Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Jungle Storm – PlayStation 2

Review

Though it doesn’t feature much for new or unique gameplay, Jungle Storm is a solid package of squad-based action. Hit detection is flawless, the enemy AI is surprisingly good, and the presentation is by no means bad.

The basic premise is that the player uses the skills of a commando squad to defend the free world. What this translates to in gameplay terms is sneaking about and shooting bad guys. Ghost Recon takes a more realistic approach to this than its competition, where enemies always drop in one hit and players can only take a few before they go down. Whether this is your thing or not, it does lead to a lot of frustration when a hostile jumps out from hiding and flatlines half your squad before you can react. Because of this, Jungle Storm involves even more level memorization than similar titles.

Multiplayer features stat tracking and other goodies not always found in online shooters, but suffers from the same problems inherent in single player. The framerate can stutter even with no enemies onscreen, teammate AI is mediocre, and for some reason enemies only animate about three frames per second when viewed at long distance through a scope. At the end of the day, Jungle Storm doesn’t do much to stand out in a crowded genre.

Concept:
Make more levels for Ghost Recon and call it a new game

Graphics:
Though the textures are minimal at best, the models and foliage are nice

Sound:
After a couple hours of this, you’ll never want to hear “Kill confirmed” or “He’s history” ever again

Playability:
The archaic squad interface remains intact with little change. Improving soldier stats between missions is cool

Entertainment:
While not awful, there are better options within the genre

Replay:
Moderately High

Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Adam Biessener
Issue: March 2004

2nd Opinion:
Strangely enough, this is basically an expansion of an expansion. It’s got the campaign and features of the Xbox’s Island Thunder release, as well as the new Jungle Storm campaign. If you’ve played Island Thunder, or even the original Ghost Recon, then you should be instantly familiar with everything Jungle Storm has to offer. If you’re not a fan, then there’s nothing here that will change your mind; it’s the same game it always was with some added gravy like voice command and online rankings. But if you are a diehard Ghost Recon fan, you’ll want to pick this up for all the new missions and the chance to track your online performance. Just don’t expect to see any evolution of the series; gameplay and graphics are unchanged. The new missions are fun, but I’d really like to see this franchise begin to embrace some new ideas.

Rated: 8 out of 10
Editor: Jeremy Zoss

Subscribe to Game Informer — Game Informer Review