Get Your GRAW On!
(Xbox 360; $59.99; Rated T for Blood/Language/Violence; ghostrecon.com)
(five stars)
Don’t worry about Tom Clancy gameboys and girls, though “Splinter Cell” on the PSP is a real stinker, Mr. Clancy attached his name to this game which is really swell.
Wait. I mean: Holy Crap!
“G.R.A.W.,” more than any other game released in the Xbox 360’s short life, exemplifies what next-generation gaming is like. Its intuitive controls, easy squad commands, eye-popping graphics, and intense soundtrack make it an incredibly visceral experience- one never seen for this series.
Taking place in 2013, the Ghosts- the highly specialized tactical response squad of the Army- are sent into Mexico City to quell a violent revolution. Depending on the missions, players are either fighting solo or in command of three squad mates, as well as having tanks, helos, and eye-in-the-sky robotic drones at their disposal.
One of the more startling aspects of the game is its seamless transition from cutscene to gameplay. There are no pre-rendered cinematics in the game and virtually no loading in between exposition and execution of the missions. After flying over the recreated landscape of Mexico City, players’ chopper simply lands in the hot-zone, and players jump out and joins the mission in progress. Sometimes that means hoofing it to where the action is, or it means jumping out into gunfire and having to make immediate tactical decisions to keep your squad alive and on mission. And that’s what makes the intensity so enjoyable- being outgunned and under pressure at all times.
If the single-player campaign isn’t rewarding enough, Ubisoft has packed in a thoroughly diverse multiplayer mode over Xbox Live, which is enough to keep us happy until “Halo 3” comes (well, maybe not that long). Not only are traditional team deathmatches, objective-based, and King-of-the-Hill modes available, but a full sixteen-player cooperative campaign is available for friends who want to work together as a team to complete missions against the game- unprecedented in console gaming.
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