May 2004

Sound Pack Posted by Rocky on Sunday, May 30 2004
Kafee has produced an enhanced sound pack for Ghost Recon that brings a fresh new sound to your attacks. You can listen the the sounds (and a rather dodgy soundtrack in this mp3).

Here's some feedback on this pack so far...

"I gotta admit this is the only mod other than Standard Upgrade that is constantly on when I play" Loot

Download here, comments and feedback here.

Cops & Robbers Posted by Rocky on Sunday, May 30 2004
Biffa has been working away for many months on an interesting looking conversion he is calling Cops and Robbers. When complete the campaign will be a mix between Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and a bad series of Z cars (old UK cop drama).

At the moment the campaign is incomplete, but with a solid foundation such as the new weapons and skins this mod is full of promise. If you'd like to help script the missions drop Biffa an e-mail or post your support in the forums to get this mod finished!

Currently the mod has some great looking weapon models with over 200 new kits at least, 30 new weapons and 40 new skins turned into dozens of new actors plus a couple of experimental game types and fun kit restrictions including all 13 shotgun types.

You can download the mod in its current state here.

On a side note, Tactical Elite has some news on a recent achievement that Biffa's Ghost Recon clan have accomplished.

Code Ocelot Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 28 2004
The Combat Specialists have released Code Ocelot for Ghost Recon, it's a small download and can be grabbed here. (Note Fileplanet seems buggy right now see forum link for mirrors or try again in a couple of hours). Recon and Blackmamba describe their mod in the forums here, including some cool screenshots. The four mission campaign is about a Russian arms dealer who has sold weapons to a Middle Eastern country. The players job is to get in there and recover the weapons. This mod is compatible with online coop games - have fun!

Gamefreaks GR2 Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 27 2004
Heather Chandler has been interviewed by Gamefreaks, as spotted by GR-Retreat. Read the full interview here.

EOCW 2004 Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 27 2004
Enemy Offline have announced their Clan Wars 2004 competition for Ghost Recon. What's neat about it this year is that the tournament will be based on the fantastic Frostbite maps! The competition is set to start on the 13th of June and last for 2 weeks.

There is a pretty cool flash intro to view here, and the forums contain all the news and rules here (forums sign up required) and the sign-up page is here and closes on the 11th of June. Good luck! If you cannot view the competition rules, Tactical Elite have posted them here.

PC Gamer on GR2 Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, May 26 2004
Unlike the UK PC Gamer which recently posted a fairly upbeat preview for Ghost Recon 2, the US counterpart has published a fairly disillusioned preview by Ghost Recon fan and PC Gamer editor Dan Morris. In the PC Gamer July 2004 issue Dan reports;

"So can it (GR2) even really be called a sequel to our Game of the Year? It seems more like a new franchise to me. This game looks like a lot of fun, but as a fervent Ghost Recon fanatic, I can't help but feel like the real sequel is nowhere in sight."

"...Ubi proposes to strip it of the elements that made it so distinctive and refreshing..."

It's worth bearing in mind that not a single preview has aired any concerns that Ghost Recon 2 will not be a good game, the opposite in fact. However what PC Gamer have published will strike a chord with the thousands of die hard Ghost Recon fans who are looking for a worthy sequel, not a new game entirely. Discuss!

Edwards Interview Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, May 26 2004
PC Zone have published an interesting interview with Ghost Recon 2 producer Robbie Edwards, which you can read in full here. The interview spends quite a bit of time on PC / XBox comparisons, here's a couple of choice quotes from Mr Edwards that hardcore Ghost Recon fans might find of interest!

"It's being developed primarily for the Xbox, but it's also coming to PC and PS2 [and GameCube]. But it's important to note that it's being developed from a console point of view."

"...we've had a lot of experience with PC games and there's no reason to make those people unhappy; so we're going to put the same amount of effort into the PC version that we are the Xbox version. "

"We have characters that are almost double the size in polygons of those in the first game, much higher resolution textures, and we really want to show these characters off and over-the-shoulder view allows us to do that."

Gigex Ghost Recon 2 Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 22 2004
Gigex have published details of their Ghost Recon 2 "hands on".

"Ghost Recon 2 has easily jumped to the top of my must have list. The newly implemented viewpoint and gameplay mechanics are a significant change, but even skeptical gamers need to play this one to believe it. "

Read the full report here (link fixed).

Gametrailers Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 22 2004
Gametrailers.com have started hosting Ghost Recon 2 trailers, view their first one here.

GR2 Video Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 22 2004
Anubis has posted another Ghost Recon 2 video that he took away from E3. This one features a commentary from Producer Heather Chandler and is worth checking out. Grab the 22Mb version here, or the 2Mb version here!

Serellan Interview Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 21 2004
GR-Retreat have pulled off a superb interview with Ghost Recon 2 developer Serellan. The questions were gathered from the community and make for a great read - check it out here. There's alot of straight answers to straight questions so it is a must read for Ghost Recon fans!

XM8 Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 21 2004
Thanks to research by Sartillies we are already adding weapons from Ghost Recon 2 to the Arms section! We start with a look at the weapon set to replace the M4 - the XM8. The very latest news on the XM8 is that the US Army may decide not to implemet it after all. I've heard from our Special Forces Consultant that the M4 may continue to be used in a slightly modified form, rather than start with a brand new weapon. Nothing concrete on that decision as yet, but there are various options being explored. Anyway, that's the latest news in the real world!

More E3 photos Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 21 2004
Most regulars will know the name "Piggyson" and recognise it as the alias used by RSE Character Artist Joseph Drust. Piggyson used to maintain a Ghost Recon modding resource for fans at his personal website, this month though he has replaced it with some neat photographs - including his own personal collection from E3! View the images here. Thanks to detective JT_Snowman!

CO2 Review Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 20 2004
Canadian Operatives by Bajabravo and the CO2 team will always be a landmark mod for Ghost Recon due to the sheer professionalism and polish of the whole package. For that reason we are especially thankful to MarauderMike for putting together a worthy review for this remarkable full conversion modification. Read the full review including download links in our Mods Review Forum here.

BHD Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 20 2004
Chems has just released this rather neat downed Blackhawk to the modding community!

Discussion here, download here.

Spotlight on Chems Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, May 19 2004
Chems is one of those members of the Ghost Recon community that often has the "hard working" tag somewhere around his name, and deservedly so. Chems has been producing quality Ghost Recon mods for a long time, and is equally keen on sharing his knowledge by helping fellow modders in the Ghost Recon.net forums.

There are not many people who are still active in this virtual community who will not have heard of Chems or downloaded one of his mods, so now is your chance to get to know him a bit better! Jack57 has interviewed Chems as part of our irregular Modder Spotlight series. You can read the full interview right here, enjoy.

PC Gamer does GR2 Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, May 18 2004
The UK version of PC Gamer has a very nice feature of Ghost Recon 2 this month, it even mentions GhostRecon.net! Thanks to MagnumKP for the info, check this forum thread for the details.

CGW Ghost Recon 2 Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, May 18 2004
Back on April 30th we reported that CGW electronic version featured Ghost Recon 2, this month (their June issue) they have it in print.

There's not a great deal new in there apart from a brief bio on three of the characters. Thanks to XS.

GR2 and GR-Retreat Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, May 18 2004
CR6 has published the Ghost Recon 2 E3 report from Anubis over at GR-Retreat. It's a great report with a very nice video download included. The video is the full first mission with commentary from Serellan for the entire mission - great stuff. Anubis has done a great job of getting as much information as possible regarding Ghost Recon 2. There are also some of the best photographs of the Ubi stand we've seen so far, so don't hang about - check it out!

Anubis has also posted in our forums with his honest impression of how the hardcore community has responded to the news so far on Ghost Recon 2. I recommend all fans read his post before forming an opinion on the route Ghost Recon may or may not be taking!

GR2 PCG Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 15 2004
Here's a sneak preview of the next issue of PC Gamer in the USA thanks to JT_Snowman. As you can see, they have an "indepth look" at Ghost Recon 2.

Blaze at E3 Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 15 2004
Blaze is just back from E3 and has posted the results of his developer interrogation in our forums. Here's a couple of the questions he had answered, read the whole thing here.

Will there be smoke grenades in GR2?
Yes, ..... you can throw underhand.

How will the Medic feature be used?
All players will have the ability to heal. Once you have been healed you will be able to fight but your aim will suffer. If you had a leg wound, you still may show a gimp but you will be able to keep up with the team.

Also make sure you check out Snowmans update in our forums here, for a few more details and alot more controversy....

"There is no dedicated PC team this time around. The Xbox team will develop for both platforms. To this date there doesn't seem to be much decided yet as to the direction of the PC version!"

Tell us it ain't so RSE!

GR weapons Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 15 2004
One project I have always wanted to undertake but never had time, is to compile a list of every weapon that every appeared in Ghost Recon, and which mod it appeared in. Now I don't have to worry about that mamoth task, because ghostrecon.tacticalnet.org have a similar project on their site and it looks great!

Check out their weapons database here, it's pretty neat and contains info on over 400 weapons!

E3 Update Posted by Rocky on Saturday, May 15 2004
Our E3 Ghost Recon 2 report has been updated with some new images.

Traffic Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 14 2004
Traffic in Colombia was a very succesful and much appreciated Ghost Recon mod released by Tof last August. Now it has an updated, bug squashed and poly optimised all new version! Our review by Stalker rated the original highly, so this new version should go down a storm with fans.

On Tof's webpage he explains that this new version contains a brand new map, new vehicles and new weapons. Please check the review for the current download locations.

Alpha Squad IPs Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 14 2004
Alpha Squad have new IP numbers for their servers, here's the update from Chavez!

Teamspeak IP 66.250.220.145
Alpha 1 100Mbit Game-Server IP 66.250.220.145
Alpha 2 100Mbit Game-Server IP 66.250.220.146
Stealth Recon 2004 100Mbit Game-Server 66.250.220.148

GR.net at E3 Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 14 2004
Our E3 report is online now thanks to Dick Splash! Check out his preliminary report here, where you'll find some large hi-res photographs and some small low res movies from the Ghost Recon 2 stand.

Although the movies are quite small, in the commentary you can hear details such as medics and weapon pick-ups being discussed. Those two topics have always been a hot topic amongst hardcore Ghost Recon fans, so we will listen with interest to see if these two features transfer from the X-Box to the PC version. Enjoy the report, and check back later for Dick's update including more hi-res photos!

Free Libya Review Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 13 2004
When Giwex noticed that Free Libya was the only highlighted campaign without a review in our Mod Reviews Forum at Ghost Recon.net he set about correcting that omission and penned a full review. The review including two download mirrors can be found in the forums here.

Aftershock Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 13 2004
Check out this 10 mission campaign from Blakarion - Aftershock. Included in the 28 Mb 10 mission Campaign are new weapons, skins, combat sounds and cinematics in each mission. Aftershock also plays online in coop mode, and requires Desert Siege and Island Thunder. Download here, and also install this tiny patch. Forum discussion here.

Aftershock is the second in a trilogy of campaigns from Blakarion. The first was Operation: Snake Strike, and if you have not already played through it, you can get it here.

E3 report Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 13 2004
Snowman is just back from E3 and has posted a series of very informative details regarding what he saw of Ghost Recon 2. Be warned - controversy ahead!

E3 GR2 Trailer! Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, May 12 2004
The official website for Ghost Recon 2 has just posted some brand new media including the Ghost Recon 2 E3 Trailer - and it's superb! It lasts 1 min 21 secs, make sure you check it out.

There is an even bigger and better movie though, and it lasts 11 minutes! This is the Official Ghost Recon 2 Demo shown at E3, visit GhostRecon2.com and start drooling! The whole thing is continuous action as the Ghosts move in to secure the Airfield which is Mission 1 in the campaign. Assisting the SAS, the Ghosts are seen moving through the Airfield dispatching the enemy in short order.

Apart from the hilarious voice acting talents used for the British SAS, one thing that caught my eye was one of the Ghosts, apparently in the middle of a death throw after being laid out by an incoming round, rise to his feet and continue into the battle, albeit moaning all the way! Discussion here.

GR2 at Gamespot Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, May 12 2004
New video footage is to be found at Gamespot, where they have well over 3 minutes of Ghost Recon 2 footage from the X-Box version. In the interview with developer Heather Chandler many topics are covered including;

over the shoulder view
a Quick Order system that looks similar to Raven Shield
personalities for the Ghosts
Same engine as original Ghost Recon, with enhancements
Destructable objects - even towers
Level 1 - Airport on view at E3
Christmas Release

The interview is free to stream on this page and dicussion is underway in our forums here.

GR2 Media Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, May 12 2004
Some short but interesting Ghost Recon 2 footage has slipped out prior to E3 opening it's doors. The Ghost Recon 2 clip was in the middle of a large promo video, but thanks to The Platoon, you can watch the (short) Ghost Recon 2 X-Box segment here.

There's more media to be had on this Ubi Soft GR2 page, where in addition to some screenshots, the plot and setting for Ghost Recon 2 is revealed in some detail. Thanks to Maj. Ken for starting that discussion here.

Psssst. Posted by Rocky on Monday, May 10 2004
Splinter Cell fans... agr-s.com have news on Splinter Cell 3. They might even have published the first promo shot.... shhh....

Bravo 2-5 Posted by Rocky on Friday, May 7 2004
Stalker has submitted an excellent review for an excellent mod, Bravo 2-5 by Sixpence.

Sixpence had made a bit of a name for himself for putting out massive Ghost Recon mods, and Bravo 2-5 is certainly massive, weighing in at 293 Mb! Of course there is a lot of content, including some of the best weapon models every created for Ghost Recon, awesome skins and a superb 14 mission campaign spread across 9 modded maps from various contributors.

Read the review by Stalker here which contains many details, the download location, and the full Readme file.

E3 questions? Posted by Rocky on Thursday, May 6 2004
GR-Retreat have a reporter going to E3 to scope out all the news on Ghost Recon 2. Anubis is currently charging his batteries in prepartion for a long day of digital photographs and shaky digi-cam footage, and is taking note of any specific questions the fans would like answered.

Head over to the GR-Retreat forums and post your questions, or use this thread here in our forums. For the best chance of having Anubis note your question down, I suggest keeping it short!

Tactical Elite Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, May 4 2004
Today I'm launching a new website, a dedicated home for our competitive arm - Team [GRNET]. Tactical Elite.net is more than just a Ghost Recon Squad however, we have Raven Shield, Nascar and Joint Operations teams so far, and more on the horizon.

The forums have a Public Access section so please feel free to sign up and check it out. I'd like to say a quick thanks to all the Team Members who have helped put Tactical Elite together, not least Super Bob who put alot of work into getting the website constructed.

PCG July GR2 Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, May 4 2004
PC Gamer have a 4 page Ghost Recon 2 feature on the cards for the July 2004 issue. Apparently this will be a full, frank and detailed look at Ghost Recon 2, the most detailed yet! Thanks retlaw!

Infantry Review Posted by Rocky on Sunday, May 2 2004
Tmichc has written a fairly indepth review for the British Infantry Mod by Chems to which I've added a few screenshots so you can see the quality of this mod. From the new very cool new camo, and the awesome weapon models and sounds by Chems, to the excellent missions (Jack57) and retextured snow map (McNamee) this mod has it all.

This is our 41st mod review, and you can read it here.