Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike is a stand-alone expansion pack for Ghost Recon 2 which was released in late 2004. Don’t let the term “expansion pack” put you off, however, because Summit Strike has a ton of new maps and features as well as an all new single player campaign with an MSRP of only $30. Whether you are a Ghost Recon veteran or just want to see what the fuss is about, Summit Strike is a worth checking out.
Features
The single player campaign follows the ghosts as they hunt for a Pakistani terrorist that unleashed chemical weapons on a village, among other things. The story isn’t terribly inventive or fresh, but it justifies all of the lead flying around so it works well enough.
There are 11 original single player missions to play through which all take place on enormous maps and each mission has multiple objectives. You can also play these missions in Lone Wolf mode and in co-op with a friend which is a huge plus. The levels are absolutely massive and because of their sheer size and the surprisingly varied mission objectives, there are lots and lots of ways to complete missions and this variety ups the replay value of the single player game tremendously.
Multiplayer is the key ingredient to Ghost Recon 2’s success, however, and Summit Strike delivers in this area big time. There are 25 maps and 24 different game types that you can play in splitscreen, LAN, and on Xbox Live. Modes include standard deathmatch as well as a number of co-op modes. Summit Strike is as good of a multiplayer experience as Ghost Recon has ever offered.
Gameplay
One thing that has to be mentioned is that Summit Strike or the other versions of Ghost Recon 1 or 2 aren’t for everyone. They are realistic team-based tactical shooters and if you want to just run and gun and play Rambo you won’t survive for very long. Your AI controlled teammates do a good job of acting like a real military unit and taking care of business, but you still have to keep on your toes in order to stay a step ahead of the enemy. The whole idea is to sneak around and take enemies out without drawing too much attention to your squad and it proves to be quite a challenge for those of us used to playing, say, Halo. At times the gameplay can be frustrating because unless you go over every inch of the horizon with a fine tooth comb, you’ll be shot at by enemies that you didn’t even know existed. Also, your AI will spot and take out enemies before you even know about them. For gamers not used to the pace and style of Ghost Recon, this is a bit of a turn off so it definitely isn’t for everyone. If you are already a fan of the Tom Clancy’s games, Summit Strike plays as good if not better than anything else so far. Military shooter fans will love Summit Strike. Period.
Graphics and Sound
Visually, Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike is impressive. The levels you’ll explore, which include snowy mountains and urban environments among others, are remarkably detailed and look startlingly realistic. The draw distance in the levels is fairly far so you can pick out enemies from quite a distance without having to squint through too much fog. Also noteworthy is that the animations are very smooth and realistic and little details such as reloading or watching soldiers switch weapons by slinging the old one over their shoulder and then grabbing the new one add a lot of authenticity to the game. The explosions and lighting effects are also really, really nice.
The sound is just as polished and realistic as the visuals. Weapons and explosions are very loud and hearing bullets zipping past you as you look for cover add a lot of tension to an already tense situation. The music during cutscenes is typical guitar-heavy and overly dramatic action music, but when you are out in the field the sound of your own footsteps and gunfire make up the soundtrack and it is absolutely wonderful.
Bottom Line
Since this is an expansion pack it is pretty easy to recommend. If you are already a fan of Ghost Recon 2, you’ll absolutely love Summit Strike because it is a whole bunch more of the same stuff that you already like. If you tried GR2 and didn’t like it, Summit Strike won’t change your mind because there really isn’t anything new or different here. On the off chance that you have managed to avoid the Ghost Recon games specifically and Tom Clancy universe in general, Summit Strike is as good of a place as any to start because you’ll be getting a lot of content – both single and multiplayer – for $30 and that sounds good to me. Summit Strike is a pretty solid purchase without renting first because you should already know at this point whether this type of game is your cup of tea or not. At the very least it’ll help you kill the time until Ghost Recon 3 hits Xbox 360.
