Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter

Lore & Background

In 2013, United States president Ballantine, Mexican president Ruiz-Peña, and the Canadian prime minister meet to sign the North American Joint Security Agreement in Mexico City. A Ghost team led by Captain Scott Mitchell is deployed to recover Guardrail IX, an American communications disruptor device. A coup d'état occurs and the NAJSA conference is attacked by militants who kill the Canadian Prime Minister. The Ghosts rescue Ballantine and Ruiz-Peña and defeat anti-air emplacements. The coup is spearheaded by the Aguila 7, a rogue special forces unit led by General Ontiveros and his son Colonel Carlos Ontiveros. Ballantine and Ruiz-Peña authorize a U.S. military intervention. Mitchell's team clears a route to Mexico City, defeats artillery and anti-air batteries, assaults Chapultepec Castle, and secures M1A2 Abrams tanks. Aguila 7 kidnaps Ballantine.

In Their Own Story

The hangar bay smelled of ozone and hot polymer. The Ghost checked the seal on his helmet one last time, feeling the exo-suit's servos hum against his spine like a second heartbeat. Outside, the desert stretched flat and white under a sun that had no business being that bright at this altitude. His commander's voice crackled through the comms, clipped and quiet: "Prometheus node is two klicks east. You have four minutes before it locks the orbital window." He didn't answer. He didn't need to. The jetpack spooled up beneath his shoulders with a sound like a held breath finally released, and he was already climbing out of the hangar, already falling upward into the sky, already gone.

Reader's Guide

Gameplay emphasis is on the player doing the bulk of the fighting while relying on tactical combat. Players can survive several bullet hits but cannot regain lost health mid-mission; a single headshot or sustained burst can kill instantly. The game features firearms including the Heckler & Koch G36, Beretta M9, FN SCAR, and the MR-C prototype, as well as tanks, helicopters, APCs, and UAVs. The cross-com system allows indirect control over friendly units and varies between versions. The Xbox 360 version offers a choice of third-person or first-person perspective, a covering system, and on-rail sections. The Windows version is first-person, has larger levels, more flexible cross-com commands, and allows loadout selection with weight limits and weapon modifications. Multiplayer on Windows supports 32-player versus and 4-player co-op; Xbox 360 supports 16-player co-op and has downloadable content.

Did You Know?

• The game was released in 2006, not 2005.
• The Integrated Warfighter System is based on the Future Force Warrior program, not exo-suits with jetpacks.
• The direct sequel, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, was released in 2007, not 2009.
• The Xbox 360 version was released for Xbox One backwards compatibility in 2018.
• The Windows version can take advantage of a PhysX card, but enhancements are only cosmetic.