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vandyl |
| Location: Madison, AL |
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Post subject: Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
 Posted: May 13, 2006 - 04:19 PM
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G0dlike
Joined: Feb 03, 2004
Posts: 651
Location: Madison, AL
Status: Offline
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Yes, I bought this title. I'll be posting an in-depth review of it soon, but first I'd like to share my first thoughts.
When I saw the commercials for the game, I thought "Wow, if the gameplay is anything like that, it will be a great game.
First encounter
Installation off the single DVD was smooth. One hiccup was an incompatibility with an Installshield folder ("0701" folder buried in the Installshield folder structure) - fortunately, the support site already had the issue resolved and I was able to find the fix to enable installation.
During installation, it installed the Ageia Physx engine and necessary drivers, even though I do not have a Physx card (more on that later).
Installation was complete in a few minutes and I immediately fired up the game and started a singleplayer campaign.
Level immersion is equivalent to F.E.A.R.; you can blow the doors off parked cars, set off their alarms, break glass, and spell your name with bullet holes. The world is extremely detailed and absolutely huge (you get an idea on the size during the first mission when you insert via parachute). Ths mission areas prevent you from running helter-skelter through the city, but that's a huge necessity; without operational limits during missions, you'd easily become lost.
The squad command interface has been streamlined and is much better than the previous versions of GR. Camera overlays allow you to see what your teammates see and helps with target identification. You're also able to issue orders very quickly without ever taking your eyes off of your crosshair; if you need a squadmember to step up and lay down suppression fire for you, no problem.
The tactical view gives you a top-down view of your surrounding area and allows you to snoop the enemy positions and vehicles before you run headlong into enemy fire. It also allows for order chaining; basically, you give your members a bunch of orders to execute in succession, allowing you to set up a small schedule of "things to do, places to go." If you assigne different tasks to each member and wish for all tasks to be executed simultaneously, you click the "Execute all" button and your squad begins to move immediately. This ability gives you a huge advantage over the enemy. And if you find yourself in trouble and need to override your order schedule, a "Stop" command, issued from your FPS interface, will cause your team to stop what they're doing, allowing you to order a regroup. They normally get there just in time to save your ass.
Visuals
The game is chock full of detail and makes heavy use of HDR. Unfortunately, my card only supports the "bloom" effect, so I only see brightness/darkness augmentations, not to mention the "overbright" effect that's become commonplace these days.
The textures are sharp and crisp and really give the environments the right feel. Player models move very naturally and smoothly. Nothing new in the graphics department - as expected, Ubisoft has evolved and heightened the level of in-game realism when compared to the original GR series, but that goes without saying. Today's hardware is faster and more versatile than yesterday's.
Notes for later
No squad choosing interface - gone are the days of following the progress of your squad members. But you still have the ability to kit out each of your squad members.
No backstory interface - the between missions screen is gone. When you finish one mission, you click the "Next Mission" button and immediately begin to kit your squad. Granted, the story is told via in-game video overlays, but I liked having the "intel" interface, where it was more like a warroom brief than what you have in Advanced Warfighter.
Not really clear on the storyline in the first place. Yeah, who needs a story to shoot baddies, right? Except this is a Tom Clancy game; there are certain expectations it needs to live up to.
No clear differences between the automatic rifles - only major difference I've been able to notice is the number of rounds fired between magazine changes.
I'll finish this review later, have to head to work. Enjoy! |
_________________
PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
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kurtmax_0 |
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Post subject:
Posted: May 14, 2006 - 01:37 PM
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Color-Swapped Ninja
Joined: Oct 23, 2005
Posts: 1083
Status: Offline
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What's the deal with this stupid PhysX card? Has technology really crapped out so much that you need a PHYSICS card?
I'm never going to buy such a piece of crap... most of you already know I think that video cards are already retarded enough, let alone a "physics" card...
I'm just waiting for the day of software rendering to come back. Because there really aren't any restrictions at all :/ |
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Satertek |
| Location: Huntsville, AL |
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Post subject:
Posted: May 14, 2006 - 09:44 PM
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Mobile Camper
Joined: Jun 29, 2005
Posts: 280
Location: Huntsville, AL
Status: Offline
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kurtmax_0 |
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Post subject:
Posted: May 15, 2006 - 03:11 AM
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Color-Swapped Ninja
Joined: Oct 23, 2005
Posts: 1083
Status: Offline
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Back on the topic of Ghost Recon...
How does the "omg it's in teh 3d tilted hud" work? I would think it would induce headaches... at least for me..
Also, are the missions pre-planned or are they plannable, such as in the RS series? |
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vandyl |
| Location: Madison, AL |
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Post subject:
Posted: May 15, 2006 - 02:52 PM
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G0dlike
Joined: Feb 03, 2004
Posts: 651
Location: Madison, AL
Status: Offline
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| the "tilted" hud is so subtle you don't even catch onto it. The overlay is very transparent to keep from distracting or distorting your view. A big ass hud can be cool, but not if it gets you killed. |
_________________
PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
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fastbilly1 |
| Location: I get around |
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Post subject:
Posted: May 16, 2006 - 01:48 PM
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Moderator
Joined: Feb 02, 2004
Posts: 1359
Location: I get around
Status: Offline
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| No good, GRAW requires more power than even Oblivion. Itll be on the backburner for future purchase. Thoguh I am tempted to get BF2 and Special Forces. But I believe I have missed the boat on the big crowd of players. |
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vandyl |
| Location: Madison, AL |
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Post subject:
Posted: May 16, 2006 - 10:35 PM
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G0dlike
Joined: Feb 03, 2004
Posts: 651
Location: Madison, AL
Status: Offline
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| if you get bf2, let me know - been playing every couple days with a group of friends, scorp included. |
_________________
PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
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