It's the Year 2008 - war has broken out on the borders of Russia and the fate of the world is at stake. The Ghosts, an elite group of Green Berets, have been called to action. Their mission: Spearhead the way for a NATO peacekeeping force and keep the world safe.

Average Customer Review: ( 141 customer reviews )
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My review will focus completely on the SINGLE-PLAYER game, since that's all I ever play. I've heard multiplayer is good too, but I know nothing about that, so read no further if that's your interest. Please note I have nothing against multiplayer gaming, I've just always been a loner and like the self-contained aspect of a good single-player game.

The gameplay in Ghost Recon is fantastic. I am a veteran first person shooter fan (and by the way, this game plays in first-person viewpoint), and I was skeptical about this game being too difficult for me to manage. I am used to simple, straightforward gameplay, and the prospect of controlling 6 characters seemed like it would be a daunting task. But it's not difficult at all. Anyone who has experience playing FPS's should have no trouble getting the hang of this. The controls are intuitive, and re-mappable to your liking if you don't like the factory settings. You can give your team members orders using a simple command map, or you can move them around individually by switching bodies. The strategies you can use are limited only by your imagination. If your character dies, you can switch into another's body and continue playing, until all 6 of your guys are dead.

I installed and ran the game without so much as a glance at the 64-page manual, and I had it figured out quickly. I will admit to using the included keyboard reference chart however. I planned on just taking a look at the game and setting up all the options, and then quitting until the next day. But instead, I ended up totally involved in the first mission for 3 hours, completely glued to my screen, convinced I was actually there. The enemy AI is excellent, which makes gameplay difficult, but never frustrating. If you get killed, it's not because of some stupid programming glitch. It's because you got outsmarted or outflanked, which makes you want to try even harder to beat the enemy next time.

There are lots of choices if you're looking for a game like this. I've played Operation Flashpoint and Deadly Dozen too. And I gave them both 5 stars because I loved them both. But Ghost Recon tops them. If you have absolutely no experience in this and want to see what you're getting into first, try the demo. Or for a lot less money you can get Deadly Dozen, which is a very similar game and will give you a pretty good feel. Personally, I own them all and have not regretted any of the purchases. They each have their high points and personalities. If you've got the horsepower, I recommend Ghost Recon wholeheartedly!

39 of 39 found the following review helpful:

The Best Tactical Shooter EverJan 03, 2002
By Nathan Alterton
The team that defined the tactical shooter genre has really outdone themselves this time, I hardly know where to start...

(If you want to just get to the point and see my final thoughts on Ghost Recon, just scroll down to the "bottom line" section at the bottom of my review.)

Gameplay:
Ghost Recon's planning has been shortened from previous Red Storm games to only an overview of the situation and a team selection process in which the player chooses from catagories like Riflemen, Support, Snipers, and Demolitions.

In lieu of a pre-action detailed ingress and egress planning phase, Ghost Recon employees an in action command window that is down right brilliant in it's simplicity and intuitive use. I have played a lot of team based shooters and I have never used a command window that works this well or this easily.

While some people familiar with the Rogue Spear games have complained about the abbriviated command system, the system used in Ghost Recon is far more appropriate for a military field action shooter than the police action command system employed in the Rainbow 6 series.

A.I.:
The artificial intelligence in this game is the best I have ever seen (and this is coming from a HalfLife vetern). When shot at, enemy soldiers will hit the dirt and dive for cover. They will try to outflank you if they spot you first and will retreat to a new, more defendable position if they are on the losing end of a fire fight.

Graphics:
The graphics engine Red Storm created for Ghost Recon is very impressive, trees and bushes sway in the breeze, the landscapes are breath-taking, and the sun glare, especially when seen through the trees, is abbsolutely the best I have ever seen.

The character animations are nearly perfect as well, you can really see that the design teams put a lot of effort into them. While the graphics are not quite as beautiful as those in many Quake III engine based games, they actually look more real, in my opinion, due in no small part to care taken to make every character movement as natural as possible.

The only real problem with game is that it takes a fairly powerful computer to run the graphics at full detail. I have an AMD Athalon 900 MHz processor, 256 Mb of Ram, and a 64 Mb NVidia GeForce 3 graphics card and the game still slows a bit when I run it using 32-bit textures (but at 16-bit, the graphics are smooth as silk and still look amazing).

Sound:
I was very impressed with the sound, the noise of automatic gunfire is just dead on target, to the point that I can actually tell whether a shot was fired by a team member or a soviet soldier by sound of the weapon. Sound usually doesn't add or subtract much from a game for me (unless it's absolutely atrocious), but hearing the quiet of the outdoors suddenly shattered by automatic weapons fire brought to bear on an unknowing column of soldiers is a huge rush.

The bottom line:

Game play: 5 (out of 5)
Graphics: 4.5
Sound: 5

A.I.: 5

This is a nearly perfect tactical shooter that has real tension, fierce action, and amazing realism. If you are trying to decide between Operation Flashpoint and Ghost Recon, please, please, please, buy Ghost Recon, it is far and away the superior game. I own both and there is simply no comparison, Ghost Recon does everything that Op Flash fails to do, and everything that Op Flash does well, Ghost Recon does better.

For a proffessional opinion on both Ghost Recon and Op Flash, I highly recomend the reviews done on both games by PC Gamer Magazine.

39 of 40 found the following review helpful:

Red Storm has achieved perfection...Nov 11, 2001
By E. Brown "the voice of reason"
Ghost Recon is what I always thought the Rainbow Six series should be like. A realistic tactical warfare simulation paired with incredible visuals and sounds. Like the Rainbow Six games, you are given command of an elite infantry unit and must complete various missions. The main difference of the two games was that unlike Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon does not have a pre-mission planing phase. You are briefed, you choose your operatives and equip them, then you enter the mission phase. You control up to three teams by use of an in-action command map, so you are finally given complete control of of your squad, and are free to change strategies at any time.
Another great feature of Ghost Recon is the artificial intelligence. The enemies respond realistically, running from grenades, taking cover, etc. One problem I noticed with the Rainbow Six series of games is that the enemies in those games were all ridiculously accurate. In Ghost Recon, this is usually not the case. If you're spotted, you will usually be able to drop to the ground and defend yourself. Your team members being controlled by the computer will also automatically take cover and are a great aid during the missions.
Your teams will consist of up to 6 of the following: Rifleman (Armed with M-16 assault rifles), Snipers, Support Specialsts (Armed with M249 machineguns), Demolitions Specialists (Armed with M4 assault rifles and various explosives), and Special Team Members (Which have a variety of special weapons and skills to aid your fight). Switching between different teams or different members of the teams is as simple as pushing a button.
I've touched on some of the major points of the game, but there are many great features I didn't mention. This game is incredible and any fan of the first person shooter genre shoot definately check it out. If you still aren't convinced then checkout the demo (...), then come back to Amazon and buy it.

I hope this review was helpful.

(On a sidenote, I'd just like to add that the weapon sounds are some of the most realistic sounds I've ever heard in a game. In addition, the death sequences and blood sprays are amazing.)

26 of 26 found the following review helpful:

Rainbow Six steps down as the tactical shooter kingNov 14, 2001

If you were a fan of the Rainbow Six games, Operation Flashpoint, or the Delta Force series, you are in for a real treat with Ghost Recon. Borrowing heavily from the mechanics of Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear, Ghost Recon moves combat into a long range, outdoor battlefield loaded with cover, concealment, and eye candy. The gameplay is thoughtful and intense at the same time; strategy and calm nerves will always see you to victory. The combat is all about out-maneuvering your opponents, stealth and steadily placed shots. If you are of the "run right at him and fire" school, you're going to need to learn some new tricks.
The atmosphere in the game is great, as close as it comes to the real thing. Every firefight you are engaged in feels like it is right out of a great war movie--tracers whizzing by your ears, rounds thumping into dirt and chipping off of stone, soldiers yelling "We've got wounded!" over the cracking of their M16 fire. Trees sway in the wind, bushes give a rustle if you bump into them, and NV goggles are a *must* at night. It really is fantastic.
Red Storm has again outdone themselves with this superb title. This is the infantry sim we've all been waiting for.

27 of 28 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Tactical FPSDec 07, 2001
By Jacob Waltier
First, this game runs fine right out of the box. In the age of Pool of Radiance, it is nice to know that you don't have to check the internet for patches before you install a game.

Second, the tutorial is informative and actually kind of fun. This was a pleasant surprise for me after playing Rainbow Six shooting ranges.

Third, the game has great graphics. Trees sway, the snipers wear real sniper outfits, and the tracers flying by your head make you want to duck for cover.

Fourth, the game has a very user-friendly interface. Commanding your troops mid-battle is extremely simple, removing the need for the complex planning that made the Rainbow Six games so boring for me.

Fifth, this is a very fun game. Blowing up tanks is just a very fun thing to do in a computer game. Added touches like the realistic sniper rifle zoom make the game one you'll want to keep playing. In fact, I think I'm going to play it right now.

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