Story: B-

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW2) returns in this sequel to GRAW. Captain Mitchell has returned stateside after his successful campaign in Mexico City for some R&R but he is immediately deployed again by his commanders to deal with a situation brewing right across the border in Juarez, Mexico. Mitchell will battle a growing insurgency which threatens both Mexico and the United States. GRAW2 also features the latest technologies including the CrossCom 2.0 (they rather patched it real quick since it is only 48 hours after the end of GRAW). New weapons have also been added to the Ghosts' armory including an improved Zeus Anti-tank launcher with homing capabilities and various small arms.

Compared to GRAW, the story in the sequel hits the ground running and is faster and more action packed. There are even bonus objectives in missions to gain some of those Achievement points. Mitchell will be battling the insurgents in more variety of locations ranging from the outskirts of Northern Mexico, the city of Juarez, and El Paso, Texas (they can have that place for all I care). For GRAW Veterans like me, the campaign felt very short. I picked this game up two days before the street date and I beat it when that day came around. Playing it again on Hard was a definite improvement and is really enjoyable. The game does have some tough moments I died time and time again, but they occur about as many times I can count on one hand and it gets easy about the third attempt through.

A new class of Ghost is available in GRAW2 that class is the Medic. I never used the medic much opting for the Sniper or Anti-tank soldier. But he can be a very powerful asset because he carries twice as many medical kits to revive your teammates and he can be used to bring Mitchell or other teammate back to full health of you are obsessive-compulsive about maintaining good Health and Welfare among your troops.

There is also a new Coop Campaign in GRAW2 that parallels the main campaign and follows a different element of the Ghost dealing with insurgencies through out Central America, including places like the Panama Canal. I will discuss more of the Coop Campaign later.

Gameplay: B+

GRAW2's single player component uses the same controls and cover system of GRAW and it is improved slightly for a smoother experience. The cover system is unique compared to other cover based shooters like Gears of War (GOW) or Rainbow Six: Vegas (RSV). GRAW2's cover system doesn't feel as natural as RSV, but since GRAW2 takes place in wider areas, the control scheme fits in well for the urbanized terrain that the game takes place in a majority of the time. Also unlike the GOW/RSV, you have the ability to go prone for the open areas and you have more control of your teammates and vehicles to play around with. There have also been refinements to features from GRAW which have been branded as "CrossCom 2.0". One of the biggest improvements is to the UAV. You can now directly control the UAV and see through its eyes: a top-down view of your battlespace. Pressing down on the right shoulder button, you can now jump into the perspective of the UAV, which will drop in altitude to do its scan, to recon your avenues of approach. Using the control sticks, you can maneuver the UAV around and when you leave the UAV, it will return to its holding altitude. When enemies are spotted they will be tagged with the familiar red diamonds. By being able to see the area from the UAV, you no longer have to guess where the enemy is from the minimally detailed map. The UAV is also less vulnerable compared to GRAW and it rarely will ever get shot down unless you are careless when you control it and leave it scanning too long in an area occupied by enemy forces. For the most part the enemies do not notice the UAV.

Another new addition to GRAW2 is the MULE mobile supply vehicle. This is an unmanned vehicle which will be provided to you during different missions and serves as your supply point. You can also take control of it like the UAV and drive it around to recon the streets and it can also be used as cover. Its role as a supply point has replaced the strangely located munitions lockers that were located in more or less tactically sound locations throughout the original GRAW.

Like the UAV, you can now use the right shoulder button to see from the perspectives of your team and other units that have been attached to your team. With the other Ghost members, you can see the battle from their view and issue orders such as move and attack specific targets. The same can be said for the assigned Armored Fighting Vehicles and Close Air Support (CAS). Some of the best parts of the game are when you control your CAS elements ranging from attack helicopters to F-15E's. The view from the Fighter-Bombers resembles those of the targeting cameras for battle damage assessment and you can see their carnage when they drop their 500 lb bombs.

Ground vehicles are still scripted to rails and can only be ordered three maneuver options: Advance, Halt, and Reverse. Aside from this limitation, the new CrossCom's ability to allow you to control your soldiers and view from their perspective makes directing them easier. You can even play through parts of the game controlling them only from their perspective while you loiter in the rear.

All these new CrossCom features are introduced in the games initial tutorial mode which takes place inside of a virtual simulator. Here you can also earn achievements for excelling in assigned tasks. Throughout the game you will be given an opportunity to use the new features and just about when you become well familiarized with them, the game becomes more intense.

Graphics: A

The graphics in GRAW 2 are much better than GRAW. Lighting has been improved as well as various environmental effects. Light now interacts with translucent objects to show light sources and even shadows. There is also ambient occlusion that better portrays shadows on objects based on its geometry and light source. One of the new environmental is a dynamic smoke and particle system which better simulates the behavior of smoke. Smoke and particles react to the down wash from a helicopter's rotors as well as explosions. Smoke will now also interact with its environment as well, rather than passing through objects like before, smoke will flow around objects. Weather effects have been added such as rain and dust storms which create completely new environments to fight in. Day and night cycles have also been added in that will play a role in some missions that will start at night and slowly become day as your progress. Explosions are even more stunning from the improved lighting and particle effects, whether they are delivered from tanks or air strikes ordered through your CrossCom.

Overall the graphical details in GRAW2 don't seem much better, but these small improvements to the environmental details create greater immersion and give the game a less artificial look.

Audio: B+

Sound effects in GRAW2 fill the battlefield with enough sounds and pretty much live up to the sound effects in GRAW. With a good sound system the sounds of gun fire, roaming tanks, explosions, and helicopters brings the battlefield to life.

There has been another improvement in the squad department where your teammates now communicate more frequently than they did in GRAW. They will spot targets for you and call them out. This is more immersive and helps out in some ways but they really do nothing but point out the obvious most of the time. The voice acting is done well and Scott Mitchell still sounds like your typical bad ass.

The music in the game is once again composed by Tom Salta. The familiar themes from GRAW have returned and now sound more dramatic with action packed. The music adds a cinematic feel to the game and matches to the mood appropriately whether its an action packed firefight, a stealthy reconnaissance mission, or a dire situation. Even the menu music is fitting.

Replayability/Multiplayer: A-

GRAW2's single player component can be replayed as individual missions rather than part of the campaign. The difference in doing so allows you to unlock various achievements and you have access to a wider range of weapons compared to the selection given in the Campaign mode. So there is some replayability here.

GRAW2 also features a multiplayer component that is similar to GRAW's. There are still four classes to choose from: Rifleman, Automatic Gunner, Grenadier, and Marksman. The difference between the classes is the strength in certain skills. Rifleman are proficient at shooting on the go, gunners are better with machine guns, grenadiers with grenade launchers, and marksman with sniper rifles. Players can also customize the appearance of their online avatars with different helmets, headgear, major brand eye wear, and even S&M looking face masks. Multiplayer games can be played with up to 16 players on Xbox Live, System Link, or up to four players locally with split screen. Available game types are as follows:

- Team Elimination, Territory, Objective, Battle, and Mission Modes
- Solo Elimination, Territory, and Objective Modes
- Campaign Mode
- Coop Elimination, Territory, and Objective Modes

Team oriented games puts players on two teams against each other. Solo is your basic Free-for-All. Campaign is the Coop Campaign story mode. And the Coop mode sets players against an enemy AI. Elimination Mode pits players or teams to accrue the most kills. Territory Mode has players attempting to control different zones on a map and accrue points. Objective Mode pits players or teams to accomplish objectives for points. Battle mode sets up two teams of players and AI to control zones on a map. Mission mode also sets up two teams to finish competing objectives.

Joining Xbox Live games works just like the original GRAW. Games can be filtered by game type and number of players. You can't join games that are in progress but you can at least see where they are in the selection menu. however I've had times when I joined a game in "Setup" but was a moment too late.

There are plenty of options available to the host to set up multiplayer games. The host can assign different camouflage patterns to team uniforms, restrict weapon kits, spawn times, spawn limits, friendly fire, and much more. The host is also expected to have a decent broadband connection to host games as there are no dedicated servers and games with over 12 players will so noticeable lag.

Like GRAW, GRAW2's multiplayer's gameplay is different than the single player component. There is no cover system and the only compensation is the ability to lean. The only feature to carry over from single player is the CrossCom 2.0 functionality to view through the eyes of your teammates or the UAV via the Right Shoulder button.

The Coop Campaign consists of six missions that can support up to 16 players (the difficulty scales to the number of players in game). The missions feature many different locations from a rail yard, the jungles of Central America, the Panama Canal's industrious setting, various urbanized settings, and even a massive communications dish's construction site. The Coop Campaign parallels the storyline of the single player campaign and can be some of the most intense gaming experiences you get in GRAW2's multiplayer.

A new addition to GRAW2's multiplayer is the "downed" mode where players can become incapacitated. Other teammates that are still playing have a limited amount of time to heal the downed player, much like in Gears of War.

Overall: A-

GRAW2 is a great addition to the franchise and if you enjoyed GRAW, then GRAW2 is definitely a must play. The new campaign may feel short to veterans of GRAW, so I recommend playing on Hard for a better experience. GRAW2 takes much of the original GRAW formula and improves upon it in small but numerous ways to create a richer experience in graphics and gameplay. The multiplayer aspect of the game returns with many of the familiar modes and some new modes, a new Coop Campaign, and adds more replayability. The Coop Campaign is some of the most intense multiplayer matches, especially when other Shackers are involved. Stay tuned to your Latest Chatty for future Shackbattles. If you enjoyed GRAW, this would be a great addition. If you have never played GRAW, I recommend playing it first. So if you enjoyed GRAW, plan to play plenty of multiplayer (which has a lot to offer and will require a lot of time to get through), and play the Coop Campaign, GRAW2 is definitely worth the purchase at 50-60 dollars. If you only care to play the single player, then the game would make an excellent rental.

TLDR:
+ Single player Campaign is more intense and hits the ground running
+ Improved Graphics make for better environments
+ New CrossCom features are cool
+ Coop Campaign returns and is great fun
+ Multiplayer goodness is back and with more to offer
o Same cover system as previous GRAW, slightly improved but it's no GOW/RSV
o More or less same audio and soundtrack, does it job well
o Joining Live games is just like GRAW and can work flawlessly or be a pain sometimes
- Single player Campaign feels short for GRAW Vets
- Multiplayer is still its own game, no cover system from single player
- Gets kind of laggy with games with more than 12 players unless host has a decent connection