Waste of money that will leave you wanting more

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon for PC is looked at by many PC gamers as one of the most enjoyable realistic military shooters despite its shortcomings.

Ghost Recon 2, an XBOX exclusive that never found its way to PC, was released and didn't meet expectations of Ghost Recon fans all over. The default 3rd-person perspective and somewhat uninspired gameplay pushed away most former Ghost Recon fans, and some even vowed to have nothing to do with the franchise ever again.

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was then released on the XBOX 360 to great reviews despite the 3rd-person perspective yet again. Some fans were brought back and the series was seemingly restored.

Then, the PC version was later released. This version is different in that it resorts back to the traditional first-person perspective found in the original Ghost Recon. But does it top expectations for both the original Ghost Recon and the highly acclaimed XBOX 360 version?

Unfortunately, in short, no.

Problems with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter will surface as soon as you hop into the game. Even some of the better PC's today will find themselves struggling to run the game at decent frame rates, which often tend to dip into the 30's and even 20's from time to time.

On my machine with an AMD Athlon 64-bit 3200 processor, 1 GB of ram, and an ATI Radeon X850 XT (PCI-E), the game had low frame rates even with most of the settings down to medium and low.

When looking past the poor performance, the game itself is promising but is lacking in far too many areas.

The most frustrating aspect of the game is your teammate AI, which will incorrectly carry out most of the orders they are given, either taking the longest route available or running directly into the enemy's line of sight. In fact, your squad is so braindead, often you'll likely find yourself using them only as decoys to attract enemy fire so that you can move up to a better position. Whether you issue orders via the overhead tactical map or the typical first-person perspective, nothing seems to make your squadmates carry out orders efficiently.

The enemies are in fact the second most frustrating part of Advanced Warfighter, as some will refuse to shoot even when you are in their line of sight, while others will spot you from afar and shoot back with incredible accuracy. At times, you'll find yourself wondering if these are terrorists you're shooting or rabid, assault-rifle-wielding cyborgs.

Because of the AI's incredible accuracy yet stupidity from time to time, you'll find yourself being forced to carefully move a squad full of dummies in order to get in the right position to take on terrorists that fight back savagely when alerted. All while struggling with low frame rates and stutters left and right.

This, in a nutshell, is what makes Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter such a frustrating game.

The weapons you will be using are fairly limited, but the ability to add "modifications" to them such as silencers and scopes makes up for this shortcoming.

The levels, however, are a different story in that there is little in the game to overshadow their bland, repetitive look. In each and every mission throughout the game, you'll be fighting in a Mexico City smothered in dull yellow/orange shades. Though the levels themselves are designed fairly well with plenty of obstacles and objects for cover, the enemy placement remains the same, so with trial and error it's possible to remember each and every enemy position in order to complete a mission.

The level design, however, is also another area in which a huge problem surfaces. Since GRAW uses a "Checkpoint" system for each level, you are not allowed to save your game at any point and therefore must endure the wrath of checkpoints that vary in distances and dangerous placement. In other words, don't be surprised if you find yourself dying, only to have to replay a very challenging part of the level all over again.

As a whole, the single-player aspect of the game feels bland, repetitive, and unpolished. The levels lack variation, the teammate AI is miserable, the enemy AI ranges from incredibly stupid to amazingly deadly, and the checkpoint system causes more frustration than needed, even in a tactical shooter.

The multiplayer aspect of Advanced Warfighter feels tacked on and lacks any true 'depth.' There are only two main modes -- Domination, in which two teams must battle to control zones spread across the map, and Cooperative, in which up to four players meet online to play together in a single-player mission.

Domination is somewhat enjoyable but just like the single-player experience, lacks any variation in the level design and suffers from poor performance. Large battles tended to send frame rates down into the low 20's and even teens, making for nearly impossible firefights that seemed based on luck moreso than tactical prowess.

Cooperative mode is better than playing alone, but cannot push away the repetitive gameplay and level design.

Overall, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for the PC is a promising but unpolished tactical shooter. The game's frustrating single-player mode and underwhelming multiplayer mode make for a very stale experience, and with poor performance, you'll find yourself spending more time struggling with low frame rates than taking out bad guys.

Though there are now patches for the game that attempt to freshen the experience by improving teammate AI and graphical options, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is a game that simply isn't worth your time or money. Play the demo and see for yourself, as it provides a great example of how poorly executed this game really is.