GRAW 2

Picked up GRAW 2 the day it came out. So far it is what I expected. A polished version of last year's game.

I'm almost done with the single-player campaign and it has been a fun time. I have noticed a significant improvement in your team-mates' A.I. Mostly, they don't get in the way as much. They do a really great job of positioning themselves around cover wherever you may send them. About the only thing I wish you could do is send them to location in the prone position or in "stealth" mode. There have been times when I've approached an area while prone - otherwise I would have been spotted by an enemy - and I've wanted to bring my teammates up behind me, or to a cover area next to me, but they will just run up to it, alerting the enemy. If I recall, in the original Ghost Recon game, your teammates would mimic whatever stance you were in. I believe there was also an option when giving them commands to move to have them move very slowly and quietly. They would take a lot longer to get there, but it was a sure way to make sure they don't blow your cover. I wish they would bring that back.

Graphically the game is gorgeous. Not much has changed at a glance, but the lighting and particle effects are simply gorgeous. I will say this though, I am tired of Mexico. I really hope the next game in the series goes back to the mostly forested environments of the original. And let camouflage play a much bigger role.

I've only played one multiplayer session, a cop-op campaign game with Powerpuff and our friend Avalon. Much like the previous game, co-op is a blast. It was also quite difficult, in a good way. I can't wait to devote more time to the multiplayer aspects.