Eric @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
Have they addressed issues with lighting?(how it was presented kind of washed out yellowish...kinda)...I know a lot of people were bitching about that when they showed clips at E3.
Geordan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
how about some more screens guys? So far we have next to nothing in the way of quality screen shots.
Instead of clicking the one screenshot to see a bigger one, or even a gallery, you take us to their dang product page that noone wants to see anyways! More pics!
jl @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
Geordan - the mean-looking Ubisoft guards chased us away with big sticks when we brandished cameras, so that's the only one you're getting, I'm afraid!
Geordan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
Ok :) thanks
The player texturing looks sharper in that one. Although that could be because of the light, and the fact that it was resized.
xbox360-forums.com @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
I'd hope that my clicks on google ads are paying for protein milkshakes, and gym membership to rival such guards
O RLY @ Dec 18th 2005 9:38PM
I havent read the article and I dont have to to make this guess:
Joystiq will be less than impressed. They'll throw a few bones at the game but quickly add a caveat. "yeah, the graphics are good, but not as good as if blah blah blah". Or "yeah its next gen, but not NEXT gen".
Now I'll go read the article and see if I'm not right.