Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (UbiSoft, PC MA15)

By PETER ELEY

(Herald rating: * * * * )

The Rainbow Six/Rogue Spear games lead the field in realistic military simulations. Indeed, the Black Thorn set of missions is a relatively new release.

That makes the release of another Clancy-branded game, Ghost Recon, something of a mystery. Will fans buy both?
Probably, if only because of the quality of this series.

And UbiSoft has tried to insert a point of difference by setting Ghost Recon in the future.

It is 2008 and the world is teetering on the brink of nuclear war. Radical ultranationalists have seized power in Moscow with the aim of re-establishing the former Soviet empire.

Bring on a small group of US Green Berets who happened to be on peacekeeping duty in nearby Georgia.
They have the latest stealth gear and the ability to strike swiftly and silently, and call themselves "the Ghosts".

It's a bit over the top, and smacks of US jingoism. But it's also an excellent game with a sharp sense of realism.

Don't be tempted to jump straight into the campaign. You'll almost certainly be wiped out before you can say Mikhail Gorbachev.

The training missions are a must and give you a grounding in the game controls and how to use weapons and explosives.

It is a difficult, demanding first-person action game but one that will reward those who stay the distance.
There are three difficulty settings, and new players should swallow their pride and choose Recruit. Veteran is much tougher, and Rambo himself might struggle at Elite level.

Black Thorn, for the record, is an expansion back to Rainbow Six, but doesn't need the original game to run.
Technology has moved on since that was released and Black Thorn has sharper graphics than the original game and last year's update, Urban Operations.

The game was planned for an earlier release, but some material had to be deleted after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

* peter_eley@nzherald.co.nz