Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
From UBI Soft
Eastern Europe, 2008. War has broken out on the borders of Russia and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Thats when the call goes out for the Ghosts an elite handful of specially trained Green Berets, armed with the latest technology and trained to use the deadliest weapons. Their mission: Spearhead the way for a NATO peacekeeping force,
- Amazon Sales Rank: #16287 in Video Games
- Released on: 2003-02-11
- ESRB Rating: Mature
- Platform: GameCube
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .20 pounds
Amzon.com
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.
A well-executed game that rewards thinking
Finally, a first-person shooter that requires strategy and forethought. This is one of my favorite games for the Gamecube. As another reviewer pointed out, this game will appeal to people who like the James Bond series of games, but is superior in every way.
The Gamecube version of this game does not have online multiplayer capabilities, a significant drawback compared to the Xbox version. It still gets 4 stars from me because the single-player game is so deep and so much fun, I never notice the lack of online capabilities. The A.I. of your squad members and of the enemies is intelligent and sophisticated, and requires real strategy from you to get missions accomplished. Also appreciated is the realism of combat - one wrong move and you're dead. No unrealistic "health meters" in this game, and no flashing hearts lying around to restore health. Either you survive or you don't, which introduces a level of excitement to completing a mission that I didn't even know was missing from other games until I played Ghost Recon.
This game sounds remarkable in a surround-sound setup, and since the game is designed so that you need to know if someone is sneaking up behind you, surround-sound can actually enhance your gameplay. This game comes most highly recommended.
Solid Game -- Highly Recommended!!
(Note: This review is based on the Xbox version, but I have not included any Xbox-specific features.)
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.
Develop Strategies
I do not consider myself to be a serious game player. However, I do enjoy playing this game a lot. First, the emphasis is on developing and implementing strategies, rather than just randomly running around shooting or blowing up things. For example, as a goal I try to accomplish the tatical missions while minimizing the casualities of my squad(s). In real life, losing 5 men to save a pilot would not be considered a successful mission. The game seems much more realistic that way. Moreover, Ghost Recon could be considered more of a combat simulator than a video game.
The missions are challenging and realistic. The game controls are a bit ackward, and I still make mistakes even though I'm fairly familiar with most of the actions. I haven't quite figured out to strategically use the map and Rules Of Engagement to its fullest. I am unsure if the fault is with me or the game.
Overall, I would recommend this game to anyone who wants to learn tatical combat strategies. It allows you to practice different roles in each mission (leader, support, demolitions, and my fave, the sniper). This may not be the game for you if you like shooting and blowing up things with as much carnage as possible. This is more of a strategy game that has plenty of action and firefights, but you must be patient and plan if you want yourself and your brothers at arms to survive.
The artificial intelligence is good, and not too predictable. However, you may be wiped out if you let your guard down thinking that you know the scenerio. The game also seems to emphasize eliminating all opposition in order to win, which takes from its realisim to a certain extent. For example, you simply do not rescue and guide the pilot to the extraction zone, but you must kill all enemies to complete the mission.
