Ghost Recon is a tactical first person shooter, that takes place about five years into the future. It had a very successful release on PC a few years ago, and now has been released on Xbox and PS2 recently.

It takes place in the year 2008, when Russia is trying to restablish the Soviet Union that was once there. They have already taken over most of the countries, and they are now after Georgia. You are sent in as an elite group of soldiers of Green Berets. The squad is known as the "Ghosts".

When Ubi Soft, they really thought about how a squad of soldiers would work together, and what things you might need, etc. They give you a group of six soldiers, that you choose from a list at the beginning of each mission; everytime you use them in a mission and they make it out alive, they receive experience points that can be used to make them better. If they die, they're replaced on the list with a beginner soldier who has just the basic skills and weaponry. They also reward you during the missions for completing the special objective, by giving you special soldiers that have better weapons and much better stats. Its up to you whether you want to do it or not, but a lot of times its definitely worth doing just because of the new weaponry they have and things like that. The story is basic, but after the opening sequence they basically don't tell you anything else except why you're doing the next mission. Some players might not like the fact that you can't see your gun while playing, but most people get used to it very quickly, and after the first mission don't even notice that its not there. Instead they have replaced it with a reticule, that changes to blue if you target a teammate, that way you don't accidentally fire on him. During missions there are two squads that you have, your alpha and bravo. If you press the L trigger, you have the option of commanding either squad, and telling them whether to act stealthily, or to advance at all costs. The way you command your soldiers basically determines whether they'll survive and whether you shall complete the mission. The enemy A.I. in this game is incredibly smart. Unlike a lot of games, when you shoot at the enemy, they don't just go charging at you, they'll lay down on the ground real quick so you can't shoot them as easily, or hide behind a bush or tree. They also tend not to come after you by themselves; they'll come in groups of 3 or 4 and possibly even 5 or 6. This makes for some heated gun fights, and intense situations where you have to make critical decisions on whether to hid, run out, let an enemy go to save yourself the trouble of fighting off more of them, etc. Ubi Soft has also included tons of unlockables. There are around 50 things to unlock, and they take a good chunk of time to get. You can unlock weapons, new levels for multiplayer, new game modes, cheats, and special characters to use in quick mission mode. This just adds to the life of the game.

The graphics in this game are nicely done, but do have their share of problems. For one, the buildings are all pastel like, and don't have that much detail to them. Doors, windows, etc. don't look 3d, and just look like they're completely flat and painted onto the wall. But to make up for it, the trees, bushes, streams and things like that are incredibly well done. Trees and bushes sway in the wind, making it seem like you're actually walking around in a forest or in the mountains. The rain and snow is also done pretty well, but could have been done better. They were decently done, but I think improvement on a couple of things would have made them a ton better and really something to look at.

Sound is done very very well. What makes this game so realistic, and much more strategic, is the factor of the sound in your games. The gun shots sound incredibly realistic, the A.I. even talks during the game, and also the sound effects from walking, running, opening doors, etc. Every single gun in this game sounds different, and like its real life counterpart; you can even hear the casings of each individual bullet hitting the ground after pumping shot after shot out of your gun. You also hear the enemies yell things in Russian, and your soldiers saying things such as, "I got him.", "Enemy soldier down.", and anything else that has to do with the gameplay. The sound plays a very important role in this game when you are trying to decipher which direction you are being fired at from. Having surround sound helps a ton here, but just regular sound is required if you want to know you're being shot at or which direction its coming from.

Control is a must have to make the game fun, and enjoyable. Luckily, this game does that, and has the controls set so they are easy to learn, and not complicated like some games. It has the "standard" first person shooter controls, with some extra functions. This includes buttons for crouching, laying down, turning night vision on, communicating on live, and switching between your primary and secondary weapon. Its very smooth, and you won't have any problems with it, except that in multiplayer both players must use the same control style. Same button movements, and also invert/non-invert. Some people complain, but its just a minor setback to an otherwise great control scheme.

Ghost Recon was one of the first xbox live games out on the market. Today, its still one of the most played. You have options of last man standing, team last man standing, and cooperative. Then for each one there are different modes such as king of the hill, siege, and cat and mouse. This keeps the game fresh and makes you want to come back for more. Unfortunately though, it has no downloadble content available, but that may change in the future. You can play with up to 16 players on live, or on system link if you can get that many friends together. It also has deathmatch and coop, for two-four friends that are on one xbox. This makes for an extremely addictive game, that has great replay value.

Ghost Recon was one of the first live games I bought, and as of now its the one I play the most. It has a great single player mode, and also great multiplayer. I'd say if you have $50 to spend, and are looking for a great new game that will keep you coming back for more, then go out and pick up a copy of Ghost Recon.