The presentation in Ghost Recon 2 is just as uneven as the gameplay. The game has shifted to a third-person perspective, and while the character models and distant terrain look pretty decent, foliage looks terrible up close. The animation is also somewhat clunky-looking, particularly with regard to the death animations. Killing enemies almost always results in them jumping up suddenly, like jack-in-the-boxes, and then flopping over after exhibiting exaggerated rag-doll physics. What's more, frame rates are uneven throughout, and the game gets extremely choppy when multiple enemies are onscreen. As far as sound goes, there isn't a whole lot of voice in-game, and the voice acting in cutscenes is melodramatic. At the very least, though, the North Korean characters speak their native language, though with subtitles. The in-game score is fairly restricted, so you'll hear a somber military tune play if one of your compatriots dies in combat. The music menus, however, are much more forceful, hearkening back to the theme from The Rock and other such Jerry Bruckheimer-produced action fare.
Unfortunately, Ghost Recon 2 offers only dated, formulaic gameplay.
It's also disappointing that no split-screen or co-op modes were included in Ghost Recon 2. Games that pit small squads against dozens of computer-controlled enemies obviously lend themselves to cooperative mode, so the absence of one is more pronounced here. Instead, there are single-player quickplay modes that let you run through the single-player levels individually (outside the context of the campaign), or you can get online and play through Ubisoft's online service, ubi.com. There, you'll be prompted to create an account that gives you access to the game's servers and leaderboards.
There are three game modes to play online. Assault pits two teams against each other. The aggressors attempt to fight through several checkpoints of defense, while the defenders try to hold out for the duration of the match. Supremacy is much like the onslaught mode from Unreal Tournament 2004 in that a web of connected, capturable nodes is spread throughout the battlefield. You can only capture a node that's linked to your existing network, and the match ends when one team links all the way to the other team's base. Last man standing is the final mode on offer, and it's by far the most popular mode being played now. It's a simple, round-based team deathmatch, much like Counter-Strike.
You'll notice that the overall movement and game speed is a lot faster in multiplayer than it is in single player, which arguably makes for a more exciting experience than it would have been otherwise. In exchange for the added speed, though, the graphics are noticably less detailed. It's also frustrating that at the end of each round, all players are kicked back to the lobby menu to pick out new weapons; you'll have to wait for everyone in the game to give the ready signal before the next round starts. At times, this can result in some unnecessary and annoying downtime between the action. Overall, the online aspects of Ghost Recon 2 are adequate, but they're not remarkable. As a result, Ghost Recon isn't the kind of offering that's likely to hijack your attention from similar games, like SOCOM 2: U.S. Navy SEALs, for instance.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 fails to live up to the lofty expectations of its own brand thanks to simplistic gameplay, lackluster presentation, a lack of co-op play, and an overall dearth of polish. Players who simply can't get enough of modern-style shooters may find some redeeming value in the game, but for the rest of us, there are much better alternatives out there.
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