Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
European cover art
Developer(s)	Red Storm Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Designer(s)	Christian Allen
Composer(s)	Bill Brown and Tom Salta
Engine	Xbox - custom Red Storm Entertainment engine PS2 & Gamecube - Unreal Engine 2
Platform(s)	Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube
Release date(s)	November 16, 2004 Xbox NA November 16, 2004 EU November 26, 2004 PlayStation 2 EU November 26, 2004 NA November 30, 2004 JP August 18, 2005 Nintendo GameCube NA March 15, 2005 EU March 24, 2005
Genre(s)	Tactical shooter, third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: MA15+ PEGI: 16+

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 is the third console installment in the popular Ghost Recon tactical shooter video game series, published by Ubisoft. It is a sequel to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.

The game was released in North America for the Xbox video game console on November 16, 2004, for the PlayStation 2 on November 30, 2004, and reached the GameCube on March 15, 2005. A Windows version was canceled in April 2005 in favor of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.

The setting for the game is the Korean Peninsula. The Gamecube and PS2 campaign occurs in 2007, while the Xbox campaign is set in 2011. Ghost Recon 2 sports an updated graphics engine, the Havok 2 physics engine, new multiplayer options, and voice command ability via microphone. The PS2 version generally received bad reviews, but the Xbox version was met with better reception.

The game has been criticized by the North Korean government for its storyline.

Gameplay

In the single player campaign, the player assumes the role of Ghost Team leader, Captain Scott Mitchell; Mitchell is described as "a consummate soldier", being a veteran of several armed conflicts and can use weaponry from any soldier class. In several missions the player is inserted alone and must complete the mission without assistance from the other Ghosts.

Multiplayer

There are several variations of multiplayer mode in Ghost Recon 2. Co-operative games are available in the campaign mission, battle, defend, firefight, garrison, recon, and scout modes, in which players must work together to accomplish a single goal. Garrison mode, for example is, when players must keep enemy troops out of a marked area, for a designated time.

Adversarial modes are divided into two categories; Solo, where players work separately, usually against one another, and Squad, where players are divided up into opposing teams.

Story

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of Ghost Recon 2 are different. The Xbox version is set one year after the PlayStation 2 version in 2011 opposed to 2010.

PlayStation 2/Gamecube

The year is 2010, and amidst a time of disastrous famine and political turmoil, the people of North Korea are facing a time of great change. The government has invested too much into its military buildup and it has become impossible to preserve both the military and North Korea's infrastructure, so in an attempt to curb the effects of the famine, the government cuts off military funding, instead dedicating it towards the internal needs of the population. Infuriated, the North Korean military mobilizes against the government, with the brutal and charismatic General Jung Chong-Sun heading the coup.

Xbox

General Jung initiates a rebellion against the government, who find themselves at his mercy as he assumes de facto control of the entire country. With total control over the military, Jung gains access to the country's nuclear arsenal, and makes preparations to start a war among the surrounding Asian powers. This prompts NATO and the United States to send a large peacekeeping force in order to shut down Jung's operations before he destabilizes the Korean Peninsula. Great Britain, France, Australia and Germany all openly cooperate with the U.S., but support from South Korea, China, and Japan remain unclear throughout the game.

The "Ghosts" are among the American contingent sent to stop Jung, and Captain Scott Mitchell heads their operations. This small team of specialized soldiers cooperate with NATO forces along enemy lines to liberate villages, cut off Jung's supplies, and seize his nuclear weapons. Throughout the game, General Jung seizes several civilian centers and attacks some of North Korea's largest cities, such as Sinpo and Hyesan. Working actively with Allied troops on the battlefield, Capt. Mitchell and his team are charged with staving off Jung's attacks on civilian centers and NATO installations while aiming to cripple Jung's military capabilities. Mitchell also works with special forces from foreign nations who are specialized in certain combat skills needed to handle some of the operations.

Throughout the game, the Ghosts must cut off Jung's supply of gas in order to deprive their combat vehicles of fuel. With each strike, Jung gets more desperate in winning the war, and in one mission, the Ghosts have to seize three nuclear warheads from a train before they reach civilian-populated areas.

Within the final few missions of the game, General Jung launches a last-ditch effort to defeat the NATO forces. He invades a dam near Hamhung, and plants a nuclear warhead within the structure. If detonated, thousands of civilians would die, so the Ghosts and Capt. Mitchell are tasked with securing the dam, disarming the warhead, and pursuing General Jung before he flees to regroup his forces.

Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike

Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike is a stand-alone expansion pack for Ghost Recon 2 available exclusively on the Xbox. Summit Strike included 11 new single-player missions, as well as new weapons (such as the FN SCAR) and an expanded multiplayer game. It was released on August 2, 2005.

External links

• Ghost Recon 2 Official Website
• Official Ghost Recon Website
• GameRankings GameCube reviews
• GameRankings PlayStation 2 reviews
• GameRankings Xbox reviews
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 at MobyGames