 | | GRAW is a tactical FPS set in the very near future. It's the third in the Ghost Recon series, but differs hugely to the monster Xbox 360 title of the same name |
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It's odd that a series which spawned on the PC - primarily as a realistic, tactical FPS - has not only switched systems over the years, but arguably style and genre too. After the brutally vicious original Ghost Recon back in 2001, Ghost Recon 2 went all third person on us, lost a lot of that brutal realism, and to make matters worse, never even appeared on the PC. I dug the heck outta that
game (at least, on the Xbox), but it almost felt like a brand new series compared to the first.
PC owners can cease sending Sony death threats and visiting
Smash My Xbox every hour though, as five years later, Ghost Recon is finally returning to the home computer. Oh happy day.
Advanced Warfighter - which is essentially Ghost Recon 3 in all but name - is way more than a simple port of the awesome
360 version though, and that's something I can't stress enough. Sure, it once again takes place in a fully detailed recreation of Mexico City, and once again you're tasked with rescuing two Presidents from insurgent attacks and assassination attempts, but other than that this is a
completely different game. It borrows storyline elements from its console cousin, but wraps it up in entirely different levels, a new first person view, hugely revamped tactical elements and far more gritty realism. If you think of the 360 version as a hugely entertaining, fast-paced action movie, the PC version could be considered the real fucking deal - this truly feels like you've been thrown into the streets of Mexico city to carry out a balls-to-the-wall, behind enemy lines, life or death mission of gargantuan proportions.
Not only is this a completely different game then, but also considerably more hardcore to boot. It ain't particularly long by any means, but it's so damn tough, it'll last you a good long while never the less. Bring some nappies.
I Hear Bells Ringin'
 | | GRAW features a fully mapped out recreation of Mexico City |
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Despite its futuristic setting of tomorrow, I'd say Advanced Warfighter PC sits right alongside Operation Flashpoint in terms of all-out realism; enemies will drop in just 1 or 2 shots, a hail of bullets can see you die instantly, and there's zero in the way of quicksaves too. Instead, the game dictates when and where you can resume after dieing, usually after you tackle particularly tricky sections. While console guys are used to this, PC owners might be a little surprised at the lack of F5 quicksave shenanigans.
Not only is the game more realistic than its console cousin, but as mentioned, far more tactical too. You can customise weapons with add-ons now, such as silencers, grips and scopes, with each affecting your overall stats and stability in positive and negative ways. It's your squad and their interactions which see the majority of the changes and upgrades though; rather than simply give them simple "go to" commands as on the console version, here you have a whole host of detailed orders to pick from. You can either point and command them within the actual game - Brothers in Arms style - or alternatively call up an overhead 3D map, laying in complex waypoints and tactical manoeuvres, before hitting "execute"...then watching all hell break lose.
I'm not normally a big tactics guy when it comes to playing videogames, but when forced to, I'd much rather adhere to the more simplistic Republic Commando school of commanding (i.e. point, click once and...well, not a whole lot more). Here in GRAW though, the commands and tactical map are so simple to use, yet so expertly powerful at the same time, that doing the whole commander thang proves undeniably addictive.
 | | This incarnation features a brand new over-head map for coordinating tactics |
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I love hunching down behind a garbage can, laying out convoluted orders for each of my guys, then reeling off a Picard-esque, "make it so", and seeing 'em dive into the action and drop every single enemy on screen like a line of dominoes. The 360 version hinted at this sort of stuff, but it was never particularly useful or fun, and it's subsequently one area where the PC version truly thrashes it. In fact, I can honestly say I haven't really felt this involved with the tactics and coordination of an action game since playing the original Ghost Recon oh so many moons back.
That all said, you can certainly get by without delving too deep into the commanding side of things if you so please. Your troops' AI is average to good for the most part, and they'll take out bad guys reasonably well without handholding if you really can't be arsed with such things. I do however, wish they stuck a fair bit closer to me when travelling around the humongously long levels...instead they have a tendency to lag behind, resulting in regular doses of sitting and waiting for 'em to catch up. This can be a little annoying, truth be told, especially when you stumble upon an ambush by yourself, with your buddies nowhere to be seen. You forever feel like the anonymous new recruit who was always told to "take point" in Tour of Duty.
You Secure That Shit, Hudson
The other downer I have to highlight with the squad is the view-cam in this version. The 360 had the awesome Aliens-style head-cam feature, where you could see what your team mates were up to at all times via a small window at the top of the screen - a particularly useful bonus in online multiplayer. Here in the PC version though, it's a basic, incredibly ugly wireframe view...and it pretty much just looks like someone's playing Faceball 2000 at the top of your screen. You
can switch to a full screen feed if you wanna see a proper detailed render, but you lose control and view of your own character in the process, making it surprisingly useless.
 | | Warfighter offers up truly exceptional views...providing your rig can take it |
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One can only presume the lack of real-time feed was for performance reasons, which leads me onto my biggest gripe with GRAW on the PC; it's a real fucking system hog. If you thought Oblivion was bad, trust me, you haven't seen nada yet. In the more chaotic moments, my bad arse rig was reduced to a mere slideshow of Atari Jaguar proportions, and it really is the quickest and lamest way to lose all the tension and atmosphere which the game piles on so successfully the rest of the time.
Lesser powered systems - running with everything toned down to low - will find a somewhat average looking title in GRAW as a result of this, but I will say if you have the horse power to pump up the visuals to full, it really is utter beauty. The PC version offers up the same wide open, epic city views of the 360 title, along with awesome ragdoll deaths and the most gobsmacking explosions around. Unfortunately it flat out lacks any kind of anti-aliasing support, no matter what settings or video card you're using. This is a major boner killer I'm afraid, immediately robbing the visuals of any sense of photorealism, and instead reducing GRAW to something more along the lines of "just another video game". An exceptionally
pretty video game, to be sure, but still a video game never the less. For this reason, I say the 360 version blows it away graphically, with those stunning movie-quality visuals which just don't come across here at all. One can only hope AA support gets patched in further down the line to help alleviate this somewhat.
Band of Mofos
That all said, one area where PC GRAW simply blows away the 360 version - and it's a pretty damn significant upgrade - is in the multiplayer. It has versus options of course, but forget those, as far more importantly we get to play through the entire single player campaign in online co-op here, and I can't stress it enough, but...wow.
 | | Co-op mode is playable on pretty much the entire single player campaign...a major upgrade over the 360's 4 meagre missions |
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Co-op GRAW goes toe to toe with some of the all-time greats if you ask me; your SWATs, your Chaos Theories and even the original Ghost Recon. With such huge, long levels, mapped out so expertly, combined with those beautiful plot twists and epic showdowns, it's pretty much just the flat-out coolest and most tense slice of FPS action you can have online right now. I love it.
The rules are a little odd, sure. The host of the game is essentially a VIP of sorts; if he dies, it's an instant game over for everyone, plus he's the only one who can lay down orders for the rest of the team too. Other players are free to drop dead at any point, but due to the fact you can bring along (optional) AI squad mates to make up the numbers, these guys have the ability to respawn - or "take over" the AI squaddies - essentially giving them an extra life or two. I'm not sure I care too much for how odd this setup is - the simplicity of "one life, then you're out" would have worked far better for me - but it's a minor niggle to pay in return for such expertly realised online adventures. These are genuinely mind-blowing missions - something which I have to emphasise - proving utterly captivating and a genuine sight to see. In fact, the online co-op is really worth owning the entire game for alone.
Don't get me wrong, even without the online mode I'd say GRAW is one of the better first person shooters to hit the PC in a good long while. I'd just try and talk three of your buddies into picking it up with you if you wanna see it at its absolute best.
Non-Identical Twins
 | | It may be tough as balls, but GRAW on the PC won my heart all over again. Get this game |
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I do think that reverting to a proper FPS view here has lost that sense of identity and a good chunk of the amazing originality found in the 360 title. That game felt like you were watching some kinda fucked up war footage, except you were in direct control of the action, whereas here on the PC, it feels like you're just playing another, albeit decent FPS title. That extra oomph is distinctly missing in my opinion, and as a result, it's not quite the all-time classic that 360 GRAW is.
Of course, the keyboard/mouse setup, the added tactical features and the truly bad arse online mode more than make up for that, and at the end of the day, all these changes really mean you ultimately have two killer and very distinct games worth owning in GRAW. It's the perfect summation of how now is a better time than ever to be both a PC and a console gamer. It's just a shame both versions share the same name is all...this is really its own beast, and in a perfect world would be getting pushed just as hard as the 360 version right now.
Either way, as a huge fanboy of this series, I'm glad to see it taking off so spectacularly at the moment, whether it be on next-gen consoles or PC. It really is a beaut of a title, and in my opinion, worth owning multiple copies of.
