Continuing our day with Ubisoft recently, TVG got a glimpse at what gamers can expect in the forthcoming single-player campaign of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on Xbox 360, courtesy of a demonstration from Red Storm's Christian Allen and Ubisoft's Adrian Lacey. As gamers anticipating the title no doubt know by now, Advanced Warfighter is set in Mexico City in 2013 with the Ghosts called to help restore democracy to the country following a coup by rogue Mexican generals. During the course of the coup the rebels also capture the US President who's on an official visit to the Mexican capital, giving the Ghosts a second objective to achieve. Fitted with the Integrated Warfighter System (IWS), the crack team of special ops have access to the most advanced single soldier offensive, defensive, and intelligence gathering equipment in the history of war - and they intend to put it to full use over the three days that the events of GRAW occur.

The single-player demonstration began as the Ghosts find themselves in a Blackhawk helicopter on their way to a new drop zone in Mexico City, countering attacks being made by enemies on the ground (cue lots of automatic gun fire.) Usually used as a way of updating mission objectives from the Command Centre and getting the latest TV news coverage of the events in Mexico City, these transition phases (which also take place in Armoured Personnel Carriers) form a vital element in Advanced Warfighter's key gameplay dynamic, that of intelligence. It was stressed during the course of the demo that objectives in the game change constantly, and as a result of that, the Ghosts never physically return to the Command Centre for the duration of Advanced Warfighter. Such a decision also means that players are always in the thick of the action, and there's very little chance of being pulled out of the immersive gameworld created by the team.

This opening sequence instantly jumped out from the large HDTV securing GRAW as a true next-generation title, and though it was confirmed early on in the demo, it was plain to see that this was one game built from the ground up specifically for the Xbox 360. The environments, characters, and visual effects including particle effects and a strong use of HDR techniques all work together to suck the player straight into the immersive offerings of the game. Visual details that just weren't possible in previous generations, from air hazes that really convey the heat of the city though to the real-time soft shadows, their implementation breathe a further sense of realism into the experience.

It's well documented in several interviews with the team that one of the primary reasons for selecting Mexico City as the location for GRAW was its variety in urban areas. From parks to far-stretching avenues, skyscrapers to single-storey buildings, the range of urban environments has allowed the developers to create a gameworld that invokes both horizontal and vertical gameplay. Both players and enemies can make use of rooftops, open windows, and balconies to get that height advantage in ambushes and flanking manoeuvres. Long avenues in open ground transform into deadly areas for sniping attacks, whilst narrow side-alleys can offer a high level of off-street cover.

The Cross Com, which has been acknowledged as one of the key features in the game, not only acts a suitable HUD but also as a piece of intelligence gathering equipment. A translucent monocle fitted over one eye of each Ghost, the technology projects health and ammo levels, together with picture-in-picture camera views from the other team members, controllable UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) drones, the Command Centre, and a 3D map of the gameworld. Overall the Cross Com is hugely representative of the intentions of the developers to emphasise the importance of intelligence in successfully completing the missions. Identification of enemies by drones or other intelligence also appears on screen, marking each opponent on screen, and is just one way that the intel is represented to the player. Despite the best intel however, being shot is something that will inevitably happen during the course of GRAW; to show that Mitchell has been hit by enemy fire, the screen drops the colour levels and displays static noise - incidentally the same occurs when a player leaves the active battlefield.

For the duration of the game players take command of lead Ghost Scott Mitchell, whilst the AI controls the other members, as in Ghost Recon 2. The power of Xbox 360 has also allowed for the opportunity to advance the level of AI so that both fellow Ghosts and enemy soldiers are far more aware of their surroundings than in the past. Rather than just run out into a street, exposing themselves to any number of hidden enemies, the NPC Ghosts now check their surroundings and look around the corners of buildings before making their move - it's almost possible to believe that they themselves don't want to die. Enemies meanwhile won't stand around getting shot either; they'll look for cover instead of risking a hail of lead through the chest. There's a real sense that players will have to make clever use of the intel given to them in order to work out the appropriate tactics to successfully take on an enemy. After all the Ghost Recon series isn't regarded as a tactical military shooter for nothing, and Advanced Warfighter seems to take this premise very much to the next level.

Expanding upon the realism of the game, the Ghosts are given a couple of new moves that certainly come in handy during battles; sliding down to the ground on one knee works well as a quick defensive measure to reach cover under fire, and the crouch/prone positions once again return to offer greater options on the urban front line. These, and all the other character animations for that matter, are fluid and certainly help to heighten the sense of belief experienced by players in the game.

Featuring the usual mix of military/special op elements such as night-vision and holding the character's breath to take a long-range shot (things that have permeated to and from other Tom Clancy franchises), the developers have of course also ensured that a good mix of both current and near-future weaponry is available for the ghosts. In addition to the automatic rifles, pistols, and explosives available to the team, it's worth noting that the Cross Com also facilitates the use of air strikes, shown in real-time picture-in-picture with the game, and is one element that can certainly helps when faced with a tank. It was also revealed by Mr Lacey that since the ghosts never return to the Command Centre throughout the course of the game, ammo supplies and weapon changes occur via the many 'Ghost Trucks' that appear through the course of the game.