Posted on 03/07/2003 3:16:59 PM PST by sit-rep
There has been plenty of commentary on the “Video Game” syndrome with today’s youth. Granted, without the proper guidance from the guardian, with games, and other areas of upbringing, one could easily get deranged to the point of Columbine. If however, there is a proper guidance path laid forth, some games could be an educational tool. If, you’re an adult player, there is definitely something to gain from some games…may I introduce Ghost Recon, Manufactured by UBI Soft.
Over the years, we have imagined what a revolution would be like in today’s times. We have read the commentary of US Vets, the established Militia members throughout the country, the analysts credited and non, and from the pseudo patriot and our “very own” PC Rambos. We’ve heard it all. There is, imo, a necessity to come to terms with the ideology of war and death if thoughts such as survival or revolution exist in one’s mind.
Being ex-military of the non-combatant type…MM2, worked in the engine room of a Naval Ship, some out there could say I do not know jack about warfare. This would be true. But, over the years since my discharge, the realization of a need for a resistance force for all of the right reasons, I became shall we say… perceptive in the area of warfare.
Books, videos and a laughable time with the local Militia groups around here, I gained a personal view, which is, if you do not know what you’re doing, you’re dead, you and possibly the innocent following you. Simple enough? Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon game for Play Station 2 is a sterling example of what I am speaking about. I just finished it. 5 nights of play after the wee babes go down, upon completion, all I could say is, wow…
This game, unlike others I have played has an actual unit set up. Alpha and Bravo… three men per fire team, you set up their profile, i.e., man/primary weapon/secondary weapon. There is a wide array of weapons to choose from, you military been-there-done-that kind of guys would I’m sure salivate a bit…
Using topography, either inner city or out in the sticks, you mark where you want bravo positioned. Coms between you and the other team leader give you ability to know if they run into hostilities while advancing. “We’re under fire!”, “They’re right on top of us”, “Enemy Armor spotted”, and “We’re here” to name a few, are examples. A quick click over to GPS/topographic map, shows their location. You are, more or less an entity in the one player mode. At anytime you can switch between members of the squad…between alpha and bravo. You become that man. The cool part about this software, is the other team members do a half way decent job on their own. Whether it be a sniper, anti-armor rocket, M203… they surprise you on occasion and cover your ass!! In times of heated combat, they all perform very well for a game.
The game, set up like most has an easy, medium and hard setting. It is my recommendation, play the first two missions in easy mode(recruit) to get used to the controls, movement, etc. In easy mode, you have a small radar screen to let you know where the enemy is. You have actual dots showing enemy positions, and a bar showing north, south, east and west direction of enemy positions. This mode is great for learning to move etc.
The next level, Veteran, only gives the bar directional on the outer edge of the radar. IOW, the enemy is that way somewhere…
After playing these two missions, in both the Recruit and Veteran levels of difficulty, start a new game in the Elite mode. The first two missions you’ll be familiar enough with to get through with no radar screen at all!! You’re dropped in, you have no idea where the bad guy is, only a topographic map of the area with objective locations.
Now, the things I that appealed to me about this game’s depth…
On any given mission, you must reach an objective. As you advance no matter how stealthy you think you’re being, no matter how good you have your advance planned out, all of a sudden there is a WHACK!!! And you’re dead. You never saw it coming (through blooded eyes, the picture fades to black). The screen reappears, and now you’re the next Team member. Some times, the others in the squad got the bastard that just took you out from a mountain top(sniper) or a window or roof top, or cammo’d in real good from the tree line. Other times, if you’re not rocket fast with your scanning of the area…you(the next guy) are gone too. You are now the next member of the squad. If you’re lucky, you get the hell out of Dodge saving the rest of your unit. Maybe, if you are advancing both teams far enough apart, you can switch over to Bravo’s sniper and take out the enemy(s) pinning down alpha…
This shed a little light on a few very important areas. If you lose one person in your team, the likelihood of a successful mission is drastically reduced. You need every man in your team to do his job as complete as you do yours. Complete, no slacking, total awareness to your surroundings. Everything must be thorough…THOROUGH!!
Your enemy in most cases is dug in. He is just sitting waiting for you. You must see him before he sees you. How you accomplish this, is the game…
If some have suggestions for other PS2 war stategy games, only post them if you played Ghost Recon and they top it for realism.
The only topper out there (OK, actually a match) is Medal Of Honor Allied Assault.
Medal of Honor had it going, but the physics were a bit odd to me, and the lack of recoil took quite a bit of the realism away.
Have you ever looked at Day of Defeat?
It is a Mod to Half Life that replaces all of the characters and backgrounds with WW2. Weapons, Uniforms the works.
It is only played on line, which to me, is the future of Gaming.
Playing aginst any sort of AI pales once you have played aginst people.
Check it out, all you need is Half life (about 10 bucks) and a connection.
www.dayofdefeatmod.com
Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
knews hound
On the PC, that's the third mission. It's tough. You earn a medal just for finishing that level.
It's a good game. The online play is fun too.
But now I am completely addicted to GTR2002, a race car sim for the PC puttogether by enthusiasts and running as an add-on to F1-2002. Excellent stuff.
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