Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

The Good
Ghost Recon is a lot like a cross between Novalogic's Delta Force series and Sierra's SWAT 3, you have to sneak around and pick your moments to act while trying to achieve your objectives. After completing a mission each soldier who participated is awarded 2 points to improve their stats(which start off very low) and completing some missions will unlock 1 of 12 specialists, these specialists usually have better/different weapons and much better stats. The levels are all very impressive, trees sway in the breeze, rebel camps have camp fires and washing hanging on clothes lines while another level has heavy rain, mud caked roads and fields, destroyed buildings and artillery that lights up the distant sky. Issuing orders is incredibly simple - just point and click on an overlaid map and the soldiers will either respond or you will get an annoying buzzer sound indicating it's not possible (no explanation will be given though).

The Bad
Overall the game is far too short, it's only a completely linear 15 mission campaign, the missions don't take too long to complete, usually about 5 minutes but will take longer if you try to make it through the game without losing any soldiers. It suffers from 'Delta Force Syndrome', you can complete each mission by taking your time, sneaking around the perimeter sniping everyone. Each soldier has a fixed kit selection with a fixed primary weapon and a variation of secondary equipment (more ammo, field glasses or a sidearm) so instead of giving your best demolitions soldier a satchel charge to blow up a bridge, you have to pick the demolitions soldier who has satchel charges in their kit selection. This also falls apart when the action starts, if this soldier is killed the mission automatically fails. Also, if you run out of ammunition you can't pick up an enemies or a fallen team mates weapon, this soldier then becomes useless. The specialists you unlock are far superior to any other soldiers that once you have unlocked two of them (usually after two missions) you don't need to use any other soldiers. The AI of team mates can be stupid at times, if you switch control to another team your previously selected team will often change posture which can lead to them being spotted and killed, plus they never even try to find any cover what so ever, they prefer to sit in the open rather than crawl into some nearby ground cover. Team members with an automatic weapon will often stand up while the rest of the team is crouch or prone and fire off 40% of their magazine in one burst, needless to say these team members tend to die first. The path finding is very bad, often team members will get stuck behind objects or just plain lost and you are forced to either go back and get them or change control to said team member and 'rescue' them. The enemies aren't much better, they will often stand upright in the open, firing bursts at you. They often stand perfectly still looking at a door way or a gap in some rocks, waiting for you to come to them only for you to come round behind them or shoot them in the arm the juts out. Often you will see the barrel of a gun or even an arm or leg clip through a wall or door giving away the position of an enemy, you then take your high powered rifle and fire a few rounds in the rough direction of the person attached to it only to find out your bullets don't penetrate anything but glass, this is truly bizarre considering how much effort went into making this game realistic. The sound/enemy detector is a nice feature but despite being a little crude (only places sounds in 90 degree zones) it makes the game too simple as it effectively tells the position of all the enemies. Issuing orders is all done in real time and is completely mouse driven which means no keyboard short cuts to speed up the process. Orders are only incredibly simple: move here, look in this general direction, only fire if fired on, fire at will or suppress any suspected enemies. These orders are far too simple for a so called 'tactical shooter'. Only one order can be issued to a team at any one time which means you have to either wait for them to finish the first order, or over ride it with a new one. You can't give more than one team the same order at the same time which means even longer that you are open to hostile fire.

The Bottom Line
Fun for the few hours it will take to finish it. Fans of Rainbow 6 might not like how it has been dumbed down but fans of SWAT 3, Delta Force should really enjoy it. It doesn't have the depth to be a lasting favourite but has some impressive features that will become standard in the future.

The Good
GR puts the emphasis on sneaking about and staying hidden more than its counterparts, something I always appreciate in a shooter such as this. The game seems more similar to Sierra's classic SWAT 3 than to the other Clancy tactical games. Only here you're more liable to find yourself beating back bush in outdoor terrain than the close confines of a convention hall. The graphics are slightly refined, with the biggest improvement coming with those pesky tree textures that most games of this ilk seem cursed with. They're certainly a big improvement over the horrible visuals of Operation: Flashpoint. The missions are nicely varied as well, and are of a decent length so you don't have to invest 4 precious hours trying to clear one level. You can also save whenever you like, which makes things much less frustrating. Also simplified is the command scheme for controlling your teams. With a keystroke you can call up a map whereby you can send your fireteams to locations with different battle stances and weapons readiness. There's also a nice compliment of weapons....

The Bad
...which unfortunately you won't have instant access to. In one of the many limiting design flaws of GR, only specific team members can use specific weapons so you can't outfit your entire team with your favourite armaments. There are a lot of such limitations forced on the player, which ultimately gives Ghost Recon a feeling of going one step back in the genre instead of two steps forward. Even though in certain missions you are tasked with blowing up targets, you are unable to trigger the explosion in-game and it is automatically handled when the mission is over. And while the command system may be simple to handle, it also leaves out any advanced orders for your teams, like flanking maneouvers or target selection. Add to this the lack of a weapon view in first person and it all leaves the gamer feeling they're playing an unfinished product.

The Bottom Line
GR is definitely the best tactical shooter since SWAT 3, only with wider environments and military attitude. Also noticeable are the refined animations for the AI team. Crouching in a bush watching your teams advance is a real treat. And the sound is also a standout, using surround EAX touches to great effect. You won't do wrong putting this FPS in your sights.

The Good
The only thing I liked about this game was the storyline. That's about it. The multiplayer was alright, but the game still sucks.

The Bad
Where do I begin? Even for a 2002 game, the production values were terrible. The graphics for the game are incredibly pixelated; in fact, even the text on the main menu is pixelated! Oh, my god! Every mission is exactly the same. For some games, this wouldn't be a problem, but the missions for this game are boring, and repetitive. Every level goes something like this: shoot enemies, rescue hostage. That's it. No bonuses, or anything. And as for sound, this is how I describe it. Put a cottonball in each ear while shooting a pop gun. THAT is the amount of sound you get in the game. And I hated how you can't see your gun. There's just an aim assist. C'mon! This isn't 1997!

The Bottom Line
The die hard tactical shooter fan may like it a bit, but as for me, it is the worst video game I have ever played. If you like normal FPS games, check out Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Halo, or Metroid Prime. Don't play this game.