Set in the near future, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 puts the player in the shoes of a highly trained operative who works as a part of the infamous military unit from the U.S. Special Forces only known as "Ghosts". The game is set in North Korea, where an evil general is diverting all the humanitarian aid to boost his forces and gain more political power in the process and it's up to Ghosts to eliminate this threat. There is a single player campaign mode, where the player as part of the Ghosts, must take on the evil general in 11 different and quite long missions. There is also a multiplayer modes in both on and offline. The main campaign can be played through with a friend, or you can fight other players in multiple game modes spanning from a simple deathmatch to team based modes. New to this part of the series is the possibility to use a third person viewpoint, but the classic "From the eyes"-view is also available.
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Talk about a step-down from the first game which was already gimped somewhat to run on consoles, Ghost Recon 2 on the PS2 is an awful example of a tactical shooter. There are barely any tactics here. You get simple orders to issue AI controlled squad mates, commands such as; covering fire, take point, hold position/regroup and a move command which only moves two of your three squad mates.
The maps are super short and very linear, leaving no room for you to out manoeuvre the enemy and forcing you onto a very set path intended by the developers. You move forward through a level, watching enemies spawn in on the radar that sits on the top right of your screen to let you know it's time to take cover behind a wall or some other object to fire back and hopefully kill them before you take any damage. The most frustrating thing about this enemy placement is when you move forward in a level and the game will spawn enemies in areas you have previously cleared.
The over-the-shoulder camera is finicky and locked to one shoulder only, unless you use the peeking to lean out from behind cover. The gunplay is still as good as it was in the first game and the shooting in the lone wolf levels especially feels powerful and satisfying.
If you want a Ghost Recon experience on the PS2, play the first game or Jungle Storm. This one does not cut it.