I've never been the biggest Xbox Live Arcade fan. Don't get me wrong, the concept and execution of the service is great, I just find myself drawn more to the full length 360 titles. The only two Live Arcade games that I own are Geometry Wars and Hexic HD, and I have loved Geometry Wars since the moment I downloaded it. The game is very simple, yet addicting (especially the background music). The one downside to the game? I sucked at it. My high score was barely above 250,000, and I was lucky if I passed 100,000 points without dying. I eventually grew too frustrated with my lack of skills and stopped playing. However, earlier this week I looked at my gamercard, realized how long it has been since I have played some of my games, and decided to give Geometry Wars another try. For some reason the game suddenly clicked, and I found myself beating my old high score with ease. After only a few games I had doubled the number of Geometry Wars achievements that I held, and had gained a new high score of about 850,000.

 

Yes, this is a somewhat pointless blog entry. I just find it funny how dramatically a player's skill level in a game can change for seemingly no reason at all. Maybe someday I'll be good at Hexic too.

I have been looking forward to Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter since it was announced at E3 2005. It has attracted a lot of hype in the last few months, and here are my thoughts on the game, now that I have had the chance to play it:

 

Campaign: I have always loved the single-player portions of Tom Clancy games, and Advanced Warfighter is no exception. It has a solid plot (nothing groundbreaking, but it's good enough to drive the gameplay), and takes place entirely in Mexico City. This is a new twist to the Ghost Recon series, since the previous games tended to take place more often in rural locations, and rarely focused on one place for too long. Since the entire game takes place in a single city, it allows for some unique features. There are no cinematics that show the transition between levels, instead, once the player finishes a mission, he is picked up by a Black Hawk or a Stryker APC. The game will then load while the player is on board the vehicle, and during that time the pilot, driver, or someone over the radio will brief you on your next mission (and during this time you can look around, out the window, and occasionally fire the Black Hawk's turret). You are then inserted into your new area of operation, and continue playing. It is a simple but awesome feature, since it makes the player feel like he never really leaves the battlefield. Also, due to the feature, the game is played in near-real time.

 

Visuals: Beautiful, pure and simple. Advanced Warfighter is one of the best looking games I have ever seen. From the character models, to the enormous draw distance, to the fantastic light-bloom, this game is just a pleasure to look at. When you are on board a Black Hawk in between levels, you get a feel for the sheer size of Mexico City, and boy does it look cool. Also, keep in mind that I've been playing on an SDTV (I know, I know), so the game should look even better in high-def.

 

Sound: No complaints. The sounds that explosions and gunfire make are cool, but nothing we haven't heard before. The cross-com is a neat feature, and it is nice to be able to hear a lot of chatter of the radio, as it provides a more immersive experience. I like the soundtrack. The main Advanced Warfighter theme music is addicting, and the songs that play as you fly in the Black Hawk are a nice touch.

 

Gripes: I don't have any major things to complain about at this point (although keep in mind I haven't gone online yet, I've only played the single-player campaign), only a few little nitpicks. There are some minor graphical errors, such as occasional pop-in. Also, for a game which advertises itself as a squad-based shooter, there are a number of missions that you have to play with minimal or no squad support. I have also encountered several weird glitches. At one point, my Black Hawk started flying through buildings, and another time, the game appeared to be stuck in a loop (I couldn't control my character; he was just stuck in the same animation and the sound effects in the background kept looping). However, none of these things are severe enough to keep me from enjoying the game.

 

Overall, Advanced Warfighter is an excellent game and definetly worth the wait. It is my favorite Xbox 360 game yet (although I am a huge Tom Clancy game fan, so I may be biased). Even if you don't like squad-shooters, give this game a rent. You may be pleasantly surprised.