Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon : Island Thunder is the follow up to the incredible Ghost Recon, the game where you lead a crack team of commando’s through numerous missions to stop the world going to war. This time in the alternative future, the commando team has to go to Cuba, two years after the shenanigans in the Baltic States. The USA, being such the nice guys that they are, has seen fit to help stabilise the country after the death of Fidel Castro. Various factions are fighting over control, and due to some having vastly superior skills and equipment, the US has opted to go in and even things up a bit. Contrived? Definitely! Fun? You bet!

Like the last incarnation of the game, you lead two small squad of up to 3 men each team in a campaign through various missions of varying difficulty. Unlike last game, there are only 8 missions. There is also the option to play just a single mission that takes the maps in the campaign and allows them to be played individually. These can be played either as a Mission as per the campaign; a Firefight, where the object is to run around the map eliminating the enemy; Recon, where you must make it to an extraction point on the other side of the map; or a Defence game, where you must defend an area from enemy attack.

When selecting a team, selecting “auto assign” gives a pretty good team well suited for the mission. However, if you’re a completely obsessive control freak, there’s the option to outfit the team with different members, weapons and abilities. Each team member has different levels of stealth, weapon skills, endurance and leadership, and these along with their primary skills – rifleman, support, demolitions and sniper – allows you to outfit your team to perfection. Each team member also has a number of different weapon kits available, and it is up to you to determine who gets what; should the team all have ballistic weapons, or will grenades be better to achieve the objective?

The gameplay is pretty similar to the original, but the steaming jungles of Cuba seem a touch more sinister. Every movement could be an enemy. Like the last game, this game’s pace is slow and steady, but it’s still heart pounding. A few hits by an enemy and a team member is dead. Luckily, the AI is incredibly good, and the team members can take out soldiers before you’re even aware of them! And, like last time, there are 3 objectives to achieve each mission, and a bonus objective that will unlock a new soldier if it is completed.

The command map that is used to direct the squads hasn’t been improved upon though, and while it suffices, it really should have been enhanced. It still feels very clunky and limited. In a game where accuracy is paramount, the fact that you cannot choose an exact location on the map for the soldiers to go, nor can you choose individual firing arcs for each member of the team is really disappointing. Admittedly it must have been hard converting the maps from the PC to Xbox interface, but the Xbox has been around a while now, and other games seem to have adapted better to the differences in controllers. Another let down is the over scripted missions. Again, when replaying the missions, you will find enemies in the same locations, meaning you will literally know what’s around the corner.

The joy of Ghost Recon is multiplayer, and Island Thunder continues the legacy. With Xbox Live now available in Australia, this will be one of the biggest online games for the console. There is also system link and four player for those who don’t have broadband. In terms of settings, there are quite a lot to choose from, and the range of types of games is enormous. Co-op has the same game types as single player – Mission, Firefight, Recon and Defend.

For team games, there is:

• Last Man Standing
• Search and Rescue – which is kind of like Capture the Flag, except the flags are hostages
• Hamburger Hill – also known as King of the Hill, your team has to control an area for the better part for the game to win.
• Domination – where 5 zones have to be controlled by the team
• and Siege – where one team defends a base from the attacking team.

And for solo (all on to all) games there is

• Last Man Standing
• SharpShooter – the person with the most kills wins
• Hamburger Hill – the person who controls the hill for the longest wins
• And Cat and Mouse – which is essentially Tag.

Ghost Recon’s multiplayer is a lot more cerebral compared to other shooter type games. Rather than running around and shooting anything in sight, the action is akin to the single player mode – move around slowly, use cover and camouflage rather than speed or brawn. Radio communication is really important, and the XBL headset functions better than any other communication device. When playing with a good team who know what they’re doing, the game is incomparable to other shooters in terms of action.

Final thoughts:

While Ghost Recon: Island Thunder is essentially an expansion pack, it is a game in it’s own right, and a damn good one at that. It doesn’t add anything extra to the gaming experience of Ghost Recon, apart from the new campaign and location, so if you have the original it would be a tough ask to tell you to get this. However, it is at a lower price, and I dare say more people will be playing this online than the original, so in that way, it’s worth it. If you haven’t got the original, and are looking for a challenging shooter that relies more on using your brain than brawn, and provides an excellent multiplayer experience, then pick this up and skip the original.

Pros:

Gameplay as good as the original – tactical and intelligent
Excellent Multiplayer
Cheap!

Cons:

Only 8 missions (but there are downloads available)
Like previous game, replay value is limited due to over scripting
Command Map hasn’t been improved
Is anyone else sick of the USA in the role of “Saviours of the Known Universe”?

80/100