As far as multiplayer modes goes the game features basically the same modes that the first one had with a few minor advancements. Team capture-the-flag, solo sharpshooter, and many more; literally there are so many similar battle types with different names that all you need to know is the online experience is massive. The big improvement comes with the co-op modes, supporting an impressive 16 players at the same time and 6 huge maps, fans of the co-op mode will be very happy with this feature of GRAW2. Personally co-op was one of my favorite aspects of GRAW1 and I was blown away with the amount of effort Ubisoft put into it this time around. If you want to have a blast (literally) give the helicopter mode a go; there is just something fun about picking off bad guys from a mile up in the air using a badass minigun attached to a Blackhawk chopper.
Graphically GRAW1 blew gamers everywhere out of the water and while GRAW2 only makes small improvements it still features everything that made the first one in the series look so revolutionary. While it may not match the detail that went into Gears of War, and in some aspects even Rainbow Six: Vegas, it still looks mighty good. One thing Ubisoft does better than anyone else in the business is lighting effects, anyone that has played Splinter Cell on the Xbox 360 knows this well. Explosions look like they are literally real life camera shots and the smoke looks better than ever using the power of the Xbox 360’s graphical chip as a backbone. Textures and character models are more detailed as well and small things such as backgrounds, animations, and gun reactions are improved over GRAW1 also. As each level loads you are treated to an in-game movie that not only gives you information about the upcoming mission but also makes you feel involved in the story; none of those annoying loading screens here! Using an over-the-shoulder camera view GRAW2 gives the gamer the ability to not only see what you would in real life (through the eyes of Scott Mitchell) but also being able to see your surrounding environment helps out a lot. Unfortunately because the online mode supports up to 16 players the graphics had to be cut down to help with the inevitable lag issue. This is not a big deal but something I felt needed to be mentioned nonetheless.
The audio portion of GRAW2 is exactly what you would expect; a small amount of music (but effective), great sound effects, and some booming surround sound portions that will make you happy you purchased that 5.1 system. Surprisingly the music of GRAW2 improves on the already solid soundtrack of GRAW1 and somehow made me laugh, cry, and jump with fright on more than one occasion throughout the game. When I mentioned that this game is a good reason to own a surround sound system I was dead serious; the way it helps you know where the enemies are shooting from is amazing. Ubisoft did a fantastic job with the audio portion of GRAW2 and it leaves nothing to be desired.
Overall this game is much more than just a small upgrade, which is what many people expected with such a quick release date. The single player campaign is small but still a nice feature considering the best part of the game comes in the form of online play. Some nice graphical and gameplay mechanic upgrades round off a stellar title that is a must own for fans of the series and should seriously be considered by all gamers in general. There are some small complaints that nitpickers will quickly notice but they should in no way take away from what is one of the best shooter gaming experiences available on any console. Every title that comes out of the Tom Clancy series is good but this time the developers made a great game; Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 is a must own.
