Get Yourself Some GRAW
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 may have arrived almost as late as this review, but that doesn't mean it's any less awesome (the game, that is).
Published: October 10, 2007
Online, the game's detail takes a bit of a nosedive, likely to accommodate more people playing at once, but lower-res textures and a bit less density to the environments means little when you see that both of the downloadable map packs from the 360 version are included on the disc, meaning there's more than enough variety to make up for the discrepancy between the offline and online bits.
When you are playing through the single-player, you'll be treated so some of the sexiest visuals on the PS3; blinding explosions blossom out of fire and smoke, plenty of effects pepper the screen and HUD when you're hit, enemies recoil with hits and the animation for your squadmates is quite good. There are times when the framerate hitches -- particularly during the non-interactive moments when you're cruising in a Humvee between levels (it also often serves as an update to the story and at one point even referenced Third Echelon from the Splinter Cell games). Oddly enough, if you flick into the game's low-light vision mode, the game becomes a buttery-smooth near-60fps treat, but even with that mode off the game runs for the most part around 30.
GRAW2's soundtrack is absolutely stellar, often amping up during firefights or particularly cinematic moments, but even in normal situations, the industrial, plodding loops with moments of almost moaning long note bits really does heighten what would be a fairly pedestrian moment. The sound effects, too, are wonderful, throwing plenty of meaty bass to a subwoofer while working the back channels. Given that you're dealing with future tech here, some of the weapons can sound a little on the overly-suppressed side, but who am I to say what advanced weaponry will actually sound like?
Sure, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 hit the PS3 a little later than some would have liked, but it was well worth the wait. A solid port that offers a ton of single- and multi-player content for the price, a solid if slightly campy story (your supposedly hard-assed commander is a hoot), and some seriously solid gameplay make this a joy to play through... even if you do it a couple months after the game actually came out.
