Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 Review: A Solid Tactical Shooter with a Genuine Identity Problem

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 puts you in the boots of Captain Scott Mitchell, leader of the Ghosts, the U.S. Special Forces unit the series is named for. Red Storm Entertainment developed it. Ubisoft published it in 2004 for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It follows 2001’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon directly.

A General in North Korea

The campaign sends the Ghosts into North Korea. A general is diverting humanitarian aid to build up his forces and his political power. Stopping him is the job. The GameCube and PS2 versions set this in 2007. The Xbox version, a separate release with its own plot, sets its campaign in 2011.

Captain Scott Mitchell

Mitchell is the player’s character in the single player campaign. The game calls him “a consummate soldier,” a veteran of several armed conflicts. He can carry weapons from any soldier class: assault rifles, carbines, submachine guns, sniper rifles. Some missions drop him in alone, with no other Ghosts to help. Air strikes he calls in are the only backup.

Eleven Missions, Two Viewpoints

The single player campaign runs 11 missions, and they are long. A friend can join the campaign in co-op. Multiplayer covers both offline and online play, with modes running from simple deathmatch to team-based matches. Ghost Recon 2 also adds a third person viewpoint alongside the classic first person “from the eyes” view.

The release schedule differed by platform:

What the Two Versions Do Differently

The PS2 and GameCube versions share one plot. The Xbox version has an entirely different one and serves as its sequel. The plot also connects loosely to Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. That split is the strangest thing about this release.

1. The 2007 campaign on PS2 and GameCube.
2. The 2011 Xbox campaign that continues it.
3. The peripheral link to Chaos Theory.

Havok 2 and Voice Commands

Ghost Recon 2 runs an updated graphics engine and the Havok 2 physics engine. It adds new multiplayer options and voice command support through a microphone. Those are real additions. The third person view is the one that changes how the game plays.

Our Verdict

Ghost Recon 2 is a solid tactical shooter with a genuine identity problem. The platform split means two buyers in 2004 bought two different games with one title, and the Xbox plot only makes sense after the PS2 and GameCube one. The 11 long missions and the co-op campaign carry the package. The third person view is a concession, not an improvement, and the first person view remains the right way to play it.

Ghost Recon 2 · PS2 · tactical shooter · Tom Clancy · Ubisoft · Xbox