Publisher: Ubi Soft, www.ubi.com
Ages: thirteen and up.
Parental
Advisory:
Violent war game
While the game recreates cold, brutal war, Ubi Soft's Ghost Recon is a bloody first-person shooter that requires planning, strategy and stealth, in addition to fast reflexes and trigger fingers. It's a violent game, but if the teens in your family insist on playing a first-person shooter, at least Ghost Recon makes them apply strategy and lets them work together through some challenging missions.
In the vein of Red Storm's excellent Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear, Ghost Recon is a first-person, squad-based shooter. Here players command "The Ghosts," an elite squad of highly-trained soldiers who are equipped with cutting edge weaponry. The setting is Eastern Europe, 2008. War has broken out on the borders of Russia and the call goes out for the Ghosts. As usual, when there is military conflict, the Ghosts are the first on the ground.
Originally a compelling and popular PC game, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is now an excellent Xbox title and the experience on the Xbox is comparable to that on the PC. The Xbox version offers 15 missions, dozens of weapons and various unlockable secrets.
The game offers a briefing at the start of each mission that explains primary and secondary objectives, and insertion and extraction points. After the briefing, a player customizes his or her squad by choosing soldiers and weapons. In each mission, players control a team of six soldiers that can be their choice of infantryman, heavy gunners, snipers, recon units and demolitions experts.
Unlike most first-person shooters that feature fast and frantic action, the gameplay here is methodical, with quick bursts of gunfire. A player controls each squad member-telling them where to go and what to do, and can even walk in their shoes. The battlefield is a dangerous place with snipers and enemy soldiers seemingly everywhere. When controlled by the game, the other squad members act in a fairly intelligent manner. The game also offers stealth features so soldiers can crouch, lean from behind objects, and more.
The multi-player experience is outstanding. Here the game supports up to four players in a split-screen mode, and some 16 online via an Xbox system link. Support for Xbox LIVE lets players assemble squads, jump into battle, and use voice communication to coordinate battlefield strategy.
The game looks good and features smooth animation, but the graphics are clearly dated from those of the PC version that was released last year. While the graphics are not cutting edge for the Xbox, this is not a big negative.
Definitely not a game for young kids, Ghost Recon offers a compelling and taut experience. It's a title that parents, particularly Dads, can enjoy playing with their teen kids. As it was on the PC, the Xbox version is addictive and entertaining.
2/19/03 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
