Houston We Have a Winner
Posted by Rocky on Sunday, October 31 2004
EasyCo was at the public Ghost Recon 2 event at Houston today, and he was very impressed with what he saw. Read his thoughts in the forums here.

Serellan
Posted by Rocky on Friday, October 29 2004
Dannik found a really good interview with Serellan that everyone should try and read, especially the old school Rainbow Six crowd. It has some classic stuff in it and is a really great "fan turned professional" read. Head over to Anchorage Daily News for the interview, then drop by this discussion and reminisce a little.

GR2 Demo in Cary, North Carolina
Posted by zjj on Thursday, October 28 2004
After the success of the demos in London and San Francisco and the recent scheduling of two more demos in Houston and New York, RSE decided to host a demo close to "home".

It's going to be held on November 13 in Cary, NC. You will even get a chance to meet Serellan as well as a few of the other members of the dev team for GR2!  (and possibly me.)

Get more details in the forums here.

Multiplayer Interview
Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, October 26 2004
Thanks to Dannik for pointing out that TeamCompete have posted an interesting and informative interview with Gary Stelmack all about multiplayer in Ghost Recon 2 (Xbox version). Although we have to be careful about anticipating which of these features will make it over the PC version, I found the opening information quite promising in that it adds a new level of options for the host.

"Gary Stelmack: The lobby in Ghost Recon 2 has been streamlined.   We have moved equipment selection into the action phase of the game, so players don’t have to spend as long in the lobby.  In fact, we have given the server the ability to skip the lobby altogether in between matches, to help keep the action going."

Read the full interview here.

Character Models
Posted by Rocky on Sunday, October 24 2004
I know we have drooled over these quite a bit already, but I wanted to point out that it's not just armchair game fans who are loving the latest work of the Red Storm modeling team - their fellow industry graphics artists are also full of praise for the new Ghost Recon 2 characters. Here's some quotes from other Computer Graphic professionals over at CGTalk.com, which go to prove Red Storm really are leading the way once more.

"Looks awesome Ghost Recon has some of the best military character models i've seen", "Wow lovely work!", "excellent use of polys, you guys definitely look like you went above and beyond", "This is awesome stuff. The characters have really come a long way since the first Ghost Recon (and those were really good). The character, the weapon, everything. Makes me wish I was still at Red Storm!"' "Absolutely fabulous."

There's loads more, check it out yourself!

You can view the full updated and latest render of the Ghost Recon 2 team by clicking this thumbnail image, and follow fan feedback in our forums here.

New Movie
Posted by Rocky on Saturday, October 23 2004
Ubi Soft's really stepped up a gear with the latest Ghost Recon trailer, it's very slick, download it here, and post comments here.

GR2 Site online!
Posted by Rocky on Thursday, October 21 2004
Ubi Soft have stepped up the pace with a cracking new flash website to showcase Ghost Recon 2. Featuring the awesome new menacing soundtrack by Bill Brown, you'll find all sorts of visual treats in the new site.

In the Character section you get to take a close look at animated models of the Ghost characters. Nine of the twelve are animated right now, and of course they look great! Downloads include some cool concept art, and some neat wallpapers.

There are also 36 weapon models to check out, and also details of every single mission in the campaign - for both XBox and PS2 versions. No information at all about PC missions though. In fact that's the only disappointing thing about the new site - it doesn't mention the PC version at all, even though it talks about the other platforms.

It is a pretty neat subsite though, worth a look to see the animated models and to get a head start on mission planning!

Post your feedback and thoughts in our forums here. 

IGN GR2 multiplayer
Posted by Rocky on Thursday, October 21 2004
IGN have posted their thoughts on a lengthy multiplayer session they had playing against Red Storm game developers recently. To say they came away impressed would be an understatement, they even mentioned Ghost Recon 2 in the same sentence as Halo 2 and Half Life 2. Here's some other choice cuts...

"Ghost Recon 2 is a deep, beautiful game worthy of the original and, without a doubt, a damn fine online title"

"interesting and engaging"

"One of the most surprising things ... is how damn good it looks. The intricate details of the texture work and the style of the texturing are both truly excellent. But that's all enhanced by a ton of special effects."

Read IGN's two page report here, and also check out four brand new movies available for streaming or download. The movies are not great though, so unless you are on broadband, stick to these new images.Check fans trying to contain their excitement here.

GR2 Hands On
Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, October 20 2004
There are two opportunities coming up for Ghost Recon fans to try out Ghost Recon 2 before it hits the stores. There's one coming up in New York (which Serellan will be attending) and one in Houston. For dates and details check this forum post or visit GR.com here.

GR2 Rated
Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, October 20 2004
Ghost Recon 2's PEGI rating has just been changed - it's jumped from a 12 to a 16 this week. Previous versions were always rated at 16 so there's no real surprise here, the originally released 12 rating was perhaps temporary until they actually got to check it out properly.

The release date for the PC version is still showing as Q1 2005, so no confirmation if the May 2005 date being suggested by some online stores is guesswork or inside knowledge.

Joe Booth Interview
Posted by Rocky on Monday, October 18 2004
Futuregamez.net have published a Ghost Recon 2 feature based on an interview with Joe Booth, who is the Creative Director at Ubi Soft. Read the interview here.

Official GR2 Team!
Posted by Rocky on Friday, October 15 2004
Thanks to Red Storm and Ubi Soft for providing us with the Official Ghost Recon 2 team pic, in all its high resolution glory.

Click the above thumbnail and you can see detailed models of each member of the team, plus each member identifed by name. Forum discussion continues here!

Fan Reports
Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, October 12 2004
Fan reports from a couple of public outings for Ghost Recon 2 can be found in our forums here. Suli has reported from a recent event in San Fransisco, and Tchaikovsky has posted some neat photographs from the Gamestars Live event in London recently.

XM29 Report
Posted by Rocky on Saturday, October 9 2004
Stalker has just finished a report on the XM29, the weapon carried by the Ghosts in Ghost Recon 2.

The XM29 is described as "a unique, full-solution target acquisition/fire control system combined with precision 20mm air bursting fragmenation". Read Stalker's full XM29 report here.

Bone Ears
Posted by Rocky on Friday, October 8 2004
Hot on the heels of yesterday's special feature on one aspect of the Integrated Warrior System (IWS) we now have another new article on this interesting subject that features in Ghost Recon 2. Dannik has researched bone conduction as used in IWS in the integrated helmet communication system.

"Another advantage of bone conduction as a speaker replacement is that since it does not use your outer ear, the conductor can be placed on the cheekbone near the ear, leaving the wearer's ears able to hear normal, ambient sound with no interference from the headset."

Read Dannik's full report on Bone Conducting Helmet systems here.

OTMHS
Posted by Rocky on Thursday, October 7 2004
Our new series on real life military technology continues today with a look at emerging technology aimed at keeping soldiers hydrated no matter where they are. If you look at the new character models for Ghost Recon 2 you'll see a pouch on the back, fixed to the body armour - this is an On The Move Hydration System (OTMHS). Just exactly how the water gets there is the subject of some very interesting (and expensive) research, that includes plucking water out of thin air, and the exhaust of humvees. Read all about it in our new OTMHS report.

GR2 IGN Update
Posted by Rocky on Thursday, October 7 2004
IGN have updated their Ghost Recon 2 section with a host of new media. The first thing to check out is a nicely produced new video showing off the Lone Wolf game type, as narrated by Serellan and further explained here. After that check out an interesting special feature that IGN put together looking at the Future Force Warrior Programme. Then there are nine brand new images to check out here! Once you've done all that, post your feedback and comments in our forums here.

GR2 1UP
Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, October 6 2004
1Up.com have published their interview with Serellan, read it here, comment here.

Ghosts Identified!
Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, October 5 2004
The names of the new Ghosts has been confirmed! Check this post to see exactly who you will be leading through the Ghost Recon 2 campaign very soon!

Upgrade Done!
Posted by Super_Bob on Sunday, October 3 2004
After some relaxing work and then one huge bump, the forums upgrade is finished.  Welcome to the all new GR.net forums!

Forums Upgrade
Posted by Super_Bob on Saturday, October 2 2004
Tonight the forums will be upgraded to IPB 2.0.  During this process the forums will be offline.  It is not expected to take more than an hour.  To avoid withdrawal symptoms please visit the Aggression Forums.  A post will be made when the process is complete.

GR2 in the Press
Posted by Rocky on Saturday, October 2 2004
Here's what Electronic Gaming Monthly had to say about Ghost Recon 2 this month...

"GR2 ramps it up with graphics that rival the gorgeous Rainbow Six 3, as well as a snazzy new over the shoulder view of the action."

XBoxGamer magazine had this to say...

"The next big thing : just as hard, just as realistic and every bit as team orientated, only now it's more spectacular to look at....Ghost Recon 2 looks superb...better by miles and miles"

Lone Wolf
Posted by Rocky on Saturday, October 2 2004
Everything you wanted to know about the new Lone Wolf gametype in Ghost Recon 2, right here in this interview with Serellan over at GR.com.

"In Lone Wolf mode, Captain Scott Mitchell is wearing an advanced prototype of the Objective Force Warrior gear set, which our character artists have done an awesome job of designing and modeling. That, and a massive amount of firepower and tech gear."

Read the full interview at GR.com.