Red Storm Entertainment Unleashes Ghost Recon on PS3™

Ubisoft-owned game studio, Red Storm Entertainment, a company originally formed by best-selling author Tom Clancy, took the gaming world by storm last year when it brought its best-selling Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter game to next generation. Now, PLAYSTATION®3 gamers get to experience the latest entry, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW 2), which packs a variety of exclusives.

“Working with a next-generation console such as the PS3™ offers a wide range of possibilities to innovate and create. With the addition of the SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller, GRAW 2 on the PS3 gives the players a whole new way to control their character and support, intensifying immersion into the gameplay experience,” said Jean Bernard Jacon, single player associate producer, Ubisoft Paris, which oversaw the PS3 game.

Ubisoft has embraced the motion-sensor controller, which allows players to control the moveme nt of in-game drones as well as fellow soldiers and other vehicles on the battlefield. In the heat of combat, the SIXAXIS makes it easy to navigate through the turmoil of virtual warfare.

“We feel that the GRAW 2 experience brings everything the first installment did and more, making it worth the wait for PS3 gamers worldwide,” said Jacon . “The Cell SPUs enable the GRAW 2 engine to parallelize many features while the main game is running. These features include physics, path finding, and graphic processing .”

The team has included a number of graphical advances to take advantage of PS3, including dynamic smoke and fires, dynamic weather and a realistic day-night cycle. All of these elements come together to create some of the most realistic game play experi ences available in any video game today.

Richard Tsao, multiplayer senior producer Ubisoft Paris, said that because GRAW 2 marks the first time the franchise appears on PS3, the team has incorporated more maps for online gameplay. There are a number of re vamped fan favorite maps from GRAW, Ghost Recon 2 and Ghost Recon Summit Strike. Players will be able to play with up to 16 friends online using on either the PLAYSTATION®Network or a LAN setup. Up to four players can also battle each other in split screen using a single console thanks to the Local Play option.

The GRAW 2 online experience includes things like an in-action scoreboard, more detailed weapon statistics, and perhaps most excitingly for fans, an all new spawn system. Red Storm also added the ability for players to medic fallen teammates if they have been wounded. A number of new co-op modes have been added, as well.

“In addition to the Co-op Exfiltration game type, which is new for the PS3 version, we’ve included some new Co-op Objective game modes, including Co-op Intel Recon and Co-op Stealth Recon,” said Tsao . “For those who prefer to play online against buddies, there are also a number of new Team game types including Team Takedown and Team Divide and Conquer.”

For the uninitiated, t he ac tion in GRAW 2 takes place shortly after the events in the original game, which was set mostly in Mexico in 2013 . A rogue Mexican general kills the Canadian Prime Minister and kidnaps the President of the United States during an international summit in Mex ico City to sign the North American Joint Security Agreement. Captain Scott Mitchell, a Ghost veteran (the elite of the military’s covert ops), hunt down the rogue General and rescue the President.

In GRAW 2, the remaining rebel Mexican forces have gathe red along the newly constructed wall on the U.S./Mexican border and threaten a strike on U.S. soil if the Americans interfere again on what they qualify as an internal conflict. Th is sequel adds U.S. locations to the mix, providing the player with all new environments and well as some added pressure to protect the U.S. from an imminent rebel attack. Not only will the player have a wide variety of new environments, but he/she will also have more choices in how to attack each mission.

“We give the player th e opportunity to fight in a variety of realistically recreated environments including the urban war zone of Juarez, the barren and dusty Chihuahua desert, the Juarez Mountains and even the borders and city of El Paso, Texas,” said Jacon . “We’ve made vast g raphical improvements with inclusion of things like real-time dynamic shadows and dynamic lighting, heat effects and heat waves, dynamic weather and an array of filters and post processing techniques. We’ve also tweaked graphics shaders to take advantage of the PS3-specific graphics chip.”

Jacon said the campaign missions are sewn seamlessly together using the SAS for mission transitions rather than loading screens . This keeps the player constantly involved in the action as well as giving them a bird’s eye view of many of the environments they will fight in.

“The main goal of the team was to really push the Soldier of the Future experience,” said Jacon . “In addition to new weapons, more maps and updated visual technology, GRAW 2 includes the new Cross-com 2.0 which enables the player to control his teammates, UAV, M.U.L.E. , and a number of heavy support vehicles. All these new toys give the player a distinct tactical advantage on the battlefield.”

Improved squad-mate AI will now feed you more of the in formation you need with descriptive commands like “enemy spotted behind red truck ahead.” The addition of a medic class in single player and the ability to medic wounded teammates in multiplayer gives players an extra edge against even more challenging fo es. GRAW 2 also gives players the ability to change his/her teammate’s rules of engagement.

“When put in Recon mode the team mates will be more defensive than in GRAW,” said Jacon . “They won’t engage the enemies until you change their rules of engagement . Their primary objective in Recon will be to bring you Intel and to spot enemies for you. Their detection range is also improved so they are more likely to spot enemies before they are spotted. This way we give more control to the player in leading their team making the team mates more useful as they are l ess likely to get you spotted and more likely to spot enemies.”

All of the Tom Clancy games have utilized the same type of forward-thinking weapons and gadgets, which are based on the real technologies b eing developed by the U.S. Army today. GRAW 2 has new weapons for each class of firepower, including the x4-Storm series rifle, carbine and pistol. Also added for this new adventure is the Zeus rocket launcher, which now has a versatile guided missile that will allow more precise strikes on enemy vehicles.

As far as gear, the player will be to use the all new on Cross-com 2.0 to control his/her teammates, drones and a number heavy support vehicles,” said Jacon . “Not only will player will be able to see wh at teammates or supports can see through the Picture-in-Picture window of the Cross-com, but now they’ll be able to expand the window to get a full screen, up-close view of exactly what his teammates and supports are seeing. This Full Command View allows players to issue orders to all the manned supports in this view. For example, the player can send ahead the UAV cipher or the all new M.U.L.E ground drone to scope out enemy activity, while the player remains safely behind cover.”

When it comes to sheer firepower, GRAW 2 will offer a new level and lethalness with heavier support forces. Being more powerful, this support needs to be handled with care. When asking for a jet strike, there will be a safety perimeter around the designated target. To avoid any damage to you or your team you need to make sure you and your other supports are out of this strike Zone.

Ubisoft is also working on some interesting and “exciting” downloadable content that will become available on PLAYSTATION®Store at some point after the game launches, which will expand the replay value of this solid shooter. With its robust online options and challenging single-player gaming scenarios, GRAW 2 is sure to enlist a whole new army of gamers.