Undercoverman

There damn well better be an exploding Hitler head.

Good god in heaven this is hard. On hardcore, and with the odds heavily against you, you've got to be so careful it's untrue. Every mission starts with an onslaught, then you progress to each chokepoint, dig in, and rack up the kills. Stealth is vital for getting into position, but as soon as the first shot is fired, you've got to find cover and start firing. The firefights are protracted due only to the huge amount of enemy. It's like BHD - the amount of enemy crossing the bridge after you blow the artillery in the first mission is just overwhelming. For a period of about 5 minutes, all I could hear was Ramirez on the .50cal over my left shoulder, rounds pinging off the truck I was hiding behind, and the report of silenced rifles - great moment. This is great fun, rpghard, thank you for this. Keep up the good work!

Yeah, someone really needs to edit that subtitle, it's a massive spoiler, although only if you think Mitchell is called 'Michael'...

Hey, that tweaked set of drivers from HexDEF are excellent - no discernable loss in performance AND the shadows are retained. I rolled back and have not regretted it. Highly recommended! Make sure you use a full driver removal tool when rolling back, though. nVIDIA's uninstallation proceedures are notoriously absent minded.

I can confirm that the newest drivers for xp (162.22) are also playing havoc with my 7900GT. With ANY shadows enabled, visual artifacts appear, and with shadows set to 'high', it becomes impossible to play. The framerate slows to a crawl, the graphics become garbled and nonsensical, and the game is completely unplayable. It's a shame because I get a healthy boost in most other games (like ArmA) and as a result I'm unwilling to roll back. I hope nVIDIA and GRIN come to some sort of a solution as I really would like to play with shadows enabled again at some stage in the future.

I feel I have to comment on that video, as it is being bandied around as 'evidence' when in actuality it is anything but. Granted, the video shows the destructive power of the M99 to great effect, but it in no way, shape or form demonstrates the weapon to be imbalanced or somehow too deadly. If anything, that video only proves one thing - that it is EASY to wreak havoc on an unorganised and fragmented team. EVERY kill in that video relied upon one thing - the ability to make a kill and not face repercussions. Each and every kill was followed by a period in which the player had to reload, and in many cases was a sitting duck, and in not one of them was this disadvantage 'exploited' by an opposing player, because there was NO communication, and NO covering. Each player was a separate entity and as a result was easy to pick off, one by one. Now, I concede that the player in that video might not have had such relatively untroubled success with a different weapon, but the consequences would have been much the same for the opposing team. You even started popping them with your glock to relatively little recompense. That alone should prove to you that it is very little about the weapon itself, and more about organised resistance. Furthermore, having spent time in a variety of public servers over the past few days, I certainly have NOT seen the levels of 'exploitation', a veritable epidemic that is rumoured to be in existence. The vast majority of snipers DO pick a spot and cover. Furthermore, I have seen a nice, wide spread of weapons APART from the near useless MGs, in which it is impossible to put down some semi-accurate sustained cover fire, even while prone. I also have not seen the sustained levels of GL abuse rumoured to also be in existence, although they did occur on one particular map (I'll leave you to guess which one, should be obvious to most), where most players switched to it in order to exploit the narrow channels players had to run down and pick up splash damage. And what’s all this about muzzle climb and recoil? Has it escaped your attention that the M99 is bolt action? Recoil would only matter if you have the ability to fire off several rounds in quick succession. That is impossible. The FORCED removal of the sight picture in order to insert a new round is surely the greatest punishment. So, what's my point? Your conclusions about the M99 are nowhere near as watertight or cast iron as you think they are, particularly those based upon that video. Although I have neither the time nor the inclination, I could go into any particularly isolated public server and start slotting people with the SCARH with impunity, firing and moving in much the same fashion as you did, then post it on here and claim it's overpowered. In fact, I was doing that last night with the silenced SCARH (kit 6, SCAR fans)... Would that make for exploitation? NO - it would be the inevitable result of playing against a disorganised and amateur team.

Ok, thanks man.

Do we have to extract the bundle before using this or can we just copy and paste it into the same folder structure (a la GRAW1)?

Here are the reasons why the M99 should be retained, unchanged: - One shot, with a lengthy reload time. It is conceivable that the person who is exposed long enough to be sniped, could also be hit with any other weapon, and what's more, hit a multitude of times. If you expose yourself, and if you are exposed enough for a sniper to look down his SIGHTS (a process that takes roughly a second, second and a half) and acquire you in his crosshairs, then you deserve to be shot. You're a sitting duck. Couple this with the fact that the sniper CANNOT make another shot for at least another 4 or 5 seconds, if he misses he has a considerable period where he cannot return fire. - A sniper needs to be established AT LEAST a couple of seconds before he can get off a shot. The rets of the rifle, while moving, should be wider, but they are not accurate enough to ensure a kill at close range while moving every time. Besides, if you run up to a guy holding a rifle, you only have yourself to blame. GRAW2 is a game to be played where players move to differing areas of cover UNDER cover fire. If you move into an exposed area, you will die. This is reflected in the single player game, too. It's even hinted at in the hints before MP games - assault weapons for all round, snipers for precision, MGs for cover. You COVER your advance, suppress the waiting, and move to your own cover before allowing others to advance. - YES, GRAW2 is a TACTICAL shooter, and part of those tactics are that you should be INCREDIBLY careful about where you place your avatar. If you sit yourself down in an exposed area, or run into someone's cover arc, you SHOULD DIE. The advantage in this game, as it ALWAYS should be, is with the defender, the person entrenched. If you have time to establish yourself, and lock down a choke point, NOBODY should be able to get through without using the tools to give yourself a tactical advantage - smoke, cover fire and explosives. - The M99 can decimate public servers. Why? Because people do NOT move together, or cover each other, in public servers. Unless two people are lined up for a one-shot-two-kills, the sniper cannot kill two people at once. If there is more than one person, the sniper is dead. In the time it takes for the sniper to reload, and after exposing himself by making the shot, the other person can comfortably mop up. If the sniper himself is covered, he needs to be displaced by an explosive - cue GL or a thrown grenade. I know usually it's not always as simple as this, but GRIN have given us the means with which to dig people out of holes. Crying foul because we're not using them en masse is ridiculous. The tools are there - perhaps a counter-sniper awareness week should be required? - What about the SCARH? With one well placed (unsuppressed) round, it can end your game. With at MOST 3 rounds to centre mass, it can kill anyone. You can shoot accurately and rapidly with the SCARH to similar effect, only it's not sighted. Stick an underslung GL on it and you're got a major bringer of death. This, if used correctly, is AT LEAST as deadly as the M99. A couple of people covering each other with the SCARH is far deadlier than a sniper, even two snipers. Just because the sniper rifle is seemingly the most effective in public servers, it doesn't make it the deadliest weapon. - Communication is key. There are a limited number of places a sniper can be on the maps, owing to the lack of long sightlines. If the sniper is exposed, or discovered, a simple message to watch out in a certain area can be his undoing. A sniper RELIES upon not being discovered (which is why a good sniper never makes the same shot twice and relocates after every round is fired). In public servers, people don't communicate and as a result a sniper can notch up several kills in one area because people are unaware of his presence and additionally do not cover each other's advances. Making an effort to inform each other, and not wandering into his sights, can render a sniper useless. - Snipers do not wear ghillie suits in this game. The only advantage you have in hiding yourself is dropping into a shaded area or merging with a bush. ANYBODY can do that in this game. The sniper doesn't have some sort of cloak of invisibility. The advantages a sniper would normally have in the field, his most primary one - camoflage - is almost none-existent in relation to the advantages anybody else has. A sniper is no more or less exposed than anybody else. That's about all I can come up with off the top of my head. In the situations where a sniper has dominated, it is because of poor communication, lack of cover, and lack of care. The M99 isn't overpowered - everybody else, especially in public servers, is underpowered... Haha!

Check this out - Hume has 69 kills on Codename: Farallon! I played as a sniper team - only me and Hume, both with silenced M14s (and an SRAW each for the confrontation with the choppers). Unfortunately, because of the way GRAW2 records how your team performed, the kills are not individuated, and it states that I lost both Beasley and Jenkins on this mission, but I can assure you that neither even got on the chopper. I myself only scored 22, and my accuracy is terrible. The reason for this is mainly that I was making reaction shots should Hume have been flanked. The AI are tremendously effective in moving up on a position, and you really NEED to cover your men if they're engaging in force. One thing I must say, though, is that Hume is a pretty poor sniper. He needed two shots on most kills, and even on shots he should have made comfortably, from all sorts of ranges. I've tried each and every rifle with him, all with different attachments, and he nothing seems to be able to make him be able to make a decent shot most of the time. Allen, in the first GRAW, was almost godlike in his railgunning prowess with the M99. I found myself pining for his skills! Please, GRIN, if you can, increase Hume's accuracy!

Alec Meer occasionally writes for PCGAMER UK. His review is characteristic of someone playing a game he was obviously never going to enjoy in the first instance, regardless of how well accomplished it is. He makes some valid criticisms regarding bugs etc., but makes masses of mistakes - he mentions at the end how the first GRAW was a "buggy port", that the overhead tac map is "new"... Some research is surely required when you make such unqualified statements, and it really makes you question the validity of some of his other statements.

This game is absolutely brilliant. I'm having an absolute whale of a time in singleplayer - it's everything I could want from a tactical first person shooter. The choice of weapons, the AI, the realism, the amazing sound, the phenomenal graphics... I'm very, very pleased. GRIN, you've done it. I enjoyed the first GRAW but like many, I had my reservations and it very much (to me, at least) represented a work in progress. Well, that work has come to fruition with GRAW2. The addition of the recon dynamic has revolutionised the game, added that much needed extra layer of strategy, and made the whole process of 'setting up' for an assault many, many times more enjoyable. I'm also overjoyed to find that the vast majority of the missions allow for genuinely open ended gameplay and there is always a plurality of approaches to an objective, with all the strengths and weaknesses that each provides. The quarry mission is particularly good in this regard - do you climb the hill and assault from above from a potentially more exposed position, or go in at ground lvel without the situational awareness but much greater possibility of stealth? Do you mix the two? Do you move the MULE up steadily as a mobile piece of cover and assault from behind it? Do you use it to draw fire and get enemies to expose themselves? The amount of choices available is fantastic and really makes you feel a sense of achievement when you find the solution that's right for you. There are massive benefits to staying quiet but there are also massive penalities should you fluff it and be discovered prematurely - it is so easy to become encircled and the route to the best or most advantageous position is often frought with difficulty. Your squadmates are embued with such a sense of life, too - the way they throw themselves up against walls, sneak and peek, clean their goggles and scream for assistance all contributes to the feeling that these are living, breathing men with a job to do. The feedback from them is very specialised and helps you understand the situation in much greater detail than in the first GRAW. I also find that I can rely on them much more than in the first GRAW, although they're not without their faults. They are TERRIBLE at assaulting a position. They move intelligently, but very often manage to get caught out in the open. I find it's best to only let them fire from cover (as they should, really). Moving in the open results in near instant death for your teammates EVERY time (particularly if you're playing on hardcore), so you have to be really responsible with your orders. I find that unless you have a move order where you are sure they won't be engaged, you should move soldiers individually. Having said that, the ability to have your men move as a group and intelligently take cover is very much appreciated and in a tight spot can be very useful - just not something to rely upon. For example, you should never expect to be able to move all your men behind a car and have them assault a fortified position - it's just asking for trouble. Engaging from multiple angles is the order of the day and the enemy are easily confused by fire coming in from different areas. Concentrating your men in a group is very often a recipe for disaster. Having said that, on the first Juarez mission, I had Ramirez move up to checkpoint one from the rear, while Hume overwatched with his sniper rifle - he snuck up and levelled his rifle at the amassed group. The injured Beasley, who took a round in the shoulder during the fracas in the car park, was crouched behind a nearby car, ready to open up in case things got hot. The order is given to go loud and Hume lets a round fly into the torso of one of the guards, but Ramirez has switched to his GL and cleared out the checkpoint in one press of the trigger. Instant clearance by the AI in one of the most intelligent uses of a GL I have ever seen in a game. If there's anything that jars with the otherwise 'professional' atmosphere of the game it's some of the things that Mitchell says. It's really comic book stuff and the exchange with the Mexican colonel about your name is straight out of a hollywood blockbuster - it really took me right out of the situation! I know he's supposed to be a 'grizzled' veteran but the wise ass remarks could surely be spared. Your teammates, for the most part, behave with a certain amount of decorum so why should Mitchell be such a cocky ######? Regardless, I have no qualms about the way the story is managed this time round, though. Some of the more bizarre and incongruent shoehorning of the 360 GRAW storyline into the original GRAW was really noticeable, but it seems like that problem has been overcome because the briefings now actually feel like they are for the mission at hand and not for another game. Lewy's much more involved this time around so you get the impression that they've put greater effort into making you feel as though the mission has been designed around you rather than the console players. There's much I want to say about this game but most of it revolves around my experiences in playing it and some of the hugely amusing and enjoyable incidents it has spawned. I wouldn't want to ruin it particularly for anyone else but this game has my wholehearted recommendation and I would not hesistate in comparing it to the likes of the [Ghost Recon]. It feels like a much more complete game than the first GRAW, and is much, much better for it. Well done GRIN!

This demo is fantastic! I've been trying to approach the camp as stealthily as possible and I discovered today you can actually get all the way behind it, into the mountain area, without firing a shot and without being seen. What's more, by keeping the team stealthy, you can get EVERYONE there without the AI even noticing - even on hardcore! From the rear, you can launch a surprise attack and because of the positioning of the sandbags, the AI is easy pickings. You would not BELIEVE how tense it is to be sneaking around inside the camp WITH the team, getting into position, getting ready to open up. The recon dynamic turns it into a whole new game - it's got an additional layer of strategy now. Perhaps my favourite 'feature' as a part of the recon dynamic is the fact that you can get your men to take a shot in recon mode, and take out only one enemy. I had a great moment where I moved Hume up on to the ridge to snipe, and he spotted an enemy walking along the bridge. Before the rest of the squad moved up, I had Hume take out the guy with one shot from his silenced sniper rifle - boom, no witnesses. As the rest of the squad adopted positions inside the base, I had Ramirez take out a dangerously positioned enemy with his silenced sidearm while the rest of the squad moved into position. Hume took out the guy in the watchtower from a distance, and the rest of the squad moved into position mere feet away from the enemy. The order was given to go loud and a few seconds later, the entire base was decimated with no casualties and very little return fire. This demo just drips atmosphere and the feedback from your squad, the improved command interface, the softer graphics, the phenomenal sound and the expertly judged difficulty level just about make this an essential recommendation. Well done GRIN, I wasn't going to do so originally but I preordered the game earlier this week and I have since found out it has been posted. I can't wait!

I think about 85% is the most a game like GRAW2 is ever going to recieve - catered towards a niche, long learning curve, extensive and expansive options within. It's definitely not a game for everyone and I think the score reflects that.

Anyone notice <snip> Just me then? MODERATOR EDIT: DO NOT DISCUSS BETA INFORMATION! All posts will be deleted and the member risks post moderation.