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Published
by Ubisoft
Developed by Red Storm Entertainment
Release Date: Out Now
Price: £39.99
The
Ghost Recon games on the Xbox have been very popular and
with good reason too. Whilst the games were originally on
the PC they made a very smooth transition to the Xbox and
the Xbox Live support meant that it was always going to
be a firm favourite with gamers who like to play online.
Bearing this successful transition to the Xbox in mind then
it was a wise decision by the developers to change the formula
for Ghost Recon 2. The changes are not small either and
they are quite significant. Many would say this is a recipe
for disaster but the changes that have been made make for
one hell of a game that's a worthy sequel in every way you
could imagine.
Ghost
Recon 2 is set in North Korea. The country has suffered
a devastating famine but instead of putting the humanitarian
aid to good use and feeding the people, one of the generals
is instead using the resources to increase the size of his
army. With China being suspicious of military activity in
North Korea they decide to block sales of arms to the North
Koreans and in turn the North Koreans have turned to Russia
to form an alliance. With famine still causing chaos and
food riots now taking place, the blame for the famine has
been placed on China and attempts to invade sections of
China are made. China has agreed to a multi-national army
to come to it's protection and the Ghosts have secretly
been sent in to try and diffuse the North Korean threat
before it gets out of control.
We
mentioned at the start of the review that some major changes
have been made to the Ghost Recon formula and the biggest
of all is the transition to third person from a first person
perspective. Surprisingly this change actually works well
very and it makes the game more suited to the Xbox. Those
who demand to play in first person mode will be happy to
learn that you still can if you want to. The tactical planning,
so often a trademark of previous Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon
titles has all but disappeared. Previously if you were killed
you would just switch control to another team member but
now if you are killed it's game over. This may seem like
the game is more difficult but that's not really the case
(although you still have 3 others with you and you can issue
simple orders to them) as the third person view allows you
to be more aware of what's going on around you plus you
can also see the presence of your enemies on the radar that's
in the top right corner of the screen. Indicators are also
present to show you which direction an enemy is firing from.
Ghost Recon experts can turn these aids off though (and
as we've just mentioned return to the first person view
if desired) and both experiences are just as good.
In
addition to the main campaign there's the quick mission
which can be played in Recon, Firefight, Mission, Lone Wolf
or Defend mode and of course multiplayer modes. You can
play 4 player split-screen mode or have System Link games
for 2-16 players. Of course most will prefer the Xbox Live
play for their multiplayer action. Xbox Live play is once
again a key part of the Ghost Recon experience and it has
to be said that it's very impressive. There are too many
modes to mention but the all important co-op play is present
and allows you to play missions, Recon, Firefight and Defend
modes all co-operatively. You'll also find Last Man Standing
and Hamburger Hill modes available too. In fact you'd be
hard pushed to find a better Xbox Live experience than that
which Ghost Recon 2 offers. There's even support to setup
your own clans which is superb.
Ghost
Recon 2 might not be the best looking shooter on the Xbox
but it certainly looks very good. The most noticeable difference
of course is the new third person view and this allows you
to appreciate the smooth animation of your character. Comparing
Ghost Recon 2 with Ghost Recon is an amazing thing. Ghost
Recon didn't really look that good and Ghost Recon 2 looks
much, much better. The game looks like it was designed for
the console rather than simply being ported to it. The levels
are surprisingly big and they are all well detailed. Pop-up
was an issue with Ghost Recon with tufts of grass etc. just
appearing as you got closer. In Ghost Recon 2 the environments
look a lot more realistic and pleasing to the eye. Load
times are also pleasingly short when compared to many other
titles in this genre. The inclusion of the Havok 2 physics
engine means the explosions are going to look as realistic
as possible which further enhances the impressive appearance
of the game.
Until
now this review has been glowing with praise for Ghost Recon
2 and rightly so because it's an excellent game from top
to bottom. However when it comes to how deaf gamer friendly
Ghost Recon 2 is it goes a little pear shaped although it's
far from disastrous. The games cutscenes aren't subtitled
which means you'll miss out on the information they contain.
Thankfully you can skip them and you might just as well
because they are useless without subtitles. The tutorial
is not subtitled either although you can progress through
it by following the blue icon, known as the objective indicator,
on your mini-map and you do receive text instructions although
I was surprised to find how much verbal content is not shown
in text as the tutorial is always a key part of the game.
Personally I would just learn the controls and skip the
tutorial. During the campaign you'll see hints appear in
text which is a small consolation but comments from your
comrades are not shown in text. Your objectives (well an
abridged version of them but enough to inform you of what
needs to be done) appear in text as they are given. You'll
also receive a text message to say your objective has been
completed. A radar and enemy indicators enable you to keep
track of your enemies and make it more comfortable for deaf
gamers than the previous Ghost Recon games. The game also
makes good use of icons and you'll see icons to indicate
an object can be picked up or that a comrade needs a medic.
Of course you could argue that the Xbox Live modes don't
really favour deaf gamers because of the reliance on voice
communications but as we've said before this is a problem
with the Xbox Live service in general in that keyboards
are not supported so text chat is practically impossible
to implement.
Giving
a score to Ghost Recon 2 has given me a dilemma. On the
one hand it's very disappointing to see the game isn't subtitled
and yet on the other hand the game is more deaf gamer friendly
because the visual feedback it provides in terms of icons,
enemy locations on the mini-map/radar means that at least
you have a good idea of where your enemies are, which is
less frustrating than in the first Ghost Recon title. In
the end I decided on the score below because despite the
cutscenes and tutorial not being subtitled, it's still a
very enjoyable game. It's not the same experience as Ghost
Recon but it's still a great game. Many will find the game
more accessible because of the changes that have been made
and fans of the first game will still find that there's
a lot to like even though some key elements of what made
the Rainbow Six/Ghost Recon series what they are, are not
there anymore. Online play is again excellent but it may
prove to be tricky with many gamers relying on voice communication.
However as we've just mentioned that's a current problem
with the Xbox Live service and not Ghost Recon 2.
Overall
Game Rating: 8.3/10
Ghost Recon 2 is simply an amazing experience that hits
the spot both online and offline. The series definitely
needs to be subtitled though.
Deaf
Gamers comment:
A lack of subtitles takes the shine off what is a superb
game.
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