Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter

Maps

The levels we played across were many and varied, but uniformly well designed. In one, a rocky desert, close quarters combat was the order of the day. As a relatively small map, it was constant action with little scope for camping. Because you're unable to swivel your view quickly on the joypad, staying still and being reactionary is a bad option.

The second map we played on was a large cityscape, with plenty of realistic areas and features. Sniping from the courtyard of the town hall on the hill is rewarding, as is getting down into the streets, surrounded by high buildings, and running between parked cars in a bid to get to your target. The design is balanced, as far as we could tell from this initial playtest, with plenty of scope for tactical planning.

General notes

One thing that frustrated us was the spawn system. Upon respawn in multiplayer matches, you're unable to shoot for a few seconds. This allows annoying so-and-sos to camp spawn points and line you up perfectly in their sights to unleash a stream of fire at you without you being able to retaliate. This is not cool, and is also frustrating if you happen to spawn behind someone who is utterly unawares, since you're unable to catch them on the hop for a crucial couple of seconds.

The game is undeniably fun, although the exact amount will really depend on who you're playing it with. If you've got a group of people who are basically just out for some team deathmatch, you'll have a good time, but you'll miss out on some of the better experiences. Being able to use voice comms (either in real life or over Xbox Live) to plan and execute a well thought-out tactic will give you an enormous sense of satisfaction, especially since the feeling of 'being there' - from the joypad rumble of your recoil to the immersive 5.1 sound and high-definition graphics - is so acute.

The HUD is well laid-out, although it lacks a health meter - Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter goes for a more realistic approach of 'take a couple of bullets and you're nailed'. It also includes a camera option, so you're able to check on the position of your buddies, and see what they see - giving you a tactical heads-up.

Concluding

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Ghost Recon, and we look forward to getting our hands on it when it's released next month. We'll be sure to bring you the low-down on the PC version, including our usual look at performance options, just as soon as we can get our very, very cold mitts on a copy.