Review Roundup - Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (xbox360)

Well, the game is out, should be on shelves as you read this. Here's what some of the major players in the game review world are saying:

IGN says:
The list of impressive additions is long and detailed, just as the feature list is, but the core elements to this game emerge from the single-player campaign's integrated presentation and graphics, which tie the game together like few before it. Both are impressive and well-handled and more significantly, they affect and enhance the most important thing, gameplay. GRAW is fundamentally the same methodically paced, squad-based sniper game of yesteryear, but the formula has been enhanced, polished, and realized in ways it's never been capable of reaching in prior generations. Of course, the online portion is vast, impressive, and deep in replay value, and it may very well be the reason to finally get on and stay on Xbox Live for the first time in this console's short history.

They scored it a 9.2 (out of 10)


Gamespot says:
The first thing you'll notice about the game is how breathtakingly massive and believable the city looks. You take several helicopter rides throughout the campaign, and the city is literally sprawled out all the way to the horizon with buildings and streets. Fires and smoke curl up into the sky from patches of fighting or factories. As you land, you find yourself engulfed by the metropolis and plying your way through the maze of buildings, streets, and alleys. The graphic detail extends not only to the character models, which are some of the best we've seen in a modern shooter, but also to the unique lighting and shadows.
They scored it a 9.2 (out of 10)


Gamepro says:
You actually feel like you're in a gun-downed urban sprawl of Mexico City, complete with towering office buildings, hillside shanty towns, and unwelcoming resident neighborhoods. Other graphical eye pleasers that shine include slick visual effects like gun fire and exploding armored vehicles to your team's detailed fatigues. Truly, Advance Warfighter's visual presentation is a force not to be reckoned with.

The visuals may be on target, but Advance Warfighter's controls in the single-player campaign bites the bullet. It's been an unfortunate and ongoing theme in the Ghost Recon series, yet the wonky control scheme still hasn't been fixed. Your teammates still walk in front of you while you're busy firing off rounds, and for some reason, your comrades neglect to automatically find cover once fired upon. They'll even sporadically move directly into a hot zone on their own without your command. (Busted Controller says: They must have been playing a pre-final build - Control was amazing in the retail, and i've yet to encounter any AI issues)
They scored it a 4.0 (out of 5)


Team Xbox says:
The game in its final form is a finely polished realization of what the Ghost Recon franchise is all about, as well as a good indication that developers have only began to touch the potential of what the Xbox 360 is capable of. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter serves up a hefty helping of tactical combat in a variety of interesting and complex environments that every living, breathing shooter fan definitely must experience.
They scored it a 9.3 (out of 10)


The Busted Controller's take so far?
This is our first TRUELY next generation game. Farcry, Doom 3, and Half Life 2 may have upped the graphics ante, but G.R.A.W really brings entirely new gameplay features to the table. From the near seamless gameplay (you seldom if ever see a real "loading screen" outside of first booting up the game, the controls seem complex at first, but are quick to learn, and really bring new abilities (gameplay altering abilities) to the table. Graphically the game is a powerhouse - a beautiful showpiece for that XBOX360 and that nice new 55" Sony Grand VVega you just bought. Difficulty is up there, this one is a challenge, especially on the Hard difficulty, and the degree of multiplayer features is insane! (16 player co-op anyone?) Fight Night Round 3 may have looked pretty, Call of Duty 2 may have had lovely smoke effects, but Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter truely BRINGS IT! Welcome to the next level people. I'll be back in the next week or so with a full on review. Oh, and The Gamepro guys are smoking some bad rock.