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Ghost Recon Retreat
GHOST RECON 2 E3 PREVIEW
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I won't write out Christian's whole commentary on the demo. You can see and hear it for yourself
by downloading the full video of Christian's commentary here. (A smaller size download for dial-up users is also available here.)
Impressions
Needless to say, Red Storm engineers have made some major upgrades to their in-house
proprietary GR1 engine for this sequel with fantastic results. RSE artists once again displaying their top-notch
abilities to create a realistic, immersive game experience. These are my impressions of the GR2 engine from the E3 demo:
Graphics
The terrain is modeled beautifully. The grass and trees look completely realistic and don’t appear "flat" as
GR1 players are accustomed to seeing.
The player models have been revamped and look even more believable. Red Storm artists have gone as far as putting tattoos on the players.
I was happy to see that the models also do not get "snagged" or hung up on terrain models (which plagued the PC version
of GR1). The models flowed smoothly against objects without the slightest bit hindrance.
Weapons appear to be modeled a lot cleaner. No more blocky black blobs. (Say that fast three times :-)
The Red Storm team is working with real-life Special Forces gear companies like Blackhawk and Eagle Industries
to ensure the highest level of realism.
RSE's Marketing Coordinator Travis Getz displays real-life SF gear
modelled in GR2 such as this drop-leg holster from Eagle
Lighting seems to be very accurate. Shadows and terrain images are spot-on without a slight bit of displacement,
adding to the realistic feel of GR2.
View distance seems to be a lot further.
The demo did not appear sluggish which leads me to believe if the Xbox version I saw can handle the graphics
with the stock XGPU, I would estimate PC players can probably get away with a GF4 Ti4200-level card on medium settings.
Physics
Incorporation of the Havok 2 physics adds to the visual stimulation and effects. E.g. When destroying an object,
the fragments scatter in an unpredictable fashion. Explosions will send character models into the air and the body positioning will not be scripted. (GR1 used motion capture for death animations.)
Explosions are deeper and richer in color and robustness.
Ricochet and impact of munitions have a new look. Bullet impact on metal surfaces generates
sparks, which adds to the overall realism.
Sound
Sound has Dolby 5.1 support
Your teammates' voices are unique and equally identifiable.
GR2 Producer Heather Chandler at one of the demo stations
Gameplay
While I have only seen and played a bit
of the Xbox version, the play feels solid. The game handles well and controls (once used to them) aren’t
hard to learn. Here are some new gameplay features in GR2 that stand out:
Over the Shoulder View - This view is completely optional for the player. It is still being tweaked to
perfection, but can add a whole new feel and look to the game. I personally am not one for the third-person view, but
the way that the devs programmed the game, it is fairly easy to use. One concern the community had was that it
didn’t want third-person mode to have the advantage peeking around corners. Well, one major game feature is that
the camera changes to behind the character, not side of character.
Medic abilities - If a player suffers a wound in battle, friendlies can perform superficial field
medical services. The character that suffers the wound will not have the same capabilities as they did before
the wound, but this can keep people in the action. This will be one of the most influential aspects of the game
in my opinion. Teamwork is now essential if you want to survive.
If a game character drops a weapon he was using, the player can pick up the weapon and use it, then
comeback and pickup their original weapon and reuse it.
The GUI has been simplified. The player's stance indicator is very similar to that in GR1.
Overall, the gameplay has a Raven Shield feel to it with a lot more kick.
Your character runs through the terrain very accurately. The models don’t seem to float or have a "slipping"
effect while they run, which was classic in the first Ghost Recon game.
A Ubi employee gives a demo to onlookers
Artificial Intelligence
Although the demo is a bit unpolished, it was apparent that the
AI is a lot more intuitive. Both the OPFOR (Opposing Force) and friendly AI utilize more techniques
than in GR1.
The AI uses a "Terrain Analyzer" (internal program) to identify cover and choke points that will make is a
lot harder to eliminate enemies.
Friendly AI respond a lot faster and give you a sense that you are playing with human players and not the
computer.
Multiplayer
Christian Allen is the Game Designer in charge of all
single player aspects of GR2, so when I asked him about multiplayer, he couldn't tell me too much
about the exact details of what would be incorporated into the final product. I found out that the
multiplayer portion of the PC version isn't yet set in stone. Christian said he is very optimistic about the outcome, since the team that originally designed multiplayer in GR1 is currently working on GR2. I believe
the results are likely to knock our socks off :-)
I also couldn't get any official response to how many players GR2 multiplayer will support. Unofficially, I heard someone
in passing saying that GR2 may support 16 players, and possibly up to 24 players. Details are still sketchy,
and I personally hope for a 36+ player server like Battlefield 1942 and other major games these days.
Modding
I had a ton of modding questions sent to us by the GR community. Although
Christian reassured me that Red Storm understands how valuable modding is to the community, he could not offer
any concrete answers about what mod tools would be available at this time. Given Red Storm's track record of
providing solid modding tools like Igor, I believe they plan to also have a lot of support for the
modding community for GR2, but at this time the details are yet unknown.
A group picture of several Red Storm staffers on the last day of E3.
From left to right: Steve Reid (VP of Product Development), Elizabeth Loverso (Director of Product Development),
Stuart White (RSE Producer), Travis Getz (Marketing Coordinator), Rafael Chandler (RSE Designer),
Christian Allen (GR2 Designer),
Joseph Drust (GR2 Artist)
Conclusion
Overall I feel the game has much, much potential. Given only an Xbox version has been displayed, I believe the
PC version will claim its rightful place in the FPS arena once again. I know what I’ll be buying around the Holiday season of 2004!
Hope to see you on the battlefield!
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