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GRAW 2 Preview
Author: Ryan GarsidePublished: 29th January 2007
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 takes place almost directly after the final events of the first game. There’s still a bit of a commotion in Mexico, but now the fight is getting closer to American shores. You’ll be tasked with leading your team of Ghosts, completing missions to try and stop the rebels from winning the day. Straight away the impression you’ll get from GRAW 2 is that this is not a game wanting to push too many boundaries. The first one worked, and what ain’t broke…
That look must have been written all over my face, as the developers making the presentation quickly rushed to explain what made GRAW 2 special. “We’ve listened to the gamers, tried to preserve all the things that were good about GRAW 1 and fix all the areas people had problems with.” Well, that makes sense – so what exactly does GRAW 2 fix?
It's the AI, stupid
The area that has probably received the most attention has been the AI of your team mates. Think back to GRAW 1, at how many times your supposedly highly trained squad mates would do something bemusingly stupid. Tell them to run to an area and a lot of the time they would simply make a mad dash for it, regardless of what popped up along the way, and generally giving you the feeling that you were actually babysitting.
As commander you now face two options, two modes if you will, for how you wish to tackle a mission. The first mode, recon, is a stealthy option, whilst the second, assault, is for those who fancy all out gun-slinging. The mode that you set your team to (you can set individual team mates different modes too) will completely alter their behaviour.
Demonstrating this, we saw a soldier being ordered into recon mode before being sent off into the darkness where the enemy lurked. The first thing you notice is the way his walking is far more stealthy, that and the fact that he is seeking out places where he can hide as we order him forward. Upon spotting an enemy, a rebel walking up a street with a gun and a flashlight, he doesn’t immediately engage. Instead he tags him and reports it back to you. Finally you can send your ghosts into battle without having to worry that they’ll decide to do a Rambo and start blowing people up!
A cunning plan, my Lord
This whole recon mode would be far less useful if it weren’t for another new feature. As commander you’ll now be able to hook straight into a controllable camera of your squad mates’ helmets. Not only that but you’ll now be able to issue commands direct from the camera. Want your guy to move in the direction you're looking? Easy peasy, simply right click, select the option and he’ll start heading there. The developers even went as far to say that with this new, enhanced ability to control squad mates, you could actually play the game like an RTS and not even go round shooting people yourself. A brave claim that will certainly be put to the test when review code comes in.The alternative to recon is assault. This is pretty much what you think it is, your soldiers will engage enemies when they see them, everything is hyper aggressive with the intention to kill and maim being primary. The choice between the two makes for some very interesting gameplay dynamics in both single and multiplayer. More about that later.
We were shown two maps in the demonstration, with the intention being to highlight the difference in tactical requirements to complete objectives. It should be emphasised that the game doesn’t force you to use one strategy or another, but simply that certain missions are easier when played in a certain style.
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