Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Review (X360)

Newbie Friendly

I have to admit, I’m not much of a Ghost Recon fan, or a Tom Clancy’s fan in general, but the tweaks made to Advanced Warfighter have changed the game for the better and made a game that is immensely enjoyable. It is a similar to my experience with Splinter Cell – I hated the other games but love Chaos Theory because they fixed the annoying things that made the game tedious and frustrating. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is the same way. It is still an extremely realistic squad-based shooter like before, but the setting is far more interesting and offers unique strategic elements and the new features such as the Cross-Com/Nar-Com feeds in the corners, the enhanced team and vehicle commands, and the great mission variety all go a long way towards making GRAW a whole lot of fun. The game plays just like before, but the abundance of cover and multiple paths to each objective just makes everything seem more approachable and interesting for someone like me that isn’t usually crazy about realistic squad shooters. So, my point is that even if you aren’t a big fan of the other Ghost Recon games give Advanced Warfighter a shot.

Multiplayer

Once you have had your fill of the single player campaign, which should take you 10+ hours depending on how good you are, GRAW has a humongous multiplayer mode to keep you busy. The multiplayer comes in two flavors, co-op and deathmatch. In co-op you and 15 other players can fight against the AI in a completely unique campaign that isn’t just a rehash of the single player maps. Deathmatch is very solid and comes complete with a wealth of options to customize games to play just the way you want them to. You can also play in splitscreen with up to four people. This game is a blast in multiplayer and worth the price of admission just to play with your buddies.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is one of the absolute best looking Xbox 360 games so far. The city is amazing looking and a nice touch is that you get to see it all from the air several times throughout the game as you fly to your next mission via helicopter. The city is highlighted by some really nice looking lighting that is about as real as you can get without actually going outside. The only real complaint I have is that the night vision mode is incredibly blurry and not all that useful.

The sound is also very well done. Sound effects for gunfire, explosions, and the various vehicles are all spot on and the voice work is very good on all counts.

GRAW is a game that is definitely worthy of the “next gen” stamp of approval.

Bottom Line

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is one of the best Xbox 360 games available right now. Gorgeous graphics, great sound, and solid gameplay in both single and multiplayer make this a very solid package. It takes the Ghost Recon formula and tweaks it and improves it and it all comes together into the best Ghost Recon game yet. Even if you aren’t a fan of the series, Advanced Warfighter is still worth checking out because while the gameplay is still mostly the same the urban environment gives the experience a different feel that may be more to your liking. If you aren’t a huge fan of the series already, give GRAW a rent first and see if it grows on you before you buy it. I bet you’ll find something to like. Ghost Recon fans can buy Advanced Warfighter without hesitation.