Congratualtions to Grin

[Vox*BDA*]

Dear GRIN,

Thank you for creating a visually stunning game with many features of the [Ghost Recon] series incorporated with many good features of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.

The finished work speaks for itself. I was able to play it on a 7900GTX NVIDIA with a big ass High definition LCD TV, and the game looked unbelievable. Truly impressive graphics. Equally impressive sound. Much improved AI especially on harder settings than any other Ghost recon game.

The only aspects of the game I didn't like are systemic in all computer games today. I would prefer to have two scripts for the game one 18+ and one for the kids. Lines such as "you're the finest soldier I've ever seen" etc, took away from the credibility of the environment you created. However this is merely a target audience issue, an issue that I think took away from the previous Ghost Recon game. I think this game could have done with an exceptional story. Not just an average one.

I posted several times after playing GRAW last year. I got carried away in some of these posts regarding my dismay at GRAW. (Having been completely new to posting on forums and playing games online). Truth be told I have played GRAW online a lot since and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also made positive posts but ultimately drew the conclusion that participating in an online community was not as interesting as it initially appeared. Also, I really prefer to be outside doing things than in front of a computer. Why I like games is really down to my love of film, so to me games are like interactive movies. When they turn into clicking matches I am no longer engaged unless it's after work and I'm just killing time so to speak.

I think computer games are an exciting form of entertainment, but I do not think their potential is being realised by modern games. The great stories of conflict throughout the centauries have never been about the technology used in them. They have been about the people of those conflicts. There are plenty of great conflict stories out there, from Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe" to Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October". Again maybe this is really about target audience and I am just not part of it.

I hope you continue making ground breaking games and I hope in the future people want to play more interesting games than are currently available. Having said this, GRAW2 has some very nice features for moving on the narrative. Cross com news flashes were done well, and a huge amount of story was crammed into a tiny time interval. The 30 seconds of video provided tactical and political story lines and kept the pace of the game high.

Another great addition was the placement of individual units. One improvement I would love to see would be a drag feature after you click, so that you could point the unit in a direction. The placement blue circle alone greatly enhanced the tactical experience of the game.

In my opinion GRIN, you done exceptionally well. You managed to get loads of terrains, guns and action into a tactical framework that gave the gamer the number one commodity in my book: choice. I experienced only minor bugs that had no impact in my satisfaction with the game. Did GRAW2 deliver the perfect game for me? No. But my perfect game probably wouldn't interest a whole lot of people. Just to say it; my perfect game is action, story and tactical puzzles rolled into one. And you definitely realised a good sized portion of that. I am more than happy with what you achieved in GRAW2 and I hope you're all extremely proud of the work you've done.

Personally, I just like the Ghost Recon series. It keeps me coming back to playing games.

My compliments to the chef.

[doubletap]

I think this game could have done with an exceptional story. Not just an average one.

Good or bad, the story is too overbearing as it is. Just give me realistic mission breifings. Leave the stories to Jerry Bruckheimer. As a tactical gamer and GR fan, I don't give a ratsass abou the story. That's not where the immersion comes from in this type of game.

That's just my opinion, I can't speak for all GR fans of course.

Having said this, GRAW2 has some very nice features for moving on the narrative. Cross com news flashes were done well...

Because of your love of film, I can understand your opinion on the cross comm. I however, feel the xcomm is the worst feature in the graw versions. That feature alone made the game unbearable until thankfully a mod was released for graw2 which kills the xcomm.

I did a similar mod for myself for graw1, and the helo insertions are so much more immersive, and you really feel "there" during those extended approaches to the LZ with just the helo noise and radio chatter, as apposed to watching news feeds, watching your superiors argue, and getting pep talks from the president himself, lol.

Edited January 15, 2008 by doubletap

[RAbbi_74]

Sorry, but I cannot go slamming the game in the one positive thread about it. Rather, I'd like to take the moment to join in some sentiment of congratualtions to GRIN...

GRAW2 was a BIG improvement over it's predecessor, and is a very visually-appealing game. It has many interesting gameplay elements. It offered players a little greater flexibility than did GRAW. GOOD JOB...

[doubletap]

Sorry, but I cannot go slamming the game in the one positive thread about it.

Don't worry about it, I've got it covered. I agree with you though, it's better than graw. But still no replayability for SP.

Anyhoo, I'm not actually slamming anything, I don't think. When I do, you'll know it. (Just search for "doubletap" at the Ubi formu, lol. Now that's some healthy slamming).

Why would someone post a meaningful post like Vox did and not want to know what people think about what he said? That's what I did; I posted what I think about his comments regarding the xcomm and the story. I feel very strongly about those two aspects of graw2. But yeah, other than those 2 things and the lack of replayability, graw2 is a really nice game.

Edited January 15, 2008 by doubletap

[kretzj]

Sorry, but I cannot go slamming the game in the one positive thread about it. Rather, I'd like to take the moment to join in some sentiment of congratualtions to GRIN...

GRAW2 was a BIG improvement over it's predecessor, and is a very visually-appealing game. It has many interesting gameplay elements. It offered players a little greater flexibility than did GRAW. GOOD JOB...

GOOD JOB.... so far. Agreement with Rabbi on that... but...

Me? I'm still waiting for GRiN to finish the game they started. This has just been a long drawn-out beta cycle from GRAW 1 to today.

-John K.

[ROCO*AFZ*]

From a multiplayer gamers view and forumer gr1 fan (Note i'm not a single player type and that is a different story)

I have to say they did a great job for the time frame they had. There isn't much missing in GRAW2 except the injury model and iron trees to make it perfect for me.

I'm not quite sure why it did not take off as I had a blast laddering in it.

Recently i have been playing COD4, but last night 5 of us played GRAW2 after not playing it for about 2 months.

I have to say... I had ALOT of fun!

Big maps, Great graphics (sorry guys but GRAW2 is the bomb compared to COD4 in terms of graphics + physics)

This has given me some new hope that i will enjoy the patch as daily COD4 manages to make me madder and madder.

Highlights of GRAW2

Controllable hand nades

Gridded maps. (makes it easy to plan and call out enemy last known locations)

Huge maps

Physics (In games like COD4 you can't even shoot car tires off. Last night i was shooting in GRAW2 at a teammate and i hit a pole which tipped over. I was so busy admiring the physics of the game that i got killed)

No Superhuman abilities or rabbit jumping

Server script although needing some improvement was easier to set up.

Autoscreenshots... yes there not replays but better then killcams that aren't accurate.

Ability to run and gun or sit and snipe (covers a wider variety of players)

Map design that isn't funneled into one area. Lots of freedom, not just select paths

The sound... My god it's amazing. Even though you don't spin like your hit, the bass of the impact makes me jump or wince. I have yet to see a game with such great sound. (heck cod4 i can't even tell which direction peeps are half the time... and don't get me started on the Silence perk)

Weapons that act the same all the time. (I noticed last night with shotguns that sometimes at a distance you can kill and sometimes you can't. Seems kinda random with short range weapons. In Graw 2 they shoot the same everytime)

Thanks Grin for the Great game. Even with some bugs, it was well worth what i paid for it.

As for the COD4 fans... sorry i am directing it at your game, but currently it's the only other game i have installed (except GR1) and it makes me vent.

[Nutlink]

I hear that Roco. CoD4 is driving me nuts the more I play it. I played GRAW 2 last night for about an hour or so, and it was great. Not so many damn explosions or weapon spam, less run and gun, people actually using their sights, camo that actually works, well done directional sound, and a slew of other things that brought me back in the game.

It's really just minor things in GRAW 2 that irk me, but compared to CoD4 and Crysis it really is so much better. It's a damn shame it's not doing so well because I'd love to see an expansion pack.

[Halli~SPARTA~]

Vox come see all the old friends over at http://www.legionofspartans.com/forums/index.php

Viiiper, Maj3stic and a bunch of the old gang.

[doubletap]

It's really just minor things in GRAW 2 that irk me

I'm just the opposite, I can live with the minor things; what upsets me is the 'big picture'. The feel of the SP/coop game in general. Cross com, linear maps, triggered objectives, too many scripted engagements, missions with only one A.I. member, major battles alongside loyalist armies instead of GHOST RECON missions. Too much emphasis on the "AW" not enough on the "GR".

CoD4 is driving me nuts the more I play it. I played GRAW 2 last night for about an hour or so, and it was great. Not so many damn explosions or weapon spam, less run and gun, people actually using their sights, camo that actually works, well done directional sound, and a slew of other things that brought me back in the game.

That's because COD is an entirely different type of game, with the exception of shooting and blowing stuff up. It's just good arcade fun for the generic shooter crowd but it can't compare to any GR game, not even the horrendous GR2, regarding realism of any kind.

While I have my issues with GRAW2, and even more with GRAW, they are definately a welcome realistic shooter compared to kids' games like COD4, Vegas, etc.

Edited January 17, 2008 by doubletap

[th33f.]

remember there was a graphics update for OFP? dynamic lighting and higher res textures. that's all we needed for GR.

[doubletap]

remember there was a graphics update for OFP? dynamic lighting and higher res textures. that's all we needed for GR.

I would love that. But, there are a ton of features (mostly SP) in GRAW2 I would have to include in the "need" catagory.

iron sights weapon view

detailed a.i. commands like "cover that"

point and click commands, instead of constantly going to map view

teammates that move to cover

commands for individual teammates

weapon mods/attachments

smoke nades

Hmmm.....well maybe not a ton of features, but crucial ones nonetheless. Give me those features with classic GR gameplay and missions, I couldn't ask for anything more.

[KRP 56]

But still no replayability for SP.

And that's the biggest draw back for us SP people. Can't see why they couldn't have included a bunch of random elements to make the game interesting.

[Gunape]

I just want coop mutiplayer squads with leader respawning back like in GRAW1. I still can not believe it was taken out.

[funk]

For me graw just means coop, no other game kicks Ai ass better than the graw series. I dont play single player games, I just look at multi. If theres the usual suspects like dm, ctf, domination, etc, etc, that gets my attention. BUT if there is coop, then the game is as good as bought.

[Zoog]

I must say I liked GRAW2 pretty well. But I never wanted to compare it with the [Ghost Recon], I just considered it as a different game: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. The first thing I did was install the realism hud mod, the no comm mod and pulled the music volume down to zero. Being the first tactical game I played since Raven Shield it was sort of a relief for me.

All in all I liked the single player campaign (story aside). Beautiful maps, nice weapon arsenal and mods, outstanding sounds and a great command system. The replay value might be low, but if you compare the replay value with other games nowadays it's still pretty good. You can use different weapons, different approaches, use your team differently etc.

Thanks GRIN, for the good experience I had with your game!

[Papa6]

I think I'll bust them in the chops awhile longer. lol J/K

really, I found out that the hardest games to make are FPS. either tac-sim or run-n-gun. alot of mathematics and computations go into them for camera angles and a load more. so yeah, Grin did ok.

just wish UBI would've shown them more love then they did, all of us actually.