Gameplay & Interface

Subtle changes

There are fifteen missions in Ghost Recon, which may seem short until you actually try one of these missions. At best, played by a skilled player who knows the mission, one can be finished in fifteen minutes to half an hour. Given the average gamer trying the mission a first time… it won’t be beaten. In fact, the average gamer will probably be unable to beat it over four or five tries, and will be lucky to escape with one limping team member if he does it sooner. Or you could be cheap and save at every step, but – take it from experience – that kills the fun. Otherwise, ‘fun’ surprises abound in the game.

Tank again

I can make him out, can you?

Careful...

One thing to learn is that you never ever let your guard down. Also, you always want to have a sniper and demolitions man with anti-tank weapons with you. I’ve yet to encounter a mission where the sniper hasn’t saved the day, or at least set up the victory. The ability to spot, and if necessary, pick off targets before they become a problem (or worse, force you to change course) is priceless. Having support troops with machineguns, laying down suppressive fire while another fireteam moves into position is priceless. Seeing a tank that was blocking the path go up in smoke is priceless. There are no useless agents. Keeping them alive isn’t just a matter of getting a good score, achieving an objective or being a good leader – it’s a matter of survival.

Leapfrog your squads through old, “clear” areas with the same caution that you go through the new ones. Stop, watch and wait for enemy patrols, take the time to scan further ahead with binoculars or the sniper. Do not reveal your position with pre-emptive fire if the time is not right. There are just too many lessons Ghost Recon forces the gamer to learn.

Taking fire!

The player needs to learn when to trust the AI’s skills above his own, which routes to move through and which spots to pick for staging points for the next phase of movement. The tactical map can see as much use during some missions as the game view itself. There is no such thing as “cruise along, and expect ambushes at these points”. The game can screw you over pretty much anywhere it chooses to.

She'll be coming down the mountain when she comes

I thought this wasn't SoF?

You can bomb the tree but you can't walk it

There are just so many fiendish punishments for sloppiness, one would think that the level designers are ex-Green Berets. Too impatient to wait? You might run into a patrol that was about to move into your sniper’s view, until you moved to ‘round the corner. Rushing ahead through forested terrain? Too bad for fireteam A that the tank behind the trees was paying attention and you weren’t. Careful with your men, you get only six at a time instead of sixteen as in previous games. Be especially careful with someone you need to complete a mission (such as a demolitions expert needed to bomb a target.)

The AI, both enemy and friendly, is extremely competent. They take cover, flee, react to incoming fire and take the time to aim properly. In fact, the enemy AI reacts too well with their aim against snipers, since at some distances they shouldn’t even be able to see the sniper without binoculars or a scope. On the other hand, they don’t radio for reinforcements, which keeps the gameplay vs realism score even at one a piece.

Command and control

The interface is somewhat cludgy at first. There are many commands unfamiliar to the regular FPS player. If you thought the ‘reload’ button was a significant advancement, prepare to be overwhelmed with team commands, team selection, character selection and group movement/behavior commands from the tactical map. This isn’t a bad kind of overwhelming, just a necessary one.

The basic commands could use a nicer, more familiar layout for regular gamers, but this is nothing that can’t be corrected with a little customization. The front-end could use a bit more work, especially (and ironically enough) the control configuration screen, as the full list of controls is never visible all at the same time.