Sticking to the same strategy that resulted in the PC's "unique" adaptation of GRAW, Ubisoft and GRIN have once again joined forces to cater to the distinctive tastes of PC gamers. Emphasising tactics and strategy as an alternative to the action-orientated experience that Xbox 360 owners were treated to earlier in the year, GRAW 2 continues the wave of changes that were evident in its predecessor. The more acceptable first-person replaces the cinematic qualities of a third-person perspective; a greater level of tactical command substitutes for covering manoeuvres deemed "gimmicky" by Tom Clancy and FPS fanatics alike.

Whilst the three-day campaign centred upon the Mexican rebels and the hunt to track down missing nuclear weapons before a launch occurs on home soil remains identical, GRAW 2 promises a very different experience on all other counts. With a three-level demonstration ahead of the game's release later in the month, TVG took once more to the dusty streets of Juarez for a look at what's to come.

Although GRAW2 is unlikely to satisfy certain PC gamers' lust for depth, realism and a return to the early years of the franchise, the sequel undeniably provides a more tactical offering then the console version. Before the stage has even begun, GRAW 2 lays down the challenge with infiltration points, team selection and weapon configurations to choose between. The choice of weapons and kit to allocate as Primary, Secondary, Sidearm and Backpack configurations provides plenty of ammo for tactical variety on the battlefield, although we suspect the limited range is likely to cause some consternation amongst the uber hardcore.

With helicopter drops into San Juarez, it's apparent that whilst many of the missions sound similar to the Xbox 360, they actually look and play significantly different. Using the same middle-mouse button command system to issue orders and split the squad into individual units, GRAW 2 manages to incorporate the "Assault" and "Recon" rules of engagement that have become a traditional element of the 360 games yet strangely missing in the PC's predecessor. With the ability to set waypoints the Tactical Map provides the most functional way to implement tactics that involve splitting up the team, co-ordinating positions and executing them in a certain order or all at once. The full-screen feature of Cross-Com 2.0 may have been a new feature to add to the back of the Xbox 360's box; however, PC fans will need no reminding that it first appeared in the original PC GRAW.

Of the three levels (Search & Destroy, Recon in Force, Welcome to Juarez) that feature in the build, many of the objectives centre upon infiltrating enemy installations with tactical skill, before laying down heavy firepower and moving on to the next largely similar challenge. The inclusion of the MULE transport and some of the other "new features" found within the Xbox 360, will hopefully add some variety to the proceedings though the lightweight nature of these many not suit everybody's taste.

Given the 'Work In Progress' nature of the build TVG is confident that GRIN will iron out the bugs, glitches and AI oddities that frequented our experience with the game. Issues with the cross-com failing to respond and the occasional crash to desktop aside, it's the fundamental errors of your fellow Ghosts and the enemy militia on the battlefield that provides the biggest concern at this stage. Occasionally splitting up the team would lead to a Ghost getting lost and failing to find his way back, though it's little compared to the sheer bravado displayed in combat. Failing to take cover, attempting to engage tanks out in the open, GRAW 2 demonstrates plenty of the micro-management that will appeal to a certain audience, but alienate others in equal measures. Even encounters with the rebels themselves resulted in haphazard situations, occasionally failing to respond to the Ghosts despite their close proximity and often firing blindly into obstacles. Beyond our strong belief that GRIN and Ubisoft will tidy these problems before release, it's worth noting that the build is considerably dated due to the delay in this preview. Our apologies for that, but just in case some of these issues do manage to find a way into the final build, we're pretty confident that the inevitable patch won't be too far behind the release.

Unfortunately, the build did not offer the chance to check out the multiplayer action, though it seems as though this area has undergone some significant work since the original. Introducing character classes, voice chat, dedicated server support and a thankful increase in the number of modes, much of the pre-release attention surrounds the all-new 'Recon vs Assault' mode. Although we can't actually testify to the addiction of an objective based mode between the Ghosts and Rebels, the promise of innovations such as the heartbeat sensor to tag onto opponents should provide an engaging battle between technology and brute force.

Providing GRIN can sort out the bugs and glitches that frequent this aged build of the game, GRAW2 looks set to provide an engaging blend of action and tactics skewed towards the latter.