May 23, 2007 - The first Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, or GRAW as most know it by, was pre-packaged in many Xbox 360 bundles for a reason. It was arguably the first "must have" title that would appeal to the masses, making leaps and bounds over the competition at the time of its release. GRAW saw both fame and fortune, making it a no-brainer for Ubisoft to green light a sequel. With that being said, GRAW 2 has been produced just in time for its predecessor's first birthday. The good news seems to be that GRAW 2 is just plain great. The bad news is that I think we should be offered a pizza delivery-type deal with it: "40 minutes of gameplay or it's free." The single player portion is just too short.

A year ago when GRAW was released, it was viewed as a prime example of pushing the next-gen systems to their limits. But now, with other Tom Clancy titles released since, as well as such graphical power-houses like Gears of War, GRAW 2 doesn't marvel and awe as much as GRAW did, but it still manages to cling to its established footholds. Throwing you right back into the raunchy Mexican territory we've all come to love, GRAW2 puts you back in the action a mere 48 hours after the ending of the first title. Playing as Captain Scott Mitchell, team leader of "the Ghosts", you continue your battle against the civil war that has erupted between various rebel gangs in an attempt to avoid the conflict breaching the U.S. border. Of course, a couple of nukes are thrown in for good measure. In other words, it's not too in-depth a plot line to follow if you're a newcomer to the GRAW universe.

As the story does unfold in the eighth Ghost Recon, to date the intensity begins at a peak, throwing bullets at you from every direction right from the start. Certain missions will only require your Ghosts to follow and assist, but others will require the help of each Ghost as a separate entity. Your objectives are of the typical Clancy vintage ranging from flattening a target area, to search and rescue missions. Those you will rescue will always provide extra Intel to put you a step ahead, such as a journalist who has clues on ways to neutralize enemy bases. Eventually the action does spill over the border, aptly capturing first-world and second-world settings. The Mexican side of the border faces even more destruction than in the first game and the overall visuals in GRAW 2 are even more stunning this time around. Most of the improvements seem to lay in extra texturing and engine tweaking to reach perfection, including plenty of well done lighting. The models are spectacular at any distance and there are plenty of visuals that you'll come across that are awe-striking. Panoramic shots of cityscapes and desert ruins under an orange lit sky are starting to be as memorable in video games as they would be in real life.

The single-player campaign offers three difficulty levels and co-op mode pits you and your friends against the AI in six different missions. And, of course, there's a hefty amount of multiplayer modes too. The co-op and multiplayer modes support System Link and Xbox Live for up to 16 players. Or play up to four of your buddies in split-screen. On normal difficulty, the campaign sets a relatively easy tone at the start, but slowly sets its guns from stun to kill as you continue through the story. As mentioned, make sure not to get too attached to GRAW 2 though, as ten hours should wipe the campaign mode off your gaming checklist. If your one to complete a title on all difficulties, then you'll gain some replay value there, otherwise you should head online.

GRAW 2 plays very similar to GRAW, but the new gadgets are where it takes off. The ghosts officially have an upgraded cross-communications system, yielding a full interlink between all friendly units. This will allow you to select any team member, and see what they are seeing. Directing your team has never been easier either. Well, that is if you can figure out when and how to properly use it while in the thick of things. The ghosts are also a lot smarter than last year, seemingly on par with your AI team-mates in Rainbow Six: Vegas, which I was thoroughly impressed with, and ultimately means less cursing at the television over dumb mistakes. Cover is priority numero uno, but they'll still make the shot when it counts. Impressive was the descriptive com-chatter; effective and pertaining to the actual visual, reporting "near that green car" instead of the usual (but still not completely excluding) "bogies at ten o'clock." The ghosts are in a much more open terrain at times than in RS: Vegas, and can occasionally make some bone-head moves, but Ubisoft is getting closer than most to perfecting this side of the game. But for now, you won't be able to rely on your team-mates completely (yet), and they'll just pick off the easy targets for now.

You'll also have access to the "Mule", a tank-like drone that has many uses including fire arm supplies and health, mobile cover, and it can also act as a remote-controlled scout. Just as you would your team-mates, you're able to control the "Mule" directly from the camera view or give it directions on the fly. The overhead drone ("Cypher") in GRAW still seems a little sluggish in this instalment, but has improved to a certain extent in the sense of control, and is in a full screen view this time around. The amount of usage both of these drones will receive solely depends on one's style of gameplay, but overall they seem like something most will not bother with. The controls themselves are also extremely similar to GRAW. The only difference being the new gadgets. Switching weapons, stance, or firing rates haven't changed a bit. Swapping weapons is quicker than ever, but looting off those whom you've laid to rest still acts up at times. There's even a longer overheat time on the chain-gun during the helicopter sections.