Inside of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, there are three operative modes of Gameplay – the dangerously difficult single player campaign, the option to join up to three buddies and take on the near impossible missions together, or the multiplayer mode, in which you take turns absolutely slaughtering one another. While the third mode of Gameplay is run of the mill, and will serve to do nothing except boost longevity, the first two are points of definite interest. Many games out there today leave us wishing that we could take on the challenges, trials, and tribulations with a friend – especially when there’s an alcove right in front of you, and enemies are charging with their backs turned to it. Above it all, though, having a friend on hand, whether he’s right there, or right across the world, will provide a much more gratifying experience, as you can work and strategize with him or her, rather than just playing with yourself, like you do in every other game. While it may be true that you can command and view the world through the visors of your team mates, it’s a wee bit hard to tell them to come around the back with a string of keyboard and mouse commands, especially during the middle of a heated firefight, or when you’re being shot at too often to access the “tactical Map.” It’s this combination of direct sight and indirect tactics that can, and often will make the difference in a firefight, or just enough of one in the situations where a distraction is needed, and one of the Red Shirts is all too happy to oblige. Just bear in mind that when assigned different weapons, each squad member will have talent with different tasks – something you’d better learn fast, lest you try to send a machine gunner to snipe. Perhaps the most interesting point to this Gameplay mechanic though, is the layout of the city itself; with miles around you, there are so many different approaches to take, and so many different foes to take care of. Unfortunately, your enemies will usually be in the same place every time, making trips back through after (numerous) deaths so much easier. With that being said, there’s the occasional promise of vehicle or technical support. With the ability to rain hell from above, or watch through the eyes of an Apache you sic on a group of poorly armed foes, sadistic entertainment does come at its best. There’s just one thing to note, though – when you hear a whoosh, it’s a good idea to run like hell and hit the ground.

In order to take full control of a situation, tactical or otherwise, it’s often best to have a good set of controls. Now, while the controls here may be precise as hell, they also suffer from the realism, somewhat. While many of us are used to running, that results in having your weapon sheathed at this point, and holding down shift. That’s right folks, there’s a run button, instead of a walk one. With that being said, movement is assigned to the usual WASD keys, while leaning left and right are done by Q and E respectively. Hitting the dirt in a hurry is done with the Shift key, while normal crouching is done with C. Rising back up from the ground is done simply with the use of the X key, while strapping on night vision goggles is accomplished by tapping N. Firing, as always is done with the left mouse button, while the right brings up the scope. In order to change weapons with the mouse, you must first press the F key, then scroll through what appears. Don’t expect it to end up in your hands right away, though, as you have to stop before the gun changes. Normally scrolling with your scroll wheel, and clicking it will allow you to cycle between team members and the whole squad, assigning commands with each click. Finally, tapping tab brings up a tactical menu, one through which you can assign tasks for your lackeys, err, team-mates to follow. Take note though, that in multiplayer modes, there is no incentive for the other players to follow your orders, so don’t expect the world with these things. Overall, the control system is established well enough to make Gameplay enjoyable, and with that said, it’s about time to wrap this thing up.