Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 Summit Strike looks like a cheap expansion on the original Ghost Recon 2 but in reality it’s a stand-alone game that takes on quite a lot of problems from its predecessor and that offers quite some new tactical shooter fun for a budget price. In this review we take a look at how Ubisoft has improved this XBox series and in which life threatening situations the Ghosts end up this time!
You can again save the world, this time Kazachstan actually, together with your team of trained commandos. Some guy Rahil is playing terrorist and has started a chemical attack while the local president gets killed. Time for some outside intervening the UN thinks and you’re sent off to this explosive situation.
Your mission will be finished after 11 missions but that doesn’t mean the game is short. Each mission is quite some work thanks to the typical and more realistic gameplay, where one wrong move can be enough to get you killed, and of course also because of the large surroundings. These highten the realistic atmosphere of the game as it brings more freedom on how you want to complete you (multiple) objectives.
On top of that, the makers made sure the vast surroundings are also used and aren’t only present as decoration. Enemies don’t stay at the same spot all the time, they attack you in the back or suddenly appear on the other side of the street. You’ll need eyes on your back if you want to get out alive.
Luckily also the AI has been improved compared to the last Ghost Recon, both with your teammates as well as with your adversaries. The first can be given simple orders although they’re pretty good independently and will more than once take out opponents before you get a chance. Nonetheless there still are some glitches like when enemies are walking towards you without taking any cover or when they just sit tight while being under fire.
Thanks to the unpredictable nature of the surroundings and the opponents, the lack of health kits and the vast amount of hostiles Summit Strike is all but an easy game. Luckily, the makers have made it possible to save at any time in the game so that you can finish potentially hard parts in pieces. That clearly makes dying a lot less painfull! Also worth mentioning is the variation in missions and situations. 11 assignments seems little but the quality remains high at all times and some of the levels, like the night ones, will stick around in your mind.
Once the single player has been finished, you can play for hours with the multiplayer component. This can at least be called fat as you get a lot of variations (over 20) that without a doubt will be able to please any gamer. There’s splitscreen and system link options and of course Xbox Live could not be left out. Some of the nicer additions are the team-based modes and of course co-op where you can replay some of the campaign missions with your friends.
Visually we’ve got nothing to complain as next to the huge variation in surroundings (snow, cities and streets, night vision) you also get to see very good animations, you can zoom in a lot with your sniper rifle (especially for a console) and there’s more than enough eye for detail in the cut-scene movies, the menus and settings. Also the sound is pretty good, with very decent effects and voice-acting.
It may be clear: if you loved Ghost Recon 2, you’ll also love this expansion pack (for which you don’t need the original game). For a budget price you get a top title that offers a multiplayer campaign, tons of multiplayer possibilities and more of the same tactical shooter fun. On top of that, the gameplay and graphics of Summit Strike have been polished up compared to its predecessor so that you get a lot of your money. Awaiting Advanced Warfighter on Xbox360, this title is more than a sweetener!
8.0
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