Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW 2) might be one of the longest names for a game on the Xbox 360.  This game is the sequel to the 2006 hit that set the bar for shooters on the next generation level.  Now can GRAW 2 match up to the level of success that GRAW set out with? 
    The first thing that is noticeable on GRAW 2 is the campaign mode is extremely short compared to GRAW or Rainbow Six Vegas.  It consists of three acts that follow the ghosts resolution of a nuclear threat from a group of Mexican militants.  While I felt that the missions overall were fun, I did feel like Ubisoft kind of went through the motions on the single player.  There were a couple things they added/updated.  They brought in quick mission mode and achievements, which allowed you go through individual single player missions and complete all the objectives.  The multiplayer has been revamped though.  The cooperative missions are highly detailed and greatly improved.  The missions are separate entities from the single player missions, much like GRAW.  There are also more coop missions than in GRAW. 
    I hate when companies go through the motions.  Ubisoft did that with GRAW 2.  The single player campaign is more of the same of what you saw in GRAW.  The multiplayer portion is what they really spent their time, retooling the coop campaign modes and adding in some new Live components like score tracking for quick missions.  The bottom line is that the game is great online, but there are better single player shooters out there.

My Score: 8.5


   

    Aside from the Halo games, no other franchise has as much success on the Microsoft console as the Rainbow Six franchise.  Both Rainbow Six 3 and Rainbow Six: Black Arrow both had great successes both in the single player game and online on Xbox Live.  The franchise took a couple steps back with Rainbow Six: Lockdown. Many gamers felt Ubisoft lost the realism that was prevalent in the prior Rainbow Six titles and became an arcade shooter.  Many people were unsure that Rainbow Six Vegas would follow the same successes that followed Rainbow Six 3 and Black Arrow or would it become a mediocre arcade title like Lockdown. 

    Graphically Rainbow Six Vegas is amazing.  Ubisoft captured Vegas with glitz and glamor of Fremont Street to the grit and grime of industrial warehouses to the architecturally complex casinos and buildings.  You can see every little detail and design in the textures and character models.  The best demonstration of the graphical power of this game and of the Xbox 360 are the moments in the helicopter flying above the disheveled streets of Las Vegas.  The view is just amazing. Other graphical advances that help recreate the realism of Rainbow Six Vegas is the addition and/or enhancements of the visual effects from flashbangs, smoke grenades, incendiary, and tear gas.  The flashbangs sear the images on your screen in a flash of bright light, the tear gas give off a great blur effect, and incendiary grenades catch enemies on fire on explosion. 

    The campaign mode is great.  The story is intense as you move from the streets of Mexico to Las Vegas in a cat and mouse chase of a suspected Latino freedom fighter who, as the story develops takes your team hostage and leaves you for dead. Your mission is to get your team back and to stop the terrorist from her devious plans. There are only two difficulties in which you can play the campaign with, either realistic or normal.  Realistic can be tough if you've never played the game before but after you get used to the controls and the enemies, realistic gets much easier. As you progress through the story, Rainbow Six Vegas provides checkpoints so that if you die, you would not have to start the mission over again.  Also in some of the various levels, RSV also provides equipment supply points so that you can change your weapons before you go into particular situations or just resupply your grenades.  The weapon cache in the game is amazing.  You can saddle up with anything from a sub machine gun to a sniper rifle to a shield and a pistol.  The game also offers single player terrorist hunts which allows you to setup up the difficulty levels and number of terrorists. 

    The multiplayer experience is second to none.  They offer a huge variety of levels, various mission types including coop missions and terrorist hunts, and various unlockable equipment like armor, weapons, and apparel.  When you first log onto live you are asked to create a profile and then build the character's experience and rank in a very rpg-ish experience.  As you get further along you unlock items which you can use in the multiplayer missions.  Some of the other multiplayer missions are retrieval, attack and defend along with your team and solo survival and sharpshooter.

   The controls are passed down from the it's predecessors so there are no major changes.  There is a button that allows you to push up against a wall for cover and with a push of the analog stick you can move out of the cover to fire.  Release the analog and you'll move back into cover.

    Overall I believe this is the best title on the 360 to date.  There are not many that can provide the level of realism, the replay value along with the multiple achievements create a definite keeper in the rotation game in your 360.   There are some minor bugs.  One is that some walls you can't attach to for cover.  Another is if you complete the game on Normal, you will not be able to get the 100 pt achievement that is available. 

My Score: 9.6