Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter - Ubisoft Spotlight Preview

Ubisoftâ??s latest iteration in the Tom Clancyâ??s Ghost Recon franchise is being geared up to become one of the â??must haveâ? launch titles for Microsoftâ??s Xbox360 console when the machine is released later this year. Set in 2013 Mexico City, the game puts players in control of Ghost leader Scott Mitchell as he and his compatriots become the first to make full use of the US Armyâ??s latest future soldier technology and become advanced warfighters. The game features the sort of storyline that youâ??d expect from a Tom Clancy prefixed game and certainly fits into the wider world of the Ghost Recon franchise. After signing a new North American agreement in the Mexican Capital the Canadian Prime Minister, US President and the Mexican President find themselves caught up in an attack by group of rogue Mexican soldiers. When the US President is kidnapped en route to the airport the Ghosts are called in to find and free the American Commander-in-Chiefâ?¦

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter will be released on Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation2, GameCube, and PC later this year, although most of the emphasis (understandably) has been placed on the Xbox360 version. So far though only trailers have been shown outside of Ubisoftâ??s doors â?“ would things change at their Spotlight event held earlier this monthâ?¦?

In a word, no. As perhaps expected there was no live gameplay and certainly no playable demo of the Xbox360 version of the game at the summer event, and with no glimpse of the current-generation console versions, it was left to a series of trailers interspersed with Xbox360 gameplay footage to fill the session. During the course of the 45 minute or so presentation several sequences were shown, although some of these have already been seen, such as the four Ghosts walking down a dusty Mexico City street before taking down several enemies. There was however, one gameplay sequence from Advanced Warfighter demonstrated at the event that certainly reinvigorated any lost anticipation for this cornerstone Xbox360 launch titleâ?¦Ambushed in a part of the city, Mitchell points the reticule at an armoured vehicle and calls in an air strike, cue Picture in Picture with a direct feed from one of the fighter bombers as they approach the area and drop their payload, destroying the target. For me personally, this short video sequence had a similar impact to when I first saw the initial video loop of the game at Ubiâ??s pre-E3 event â?“ I was left in awe and wanted more.

During the presentation it was once again re-iterated that the PC version of the game would be more focused on tactics as it better suited the platform, but with their strategy of only presenting a majority of Xbox360 gameplay and CGI, Ubisoft made it clear which version they considered as the definitive Advanced Warfighter. Ubisoft has revealed some aspects on the differences between the PC and Xbox 360 version of the game, the main difference being that the PC version will only take place within a first-person perspective after feedback from the PC community voiced a preference to an FPS view above the consoleâ??s Over-The-Shoulder perspective. Taking in the fact that a playerâ??s aiming accuracy is higher via a mouse, Ubi has revealed that the PC environments will also include more areas to take cover from bullets and munitions together with far more challenging enemies. The home computer version is also expected to have other advancements and tweaks to better suit the increased tactical gameplay experience.

The game was first officially announced by Ubi back in May 2005 as Ghost Recon 3 and was the first next-gen title confirmed by the French publisher; but during their pre-E3 2005 event in London the month before, the company showed a sneak 45-second long segment from the game that included the almost iconic â??exploding buildingâ?? sequence seen in a videogame. During the show TVG was able to discuss the production of the game with a member of the development team who explained some of the gameplay experiences that players can expect in Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.

During our conversation it was revealed that the HUD featured in Advanced Warfighter was heavily based on a prototype display currently being worked on by the US Army. Such a statement only goes to show exactly how much detail and accuracy Ubisoft has delved into with the R&D departments in the US military and how serious they take one of their many key franchises. The inimitable â??Cross-Comâ?? interface of the game identifies hostile and friendly forces as well as displaying Picture-in-Picture footage, allowing the player (and therefore Mitchell) full situational awareness with unmanned surveillance drones further adding to a compete tactical picture.

It was also revealed during the chat with the Ubi representative that the new buzz-technology, High Dynamic Range (HDR), was integrated into the game to create highly impressive lighting effects which help to create a wonderfully realistic, saturated, style. Advanced particle physics and high polygon counts will also add to the level of visual realism in the title. Further realism will feature in Advanced Warfighter with the aid of dynamic sound; something that has already been utilised in other Clancy inspired titles most recently Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. With various sound mixes and the observations made by one of the other Ghosts in the squad, these sensory hints look set to create an even higher level of immersion within the game.

The Single Player mode is expected to last in the region of approximately 20 hours across 12 missions of 6 sub-missions each, and will include between 7 and 15 multiplayer missions. Details of the multiplayer modes are yet to be officially released but thanks to the pre-E3 event in London we do know that they will be heavily customisable with players able to define a range of options to the extent that gametypes can merge with each other. Ubisoft has made no official announcements over the matter of Multiplayer options, but we hope to have further information on all of the online modes in the coming weeks and months.

In terms of gameplay Advanced Warfighter seems to be utilising the previous two titles as a foundation to build a more developed and rounded title, combining Ghost Recon 1â??s tactical player experience with that of Ghost Recon 2. Issuing commands to other squad members is accomplished via the Xbox 360â??s d-pad and pointing the aiming reticule at said Ghost. An example of the level of control and decision-making was made at the London event by the Ubisoft representative who described how a player would be able to order the re-positioning of one Ghost (in this case the Grenadier). This squad member would then advise the player when he had acquired a lock-on a target, but instead of firing aimlessly or without authority the other Ghosts will not fire until ordered to by Mitchell (the player.)

Development of the game has certainly been exceptionally industrious, which was made all the clearer when the level of Ubisoftâ??s integrated development network was described in some detail. With the title currently being produced at seven plus Ubisoft studios the need for efficient network wide updates was essential so that major errors could be avoided. The network between the studios is so efficient that a change being made in one location (such as a re-design of the reticule) would be updated to the other Ubi development locations in a matter of secondsâ?¦Industrious is certainly the word.