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North Korea, 2011. You lead the Ghosts - the most cutting-edge
ground force in the world. Your orders: Disable a rogue Korean
military faction before it triggers full-scale nuclear Armageddon.
Welcome to the war of tomorrow...
Ghost
Recon 2 (or
to give it its full title: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2)
represents a huge leap forward for the series. There are so
many alterations to the first instalment that you'll probably
not realise that it is supposed to be the same franchise.
The
plot, for what it's worth (you'll only really be interested
in getting down and dirty with the bad guys - not on the back
story): In the wake of one of North Korea's worst famines,
food riots begin rocking the countryside, and the rogue North
Korean general assumes complete control of the army. Blaming
China for the famine, he begins charging north to seize Chinese
territory with tacit support from its new Russian ally. China
moves to respond, but limits the level of escalation, fearing
open conflict with Russia and a possible nuclear exchange.
Instead, China officially agrees to a multinational force
to safeguard the China-North Korean border. Unofficially,
the Ghosts and other special forces go in. Their mission:
cripple the North Korean threat and depose the rogue general.
The
graphics, gameplay and sound are all outstanding. But
there are some issues I had with this release. My biggest
gripe is that it is too damn hard. There is very little freedom
to explore your terrain. You have to get in, complete your
orders and get out. And it is not possible to complete another
mission, or level, until you have satisfactorily completed
the current goal - each level has a number of goals you need
to complete in strict order. There is also an element of trial
and error to the gameplay. Get killed (which you will be doing
time and time again) by an unknown sniper, and when you reload
your game you'll get a chance to spot your enemy before he
cuts you down. Thank heavens then, that you can save the game
at any point - you may find yourself being killed time and
time again while you try and work out how many enemies are
shooting at you and the best way to take them out.
Another
annoying elements is the fact that your squad can be pretty
stupid. I lost count of the number of times I had the enemy
all lined up in my gun sights, only to see one of my team
running in front of the cross-hairs as they also attempted
to take out the bad guys.
The
controls were also a bit of a pain. It took me a good three
or four levels to get used to the buttons. But even then,
in the heat of battle, I had a problem remembering which was
the correct combination of buttons to order my men to advance
or retreat.
There
is also a gun camera, that can be used on certain weapons,
which allows you to see around your hiding place without your
enemy picking you off. In theory it sounds great, but for
some reason they were still able to shoot me, even though
I was hidden behind a solid barricade. I'm assuming that they
could still shoot my gun hand, but it wasn't clear.
But
these moans don't detract too much from what is a realistic
and engrossing game of strategy. And while this frustrates
more than rewards, it is certainly a game you will want to
come back to time and time again - but only in short bursts.
Nick
Smithson
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£29.99
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