Ghost Recon
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New GRAW 2 screens and video
Xboxygen posted some new screenshots and video of upcoming Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. Ubisoft's sequel looks to be coming along just fine with some rocking explosive effects and nifty camera shots. Check out more screenshots and video (especially video 3 and 4) after the jump. From the looks of things, do you think GRAW 2 is shaping up to be better than the original, being more than a simple rehash of the GRAW? Speak your mind, but please leave your SA-80s at the door.
Ubisoft confirms GRAW 2's release date
TVG is reporting that today Ubisoft announced Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 will be available in North American March 9th. Not only was the release date of GRAW 2 revealed, but also formally Wii exclusive Rayman Raving Rabbids will be coming to the 360 this coming Spring. Ubisoft has a boatload of titles in the works for multiple platforms ranging a wide gamut. Here's hoping that their busy schedule doesn't affect the quality of a nearly finished GRAW 2. [Thanks, Machiavelli 420]
Tom Clancy infiltrates Euro PS3 launch
Ubisoft's latest release schedule sees the publisher readying five titles for the European PS3 launch, more than half of them labeled with the esteemed Tom Clancy name. The cherished children's author will see some of his more popular works come to life in Rainbow Six: Vegas (which sees the six Color Rangers fight the addictive nature of gambling), Splinter Cell: Double Agent and the latest entry in the Ghost Recon franchise. The last is said to feature vastly improved ghost capturing mechanics. The rest of Ubi's launch lineup is comprised of Blazing Angels and a game you've never even heard of, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It seems all good things really do come to those who wait. [Lego Sam: Planet of the Geeks]
Best of the rest: Ludwig's picks
Sam & Max Episode 1 : Culture Shock (PC)I never thought I'd actually be grateful to LucasArts for assassinating their sequel to Sam & Max: Freelance Police. Now residing in the capable hands of Telltale Games, the series is setting the standard for episodic content and adventure gaming. Complete failure to laugh at Culture Shock's absolutely brilliant writing, memorable characters and off-the-wall puzzles indicates one of two things: either you're a robot, or you've recently discovered a dead kitten in your lap. (See also: My reviews of Culture Shock and Situation: Comedy.)
Best of the rest: Ross' picks
Lumines Live! (XBLA) On a big screen with surround sound, Q Entertainment's Lumines Live was easily the most-played game in my library (if you stretch the definition of library to digitally distributed titles). Although I railed against how microtransactions were implemented in this title and still think the extent to which they disclosed the dearth of features was misleading, both the Basic and Advanced Pack got more than enough play time, as did the multiplayer. It is the best Xbox Live Arcade title since Geometry Wars.
South Korea loosens game censorship
Game censorship is a big news item in the past few months. Political types of all walks of life enjoy trying to stifle the medium by passing laws that don't hold up in court in the US and even get through without much of a hitch in Europe. On the other side of the world, one nation is going the opposite direction. South Korea, which recently proposed an anti-gold farming bill, has pulled censorship on games depicting military action against their northern neighbor. Under the ban, any game that was negative toward North Korea was not permitted for sale in the South, citing they would only inflame the existing tension. However, wiser South Korean lawmakers finally realized video games have little impact on the real world, cut the rule and games like Ghost Recon 2 can now be sold. Lawmakers from the West take note; South Korea has the right idea. When they're sitting right next to an unstable tin-pot dictator and decide that games aren't going to cause a mass invasion, we should start reassessing this whole "games make people violent" kick. Our only hope is wiser people end up in leadership positions who actually try to solve problems instead of deflecting the responsibility on an unrelated party.
GRAW 2 producer: don't play Gears for more than ten minutes
Because only the first ten minutes are awesome. In a recent interview with CVG, the content producer for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 details some of the enhancements slated for the sequel, but not without taking a few shots at fellow, erm, shooter, Gears of War. Though Olivier Dauba admits that Gears is "a very good game" and "is raising the bar this Christmas," he believes the experience grows stale after ten minutes. After all, who can really stand more than ten minutes of awesomeness at a time? "We're designing our game as a more long-term experience. In my opinion if you play ten minutes of Gears of War it's an absolutely awesome ten minutes, but if you play 20 minutes it doesn't bring anything new. They've made something perfect for ten minutes but we try to go beyond that and making something that lasts for quite a few hours." Mr. Dauba then notes that it's "a different game maybe but in my opinion we're aiming for something deeper and wider with a bigger scope," ultimately saying nothing. Whether or not you agree with that evaluation of Gears of War shouldn't distract you from what the interview's really about: In GRAW 2, passing helicopters will make the smoke go all swirly.
GRAW Chapter 2 expansion is now 1/2 off
When Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter's expansion pack came out on the XBLM there was a little uproar from the fans. Not due to the luscious content it held, oh no, but because the download cost a whopping 1200 Microsoft Points! But today Ubisoft announced that the Chapter 2 expansion pack has been discounted to a more reasonable 600 Microsoft Points. Go download the expansion pack for the new uber low price and if you already purchased it for 1200 ... that kind of sucks. Maybe Ubisoft will be nice next time and not gouge their loyal fans who ate up the content right away. [Thanks, Derka]
Xbox cited in trial of child-slaying father
Xbox is in the news this week, again linked to tragedy. During the opening hearing for Tyrone Spellman's murder trial we were reminded how Spellman beat his 17-month-old daughter Alayiah to death after she allegedly knocked his Xbox off of the shelf while he was playing Ghost Recon. "I thought it was broken. I popped her in the face," Spellman told police.Alayiah's death is one of several child slayings, at the hands of parents, recently profiled by the Philadelphia Inquirer in an effort to expose the Department of Human Services' failings. DHS workers had visited Alayiah's home twice during the month before she was murdered.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]See also:'Xbox Killers' get death
Alpha, bravo, charlie ... GRAW 2 confirmed
It's official. Today Ubisoft confirmed that Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW 2) is currently being developed and will hit all major consoles Spring of 2007. The game itself looks very pretty, but doesn't look much better than its already beautiful older brother. We know of a few people who are excited about this gem of a game, so we'll see if it lives up to the anticipation. Screenshots and video after the jump. [Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
GRAW 2 details hit web weeks after print
Media sites are buzzing today with news of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. The sequel was haphazardly announced in late October, but today marks the first revelation of explicit details; at least, to the eyes of an internet-only peruser. Anyone who's passed by a newsstand in the last week or so may have noticed the current Game Informer cover featuring a well-tuned soldier of the future, instantly recognizable as the 'GRAW guy' (to the well-informed). Leafing through the issue's pages, one discovers a lengthy feature article dedicated to Ubisoft's springtime sequel. So today, in a reversal of fortunes, the internet is sweeping up the old news, proving that big scoops can always be negotiated for. So what's the price?
Experience deja GRAW
OnTheXbox posted some Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 screenshots scanned from the latest issue of GameInformer. Surprise! They look a heck of alot like the original (admittedly awesome) GRAW. What are you expecting from this sequel beyond the usual graphical upgrades?[Thanks un1qu3 n3wy0rk]
Gamestop lists Ghost Recon for PSP
Retailers have been great at revealing upcoming announced games. Remember how we spotted Oblivion for PSP at Gamestop? Sure, there were tons of denials, but truth was: it was real. (Pictures here.) Gamestop has revealed yet another interesting listing: Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 for PSP. The first GRAW was a critical success. Hopefully, the sequel will be able to capture even a small part of the original's excellent gameplay. We have the PS2 version of the first GRAW pictured up here, and we're confident that Ubisoft can get the PSP version looking close to the visual fidelity of this game. I mean, look at the awesome work they're doing on Rainbow Six: Vegas. [Via Gamespot]
GRAW 2 on its way -- Assassin's Creed waits until late 2007
All right, I'll be honest -- I did play GRAW online multiplayer on the 360. I'll be honest again: I don't like FPS and I don't much care for online multiplayer. With that in mind, understand that I didn't like GRAW at all. Just a personal preference; I know many, many people like it a lot. So, when we read that Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 was taking the release slot of Assassin's Creed (4th quarter of fiscal year... probably around February) as well as Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. Basically, this means we can expect those two titles any time after March of '07 up to March of '08... whenever Ubisoft decides they need to "strengthen fiscal year 2007-2008"... basically whenever they need some money, then they'll release these games. That's kind of annoying, but it's business. Anyone bent out of shape? Ubisoft just replaced two high-profile titles with the sequel to a (subjective alert) mediocre FPS! It bends us out of shape. We want some stealthy killing with things other than high-powered rifles and lobbed grenades. Just for the record... Tom Clancy, stop. Personally, I'm sick of seeing your name tacked on to any modern/post-modern war game. Your plots are easy to generate, too (go down to #4).
GRAW / XBLA Bundle on the way?
Club Skill reports that Microsoft will release a new 360 Premium bundle on September 30 that incudes a copy of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigher and Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged for $399.99. XBLA Unplugged includes 6 titles: - Geometry Wars Evolved - Bejeweled 2 Deluxe - Wik: Fable of Souls - Hardwood Backgammon - Outpost Kaloki X - Texas Hold'em That's a great deal. But Club Skill doesn't reveal their source or offer any proof. File this under "wishful thinking" until we get official confirmation. Nice idea though. While we're talking fantasy bundles, why not throw in Oblivion and a 12 month subscription to XBL? [via 360stuff]
Loco Roco leads BAFTA nominations
BAFTA's British Academy Video Games Awards, to be held on October 5th, has announced their nominations. There were two games with the most nominations: Loco Roco for the PSP and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter for Xbox 360, both earning eight nominations each. The only other PSP-exclusive title to be nominated was Daxter. Read after the cut to see the categories these two games are competing in.
Molyneux - "Apple needs to get behind games"
Last week I carried out an interview with Peter Molyneux (the founder of Lionhead Studios which has games like Black & White, Fable and The Movies to its name) over at TUAW sister site Joystiq. I made sure to ask him a question or two about the state of Mac gaming because one, I *used* to be a relatively hardcore Mac gamer and two, Lionhead has a track record of bringing all of its games to the Mac. That isn't changing with Microsoft's recent acquisition of the company (haven't we heard all this before?!).The relevant part of the interview:"There's this Catch 22 situation where not many people play games on the Mac and therefore developers don't want to make games for the Mac. Exactly. I think it would need Apple to get behind games. There's nothing in their operating system that panders to games at all and I take my hats off to Microsoft. I think they've realized that games are important."Macworld's Peter Cohen suggested that Molyneux was referring to Apple's lack of a unified application programming interface that would make the jobs of game programmers much easier. I think this suggestion is spot on, but not the only thing that Molyneux was referring to. One passive improvement could include getting Apple to kick its recent integrated graphics habit (Molyneux called my MacBook "a perfect thing" in the interview - pity it can't play games). Sure, we'd all like an iTunes Games Store, a mid-range upgradeable Mac with a decent graphics card and an Apple that publishes games, but it ain't gonna happen while you-know-who is still around.Unless Apple gets off its arse and gives game developers more than the bare minimum of support, Mac gaming is going to disappear thanks to the rapid emergence of easy access to Windows games via Boot Camp or GPU virtualization (when it finally appears). Only then will we see articles on Apple.com about how awesome Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter looks on the Mac, instead of long features about how the GRAW music was composed using a PowerMac G5.
Sunday at X360F: GRAW aftermath
The results of last Sunday's GRAW poll are in. A full 26% percent of those polled have already downloaded the new GRAW content. While a majority of those players seem to be happy with the purchase, just over a quarter feel that the content wasn't worth the money. Comparing those who've already purchased it with those who'd only get it for free, it's pretty close with 575 votes and 509 votes respectively. Looking at the overall results, it seems that the sweetspot for content downloads is somewhere between free and $5 US. Still, a quarter of GRAW players are willing to shell out 15 bucks, and another third are willing to pay 5 or 10. That means 60% of those polled are willing to pay something. That's a pretty clear message for would be content providers. Remember folks, you vote with your dollars...er...points. Judging by these results, Ubisoft didn't quite hit the nail on the head, but they made out pretty well. What do you think?
Sunday at X360F Poll: Who's got GRAW content? [update 1]
Some of you may have noticed the rather vocal response to the news that new Ghost Recon content costs 1200 points. Most responses went to the tune of "Kiss my ass." Some have bitched and moaned, others gladly opened their wallets, and one person actually burst into flames. So, now that the content has hit, bringing with it the first signs of the apocalypse, the question is: did you get it? We'll take a look at these numbers next week. Who's got GRAW content? I got it. It's GRAWsome. I got it, but it's not worth 1200 points. 15 bucks? No way. I'd buy it for 800. I'd buy it for 400. I'd only get it if it was free. Basic poll stuff: don't vote if you don't have XBL and a copy of GRAW. And yes, you could spam the poll and throw off the results, but then you'd be a stupid jerk. You're not a stupid jerk, are you? Update 1: this poll is now closed. Check out the results here.
GRAW backlash: "1200 MS Points? Kiss my ass"
That low, droning whine you hear is the predictable response to the price of the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter's Chapter 2 Expansion pack, now available for download on Marketplace. Here's what you get for 1200 MS Points: Continuation of the multiplayer Co-op campaign with 4 all-new missions in Chapter 2 8 revisited, relit multiplayer Adversarial maps 2 all-new game types with 1 new game mode – Team Battle 2 new camouflage patterns 4 new character customization faces 5 new weapons Holy crap! 1200 MS Points! That's 171.75 Pesos, 576.453 Thai Baht or $15 American Dollars, the most expensive downloadable content we've seen so far. I think your level of acceptance/disgust with Ubisoft's Ghost gouging depends on whether you convince yourself this content is a true expansion pack ( the kind you used to pay $20 or $30 on an old-fashioned disc) or glorified horse armour. Team Xbox's hands-on will help you make up your mind. Of course, some people over at Major Nelson's complaint repository already have. Sample quote: "1200 MS Points? Kiss my ass." How many people will be shelling out for this relatively expensive expansion? Also, can somebody tell me what the PC people are getting for free? [Thanks Andy]
