Combat : Ghost Style
Gunplay oops Game-play – Games in the TSS genre aren’t exactly known for storylines, GRAW isn’t an exception. You’re inserted into each mission, with objectives, and each mission furthers the overall game plot a bit. Being squad based don’t even dream of charging in guns blazing, you’ll become a ghost (ditto your teammates), and we don’t mean it in the way the game implies! You’ll need to chalk out a course of action, set waypoints for your squad, move under cover yourself, always ready, always alert. Some enemy nests have to be flanked whilst under cover to be taken out, not stormed. Team-play is an integral of the game, even more so in GRAW than earlier titles in the series.
An essential part of game-play is weapon realism, and enemy reactions to your presence. GRAW excels here, weapons play with immense realism. Your Scar L (one of the weapons available), recoils, and in general feels just as a real assault rifle should! Enemies will use cover, move around taking pot shots and then ducking at times. Object physics has been integrated into GRAW well. There was an enemy concealed behind a car bonnet, taking pot shots at me. I shot the front tire causing the car to sag due to the flat. This caused his head to become visible, perfect for a sniper shot! Little elements like these add to the level of player involvement in the game. And that’s a very good thing. Immersion as we know is the chief objective of any great game, and GRAW takes a very strong step down this line!
Candy for your eyes and ears – Visually GRAW is one of the best looking TSS games till date. Aurally GRAW delivers the good, right on the sweet spot. Combat effects are good. Voice acting and enemy reactions are good. One little niggle is your team mates display unit (you can use this to see from their perspective, via a camera mounted on their suits). This feedback view is basically line drawn and 2D in nature, besides spotting bad guys, (red dots), it’s pretty much useless.
Unfortunately GRAW exacts a heavy toll on system resources, and forget about eye-candy without a good 256 MB card. If you have a good rig however, the game will be that much more rewarding.
A well laid out game, which will satisfy that secret craving you’ve harbored to join special ops. If you’re a ‘shoot-em up’ sort of bloke, the depth of tactical action GRAW offers won’t impress, and you should look elsewhere for kicks.
Hardcore Ghost & Rainbow Six fans will feel right at home here, and fans of the genre will enjoy themselves. It has a very few flaws that detract a just a teeny but from the experience, and some might feel the Ghost franchise has grown a bit long of tooth, but Advanced Warfighter is definitely worth the wait, and the price. We’re giving the new ghosts a highly recommended tag!