Last Wednesday was the magic date for the huge release of GRAW on the Xbox 360 and my friends list will never be the same. Call of Duty 2 was the best First-Person-Shooter (FPS) for the Xbox 360 until this Third-Person-Shooter (3PS) hit the shelves. Call of Duty 2 and GRAW can be compared in graphics, networkability, and a few other minor features but overall these two games are nothing alike. GRAW will keep you on your toes, stun you with amazing life like graphics, and you might even wet yourself over the destructive explosions.
For those that have yet to find an Xbox 360 or have not yet invested in GRAW let it be known: you are missing out. However you can trust that GRAW and the Xbox 360 will stand the test of time and you can get into the game within a few months if not today. For the rest of the Call of Duty 2 fans, stand by and see if this game should be your next big purchase.
What is GRAW and what can we say GRAW is not? GRAW is a great military strategy game that requires the use of your brain, your command, and your FPS/3PS skills. This game is not a “run and gun” first person meltdown with fast past movements and constant respawns. This game is not Quake 4, nor is it Call of Duty 2 and fits well in a class by itself. The Third-Person-Shooter view may take a bit to get used to for those die hard FPS players, but you’ll find you have more viewing perspective and a better chance to catch your enemy before they catch you.
Single Player Campaign
The first thing you will experience is the two levels of difficulty: Regular (pretty tough), and Hard (wicked tough). When playing GRAW on the regular mode of difficulty you will notice that a sniper will kill you in one or two shots (sometimes before you know it). When playing on Hard you pretty much do not want to get hit at all. As with Call of Duty 2 on Veteran level the enemy counts do not change but the enemy does become more accurate with their attempts to drain your lifeblood.
The campaign is well put together and moves fluidly from one area to another following your attempt to protect the Mexican President, the US President, and the Canadian Prime Minister from terrorists while they’re visiting in Mexico City. The Ghosts (a Special Forces team… that’s you and your little AI friends) have to clean up, keep our politicians safe, and put down any terrorist advances while running through the urban streets of Mexico City.
The single player campaign has save points (or checkpoints) as you’re advancing through the game so that you can put the controller down and come back later to continue where you left off. The biggest challenge as compared to many checkpoints in Call of Duty 2 is the distance between one point and the next. Certain areas may be from one building to another while more challenging levels require you to take down a military transport, three terrorists under the cover of a sandbag wall, one sniper, an advance of six men with automatic rifles, three concealed enemies behind boxes, and four guards. Then you can blow up a military wall or installation and get the “saving…” message.
The game is definitely more difficult on the regular setting then most FPS/3PS-centric games that are out on the Xbox 360 to date, but that does not make it any less fun. Many of the deaths you will experience trying to advance will be due to your lack of checking all possible hiding spots and not utilizing the military units under your command effectively (which might be a tank, apache, small band of brothers, and/or a search drone). The game’s difficulty increases when you hit a hot spot of enemy fire and panic. Sending your men into heavy fire is usually a bad move when you have control of an apache helicopter as well, and commanding them all while under the press of high caliber weaponry takes some getting used to.
Single player gives you everything you need to prepare yourself for online play and to have a great time being a gamer in front of the boob tube.
Multi-Player Online
Many of us know the woe’s of Call of Duty 2 for online play. Many of us can also say we’ve played other online FPS’s like Quake, Counter Strike, Halo, and of course Unreal Tournament. I believe GRAW offers the most combinations of online playing scenarios on the Xbox 360 “out of the box” without patches, upgrades, or 3rd party intervention. This might be due to the design of the multiplayer game engine (which was built in parallel by a different development group). The online play does not always “play” like the single player campaign mode due to its independent development but it is similar enough that you really do not care. You cannot duck behind walls as you do in the single player, the targeting is slightly different, and the action is much faster. The multiplayer game is just what you want to see in a strategy gaming system: not as slow as Counter Strike, but not so fast that it is like Unreal Tournament either.
The Lobby
The lobby system is like many other lobby systems: Everyone gets together in a room where they can chat, people pick their class of Ghost, the host picks the map and options, everyone sets themselves “ready” and the game begins!
A user in the lobby can choose to play on a team or to be listed as an observer (“Spectator Mode”) where they can watch the action but cannot participate. Unfortunately new users that join a game in progress can hear some of the battle but cannot observe the action. This means that if you join a game that just started you could spend ten minutes just waiting for the game to end while staring at the lobby screen. Waiting is not fun, but waiting while staring at a static screen is simply boring.
Pros:
Cons:
The Classes
First you choose your class of Ghost: Marksman, Rifleman, Automatic Riflemen, or Grenadier. Although you can choose any of the weapons in multi-player as any of the classes you will receive distinct advantages if you choose a weapon in your specific class. However if you find your team is lacking on a sniper and the other side is swaying the balance with long ranged attacks then one of your rifleman or grenadiers can pickup a scoped weapon and start shooting.
Pros:
Cons:
The Interface
The game interface and Heads-Up-Display (or HUD) is very similar to what you will see in the single player campaign. In other multi-player games people have gotten used to a few options that cannot be found in GRAW’s multiplayer settings such as the ability to see live statistics for each player until the game ends. You also will have to do without a compass and scream your position to your team. You may utilize the waypoint marker, but there seems to be one waypoint marker that can be set (so you might wipe someone else’s when setting your own).
Your left-handed buddies will have a disadvantage as well due to the lack of southpaw controls which come in handy when “pwning” your friends in an online battle.
Pros:
Cons:
PvP and Co-Op
There is a great multiplayer PvP and Co-Op scenarios that up to sixteen people can participate in. You can all on the same team fighting the terrorist for control of the map, or to complete objectives, or run a multiplayer campaign and gain some number of Xbox 360 achievements. You may also choose a strict Player vs. Player mode where each team must accomplish objectives (capture the flag is a good example), hold a territory for a certain time or kill rate, or all out eliminate everything that moves.
Pros:
Cons:
Graphics & Sound
It should go without saying but let it be said: This game has surround sound support that is utilized perfectly with graphics that look like your watching an episode of 24 and special effects from a hit action flick.
The environmental sounds will give you the feeling of actually walking a suburban street with gun fire in the distance, dogs yelping, babies crying, and other feelings of “life” in the city. The attention to minor details is simply amazing as you toss a grenade towards a terrorist and the explosion sets off car alarms along the curb. If you find yourself an inaccurate grenade lobbing Ghost then simply roll the grenade under a car and watch the terrorist bodies fly from the impact. Amazing.
Certain key explosions in the game (an unmentioned building for instance which gets bombed by terrorist) will throw you back in your seat and make you wonder if you should have used the bathroom before gaming.
Overall Quality
This game feels as if it was delayed from launch for quality control and last minute touch ups. You will not feel like it was rushed to market and hacked together to supply the eye candy with content. This game is firm and complete with the largest upset being the lack of clan/squad support for organized multiplayer events. Any complaints or issues can probably be tweaked in future patches but the whole of the game is solid. The only known issue is a lockup that seems to occur from time to time while loading multiplayer scenarios but no games today hit the market without some flaw that escaped testing.
The learning curve for GRAW will be greater for those that are new to FPS style gaming or just have never played a third person (or FPS) perspective game. The campaign training will get you up to speed quickly and the introduction levels are easy enough to get your feet wet and start dropping terrorists like it was your job… oh wait…it is.
Graphics: A+
Sounds: A+
Game Play: A
Game Value & Replay: A
What is GRAW and what can we say GRAW is not? GRAW is a great military strategy game that requires the use of your brain, your command, and your FPS/3PS skills. This game is not a “run and gun” first person meltdown with fast past movements and constant respawns. This game is not Quake 4, nor is it Call of Duty 2 and fits well in a class by itself. The Third-Person-Shooter view may take a bit to get used to for those die hard FPS players, but you’ll find you have more viewing perspective and a better chance to catch your enemy before they catch you.
Single Player Campaign
The first thing you will experience is the two levels of difficulty: Regular (pretty tough), and Hard (wicked tough). When playing GRAW on the regular mode of difficulty you will notice that a sniper will kill you in one or two shots (sometimes before you know it). When playing on Hard you pretty much do not want to get hit at all. As with Call of Duty 2 on Veteran level the enemy counts do not change but the enemy does become more accurate with their attempts to drain your lifeblood.
The campaign is well put together and moves fluidly from one area to another following your attempt to protect the Mexican President, the US President, and the Canadian Prime Minister from terrorists while they’re visiting in Mexico City. The Ghosts (a Special Forces team… that’s you and your little AI friends) have to clean up, keep our politicians safe, and put down any terrorist advances while running through the urban streets of Mexico City.
The single player campaign has save points (or checkpoints) as you’re advancing through the game so that you can put the controller down and come back later to continue where you left off. The biggest challenge as compared to many checkpoints in Call of Duty 2 is the distance between one point and the next. Certain areas may be from one building to another while more challenging levels require you to take down a military transport, three terrorists under the cover of a sandbag wall, one sniper, an advance of six men with automatic rifles, three concealed enemies behind boxes, and four guards. Then you can blow up a military wall or installation and get the “saving…” message.
The game is definitely more difficult on the regular setting then most FPS/3PS-centric games that are out on the Xbox 360 to date, but that does not make it any less fun. Many of the deaths you will experience trying to advance will be due to your lack of checking all possible hiding spots and not utilizing the military units under your command effectively (which might be a tank, apache, small band of brothers, and/or a search drone). The game’s difficulty increases when you hit a hot spot of enemy fire and panic. Sending your men into heavy fire is usually a bad move when you have control of an apache helicopter as well, and commanding them all while under the press of high caliber weaponry takes some getting used to.
Single player gives you everything you need to prepare yourself for online play and to have a great time being a gamer in front of the boob tube.
Multi-Player Online
Many of us know the woe’s of Call of Duty 2 for online play. Many of us can also say we’ve played other online FPS’s like Quake, Counter Strike, Halo, and of course Unreal Tournament. I believe GRAW offers the most combinations of online playing scenarios on the Xbox 360 “out of the box” without patches, upgrades, or 3rd party intervention. This might be due to the design of the multiplayer game engine (which was built in parallel by a different development group). The online play does not always “play” like the single player campaign mode due to its independent development but it is similar enough that you really do not care. You cannot duck behind walls as you do in the single player, the targeting is slightly different, and the action is much faster. The multiplayer game is just what you want to see in a strategy gaming system: not as slow as Counter Strike, but not so fast that it is like Unreal Tournament either.
The Lobby
The lobby system is like many other lobby systems: Everyone gets together in a room where they can chat, people pick their class of Ghost, the host picks the map and options, everyone sets themselves “ready” and the game begins!
A user in the lobby can choose to play on a team or to be listed as an observer (“Spectator Mode”) where they can watch the action but cannot participate. Unfortunately new users that join a game in progress can hear some of the battle but cannot observe the action. This means that if you join a game that just started you could spend ten minutes just waiting for the game to end while staring at the lobby screen. Waiting is not fun, but waiting while staring at a static screen is simply boring.
Pros:
- Everyone can talk as a group and prepare for battle, and give input on the map selections and any custom configurations the host is making.
- You can alter your class directly from the lobby and change it up after each gaming session has ended.
- You must select the “ready” option to begin so you do not have to worry about grabbing a beer and getting mowed down by gunfire.
Cons:
- If the lobby host wants to leave, you must tear down the lobby and someone else must take control and re-invite everyone. It would be nice if you could pass the control to another user
- The host can customize a game environment before starting but they cannot customize the name of the game (you are stuck with “Custom 1” or whatever).
- Unlike Halo 2 on the Xbox, when people chat another can easily chat right over them without automatic lowering of the volume for the cross talking player(s). So people must back off using their best judgment.
The Classes
First you choose your class of Ghost: Marksman, Rifleman, Automatic Riflemen, or Grenadier. Although you can choose any of the weapons in multi-player as any of the classes you will receive distinct advantages if you choose a weapon in your specific class. However if you find your team is lacking on a sniper and the other side is swaying the balance with long ranged attacks then one of your rifleman or grenadiers can pickup a scoped weapon and start shooting.
Pros:
- Selecting your class gives you more uniqueness and makes the teams more strategic in nature.
- Defaults your weapons to something your class is good with.
Cons:
- You cannot change your class ones the game has begun.
The Interface
The game interface and Heads-Up-Display (or HUD) is very similar to what you will see in the single player campaign. In other multi-player games people have gotten used to a few options that cannot be found in GRAW’s multiplayer settings such as the ability to see live statistics for each player until the game ends. You also will have to do without a compass and scream your position to your team. You may utilize the waypoint marker, but there seems to be one waypoint marker that can be set (so you might wipe someone else’s when setting your own).
Your left-handed buddies will have a disadvantage as well due to the lack of southpaw controls which come in handy when “pwning” your friends in an online battle.
Pros:
- The interface is so similar to the single player campaign that it requires very little getting used to.
- The HUD’s camera view of your buddies gives you the ability to see how much fire they are under just incase they are a silent gamer type and are not screaming for help as they should be doing.
- You can customize your Ghost classes “look and feel” before you jump into a lobby and this can help identify certain classes more clearly when people use it consistently (or just make everything seem more unique).
Cons:
- Team red has a definite disadvantage because their player markers are the color of the enemy in the single player campaign. You may find yourself shooting at your buddies rather then the blue team. A slight hesitation can mean your last breath. A different primary color (green for instance) might have proven a better choice.
- Lack of compass means that you will have to scream your position based on your environment or try setting waypoints (unless another pinned down friendly has already done the same). Screaming “over here beside the truck!” is only useful if there is a single truck on the map.
- You cannot adjust your control sensitivity for aiming your weapon. Some people like a slower smoother aim while others want touchy sensitivity. You get the stock settings, live with it.
PvP and Co-Op
There is a great multiplayer PvP and Co-Op scenarios that up to sixteen people can participate in. You can all on the same team fighting the terrorist for control of the map, or to complete objectives, or run a multiplayer campaign and gain some number of Xbox 360 achievements. You may also choose a strict Player vs. Player mode where each team must accomplish objectives (capture the flag is a good example), hold a territory for a certain time or kill rate, or all out eliminate everything that moves.
Pros:
- Playing with friends is always a good time!
- Playing against friends is a great way to take out aggression on others.
- Co-Op is a nice mix up from just killing other humans all the time. Let the humans work together for once.
Cons:
- Playing with people you don’t know in a co-op can probably be frustrating.
- Co-op campaigns must be unlocked by the Host of the game before you can play through them (not really a Con, but a limitation).
- Lack of Clan/Squad support means that organizing teams will be left to the imagination and noted on a sheet of paper rather then using a ‘clan list’ or extended friends list.
- Frequent player drops seem to occur in lobbies containing high volumes of gamers when the host has a slower link. Perhaps a software “max player” solution based on detected bandwidth could prevent this.
Graphics & Sound
It should go without saying but let it be said: This game has surround sound support that is utilized perfectly with graphics that look like your watching an episode of 24 and special effects from a hit action flick.
The environmental sounds will give you the feeling of actually walking a suburban street with gun fire in the distance, dogs yelping, babies crying, and other feelings of “life” in the city. The attention to minor details is simply amazing as you toss a grenade towards a terrorist and the explosion sets off car alarms along the curb. If you find yourself an inaccurate grenade lobbing Ghost then simply roll the grenade under a car and watch the terrorist bodies fly from the impact. Amazing.
Certain key explosions in the game (an unmentioned building for instance which gets bombed by terrorist) will throw you back in your seat and make you wonder if you should have used the bathroom before gaming.
Overall Quality
This game feels as if it was delayed from launch for quality control and last minute touch ups. You will not feel like it was rushed to market and hacked together to supply the eye candy with content. This game is firm and complete with the largest upset being the lack of clan/squad support for organized multiplayer events. Any complaints or issues can probably be tweaked in future patches but the whole of the game is solid. The only known issue is a lockup that seems to occur from time to time while loading multiplayer scenarios but no games today hit the market without some flaw that escaped testing.
The learning curve for GRAW will be greater for those that are new to FPS style gaming or just have never played a third person (or FPS) perspective game. The campaign training will get you up to speed quickly and the introduction levels are easy enough to get your feet wet and start dropping terrorists like it was your job… oh wait…it is.
Graphics: A+
Sounds: A+
Game Play: A
Game Value & Replay: A
