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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon

Score: 7.0 / 10

Let me begin by saying: The Armchair Empire is a website that reviews games as the casual, all-genre loving gamer and NOT as the die-hard first person shooter fan. I would assume that most people who are looking to purchase the game are the “in-betweener” gamer and not the die-hard Tom Clancy fan. (If you are, you probably have purchased the game already). Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of FPS’s, but I’m not going to nit-pick if the shells of my assault rifle aren’t discharged at the correct angle.

First, allow me to admit that I have never played a Tom Clancy shooter game before Ghost Recon (GR) and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first loaded the game. I knew that Clancy’s games were very, very steeped in tactical strategy. I would have minimal success if I took a “Duke Nukem” approach to the game.

The game’s depth and sheer number of gameplay options is proven in the 61-page instruction manual that comes with the game. Clancy is a man famous for his novels and the same can be said for his instruction manuals. The manual touches on every aspect of the game. Although it is a behemoth to read, it was a nice change of pace from the scantily clad 15-page instruction manual that I have become accustomed to.

 

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For the more illiterate gamers, there is also a quick reference manual that comes in handy in the early stages of the game. Let me put it this way: the gamer that wants the ability to control every aspect of a reconnaissance mission will find that Ghost Recon fulfills every want and desire.

You can control up to six soldiers that can be divided up into three teams. You can take control of any of the soldiers at any point of the game with a few 

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simple clicks of the mouse. For the remaining members of your squadron you pretty much have to control their every move. You tell them where to go and how they should approach (you can determine if they come on the full-bore offensive or shoot only when shot upon). You can always break off or improvise the CPU’s mode of attack, but it really gets tedious.

I assumed that if I simply let the CPU go, they would take care of themselves. I would point them in what direction to go and position them carefully. On my first test-run of a mission I did just that. I simply chose to move one of my squadrons to move from Point A to Point B. The distance was probably less than 50 yards. Nonetheless, a sniper wiped out three of my soldiers. Why? Because when they were fired upon they didn’t think about ducking - they simply kept walking like drunken giraffes.

So what the gameplay boils down to is that you have to micro-manage every move of your squadron. It was annoying, but after completing a few of the levels with a healthy group of men, I will say that the feat was very gratifying.

In fact, I would not have minded if Ghost Recon was a Snake Solid, one-man game. Micro-managing aside, I loved taking my controllable character and going through knocking off Russians. (The year is 2008 and you are leading a group of top-notch Green Berets to end the threat from a group of ultranationalists that have taken over Moscow and want to re-establish the old Soviet power. In every day terms your goal is simply to “kick ass”.)

I was very impressed with the graphics. The atmosphere and experience is just amazing. The many environments that you encounter encompass you. As I was sneaking around looking to sneak up and snipe my next Russian victim, I couldn’t help but think that I was Chuck Norris in Missing In Action 2. You get that type of feeling while playing the game. The soldiers and your enemies all look top-notch. I have no complaints about the game’s graphics aside from a few pixilated bushes and trees.

Almost all FPS gamers love to have a wealth of guns and contraptions to use. GR comes through, as you will use everything from a handgun to grenade launchers. The library of weapons is not over-whelming or scarce, but you will always be well prepared for the situation.

There are 15 missions in the game and some gamers have said that the game is too short. I, on the other hand, think that 15 missions are about right. The game, even on the easiest difficulty level, should be a challenge for beginning FPS gamers. It’s not really the game per se that is difficult, but everything else - the micromanaging of your fellow soldiers and adjusting to the game’s many options. The game takes a while to get comfortable with.

In the end, Ghost Recon is another challenging first person shooter. For the gamer that wants a challenge, I would suggest this game. However, if you are the type of gamer that wants a fun FPS that they can pick up and play instantly, I would recommend giving GR a pass. I was a casual FPS gamer before playing Ghost Recon and I can say that my status has not changed after reviewing this game.

- Tim Martin

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