Reviewed: May 29, 2002
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Ubisoft
Developer
Red Storm Entertainment
Released: November 13, 2001
Genre: FPS/Strategy
Players: 32
ESRB: Mature
8
9
9
8
8.4
System Requirements
In the late 90’s Tom Clancy decided to bring his unique style of political and military intrigue and suspense to the gaming world and Red Storm Entertainment was born. In 1999 Rainbow Six debuted and the FPS genre got a whole lot more complicated. With the introduction of clever game devices like “one shot one kill”, no in-mission saving, and the ability to preplan your waypoints, and command the actions of your team, gamers actually had to start using their brains in addition to their reflexes. Gone were the days of storming into a room with a chain gun and mowing down hordes of baddies.
As with any successful game franchise, the sequels were forthcoming, and we saw new games like Rogue Spear and lots of mission packs and add-ons. But perhaps the single biggest contribution of this series was the multiplayer aspects. Red Storm games were responsible for the birth of such concepts as Clans (or teams), and even in 1999 when luxuries like broadband was only available in your office, people were installing second phone lines to support their addiction to this new online frenzy.
These “tactical shooters” were not well received by everyone, including myself at first After a healthy diet of traditional FPS games dating back to the original Wolfenstein 3D in the early 90’s and including every release of Doom, Duke, and Quake up until this point, it took me a great deal of time and adjustment to adapt to this new slower, more thoughtful approach to the genre.
With each new Red Storm game the series continues to evolve, adding more realism, newer weapons, updated tactics, and new and exciting locations. These games are inspired by the works of Tom Clancy as well as actual missions, then designed and tested for authenticity by actual military experts, some of which are actual members of the teams you are playing. With such attention to detail you can be sure that each Red Storm game is going to be as thrilling as the last.
Ghost Recon is the newest evolution of the series, and this time around we leave the confines of embassies, warehouses, hijacked planes, etc. and move to the great outdoors. This gave the designers a huge library of situations and environments to draw from when creating the 15 challenging missions of the solo campaign. There is an intriguing story – typical of Tom Clancy – but it didn’t seem to really tie in with the missions as closely as I would have liked.
With a new team and new outdoor locations we are also given new weapons like the M16A2, M4 carbine, and the AT-4 anti-tank rocket launcher. Prototype weapons like the OICW introduce you to the latest in “declassified” battlefield technology and the new interface lets you organize and command your troops with ease. Gone are the clumsy pre-mission planning stages. These have been replaced with actual briefings and maps that show your key objectives.
Even the AI has been heavily tweaked; both the enemy and your teammates, so your men respond and react both under orders or when they are working under their own AI programming. The enemies are tougher than ever, merciless, and with only one intent – to take you and your team out! This new level of intensity will prove challenging for even the toughest Red Storm veteran.
Combat veterans and novices alike will want to take part in the informative tutorial that introduces you to the new command interface and concepts such as group commands, weapons usage, and basic movement. A few oddities are still present in this game such as no visible weapon and the inability to jump, but they are easily forgotten once you start the game.
Those of you who have played the previous Red Storm games will immediately notice the lack of the pre-mission maps where you plan your routes. You still have a map that outlines your objectives that you can view before moving to the platoon screen where you pick your team from four basic classes. Additional specialty classes can be “unlocked” by completing bonus mission objectives. During the missions you will earn combat points that you can use to increase each soldier’s performance. Attributes such as stealth, leadership, endurance, and marksmanship can all be modified giving this game some RPG strategic elements that let you develop your team as you see fit.
The enemy will at times will seem to be under human control. While the enemy soldiers will always start out in the same map location each time you play, the way they respond to you is almost always different. Once they have been alerted to your presence they will move around, join up with reinforcements, and try to outflank you. It really keeps you on your toes. I did notice that the enemy AI seemed to have some problems detecting my team’s presence until I was right on top of them. You might be engaged in combat with some soldiers and other enemy units will be in sight but oblivious to any noise you are making.
There are also a few minor issues with controlling your team. While the collision detection has been greatly improved over the previous Rainbow Six games there are some pathfinding problems when moving up stairs that could cause some team members to get left behind. Additionally, if you are moving around outside and drop and crawl the rest of the team will drop but stop following you until you command them further.
The command interface is quite functional and your team responds to group commands or individually. You can use the map interface to position your soldiers. Hotkey commands are available for setting up basic orders such as hold, attack, defend, etc. If you are the hands-on type of leader then you can always jump into the boots of any soldier and take direct control over the situation.
Those of you frustrated with the die-repeat gameplay of the earlier games will be glad to know that you can save your game in mid-mission. While this does take some of the intensity out of the game and potentially lessens the game length it also eliminates the “frustration factor”, plus nobody is forcing you to use it.
Each of the missions has unique and varied objectives, and they almost always include blowing stuff up and killing people. There are some nice recon missions and escort missions and even the occasional “defend your base” mission. One thing I did notice with the mission design is that the mission is over when you have defeated all enemy soldiers. This leads to some strategic mission planning because there are several bonus objectives that you may want to complete, but these will be unavailable if you kill everyone and end the mission prematurely.
All of these diverse missions take place in some of the most authentic environments ever seen in an FPS strategy game. The levels are alive with detail as you explore forests, villages, hillsides, swamps, and even visit Red Square. Weather and other environmental effects add to the realism. The swamp level is really creepy as you wade through scummy water with your view obstructed by a thick mist. The varying density of the fog allows you to make out minor shapes then the details slowly come into focus – just like in real life.
The recommended system specs are a bit optimistic, and while it's possible to enjoy this game on a P2-450 you are going to want something like a P3-700 if you plan on having some serious fun. My 1.4Ghz with 512mb ram and a Ti500 GeForce 3 had this game humming at 1280x1024 will full detail. The game offers you over a dozen graphics options, so you are sure to find something that suits your system regardless of what you have under the hood.
The level of detail is amazing; especially on the soldiers. Their uniforms and weapons are all extremely detailed and the men themselves are made up of plenty of polys with realistic facial textures. They all move just like real soldiers and their various animations all morph together so when a running soldier drops to the ground and starts crawling it all looks seamless.
The environments are filled with lush detail including all sorts of plants and foliage with some of the most realistic trees I have seen in a PC game. The ground textures all blend together so there are no noticeable lines between dirt, grass, or rock. The skies range from gorgeous sunsets to sinister thunderstorms to pitch-black nighttime skies.
Special effects are few but they are all excellent. Muzzle flashes, rocket trails, explosions, smoke, fire, and weather effects are all perfectly represented. They combine with the rest of the visuals to create a very realistic combat experience.
The music in Ghost Recon is pretty standard stuff and easily forgettable as it slips into the background where it ultimately belongs. I have no problem with this, as it is the sound effects that create the experience – not the music.
The EAX capabilities of my Sound Blaster Audigy were put to amazing use creating some spatial sound effects that let me identify the location of my men and objectives just by listening for their position in my quad-speaker setup. Bullets whiz by going from front to rear channels almost causing me to duck, and the ambient sound effects such as thunder during storms, the rumbling of a tank, or a plane streaking across the sky all add to the experience.
The EAX is also used for reverb and occlusion effects creating some ambience in indoor areas like the echo of footsteps or gunfire. All of this great sound does come at a cost, and if you want to use EAX support you will need a substantial system (higher than the recommended stats) to get it.
The 15 single player missions will take you anywhere from 20-30 hours to finish depending on how good a soldier (and leader) you are. But like all previous Red Storm games, Ghost Recon shows its true value in its online play. Not only can you play the solo-campaign as a cooperative effort, there are plenty of multiplayer modes for you to choose from.
Naturally, you have the deathmatch, king of the hill, and last man standing options with a bunch of options that can be set at the server. It’s easy to setup your own host and invite people to join, but if you want to get into the entire clan scene and find an entire world of Ghost Recon players then you just need to go to Ubisoft’s online service where you can easily locate hundreds of gamers playing night and day.
With upcoming mission packs and user support you can expect this game to have an extended life well beyond the original package. Considering there are still people playing the original Rainbow Six games, that should tell you something about the staying power of a game like this.
Ghost Recon takes the existing franchise into a new dimension, and while there are a few quirks with the gameplay and a steep learning curve for commanding your troops, the overall game is relatively bug-free and surprisingly fun to play. It offers a substantial single-player experience and an endless supply of online gaming opportunities thanks to aftermarket fan and developer support.
While this game may not appeal to the button-mashing, rocket-jumping, Quake veteran or those looking for a mindless FPS title, anyone looking for a serious military simulation won’t want to pass this title up. And now that the game has been re-released in the Game of the Year edition you can get this game and the Desert Siege mission pack for a great price.