Key events
8th February 2010
24th July 2006
13th March 2006
2nd December 2005
17th August 2005
28th June 2005
GRAW lead turns to Kickstarter to fund hardcore tactical shooter
Fans have been "crying out for one for years".
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Halo: Reach lead designer Christian Allen has taken to Kickstarter to fund his resurrection of old-school, hardcore tactical shooters.
Tom Clancy sale assaults Xbox Live
Plus, Pac-Man going cheap.
Next week sees a host of Tom Clancy-related titles attempt to sneak up on Xbox Live users and pry open their wallets, armed only with a set of price discounts.
"Big" Ubisoft announcement this week
Ghost Recon studio Red Storm involved.
Ubisoft's gearing up for a headline-grabbing announcement this week.
Company community bods Aymeric Evennou and Kimi Matsuzaki both Tweeted in preparation.
"I'd only say: 'Big announcement coming up next week,' and I mean BIG," said Evennou on Friday.
Still rather expensive, mind.
Ubisoft has donated Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter to the Xbox Live Games on Demand service.
Plus some notes on the rules.
With the event due to take place on 10th November, Ubisoft has opened sign-ups for the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter tournament at FUSE '06 in Newbury.
Siege and co-op modes.
Ubisoft and pals have released the latest multiplayer pack for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, introducing Siege and co-operative modes as per fans' requests.
And some screenshots.
Those gun-totin', acronymphomaniacs at Ubisoft have revealed that the next PC map pack for GRAW will introduce a new game-mode along with something called a "death cam". And presumably some new maps.
There's no news on that new game-mode, sadly, but last time Ubi mentioned it we were told it was "one of the most popular original Ghost Recon multiplayer modes". Team deathmatch will also form a part of the new pack.
The death cam will simply show you how you died and who shot you, which is always nice to know. Ubisoft's also released a couple of screenshots of the pack in action, which can be found on its UK website.
Out now, priced at 1200 points.
Ubisoft has released a new pack of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.
Deathmatch, co-op, more.
Ubisoft's released a multiplayer map pack for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on PC, which adds a deathmatch mode and three maps, introduces additional co-op levels and a map editor, and features a whole range of upgrades and optimisations to boot.
On the way very shortly.
Xbox 360 may be more of a focus, judging by the oodles of content due out later this month, but Ubisoft's announced that Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter's PC followers aren't being entirely left out - with a "Multiplayer Pack" on the way "shortly".
New maps, guns, etc.
Xbox 360 heavyweight Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is set to receive a boost later this month as Ubisoft prepares to release a pack containing four new maps, five new weapons and plenty of other extras.
CoD2 tops the charts.
It's official: Call of Duty 2 is the most popular Xbox 360 title currently being played via Xbox Live.
Gpolished!
With Xbox 360 owners now thoroughly clued in to what Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter's like thanks to single and multiplayer demos, Ubisoft's decided to give PC gamers a crack at it with a 509MB showcase.
Mexico City. Bred so many.
Those of you still undecided about Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter have another chance to try it out on Xbox 360.
See what all the war is about.
Xbox Live Marketplace, what is best in life? "To offer demos to your users, see them download before you, and to hear the lamentation of their routers!" That is good. [That was rubbish. - Ed]
UK Charts: Streets too tough for GRAW
Strong single-format debut unable to shift EA's soccer sim.
Electronic Arts continues to dominate the UK's All Formats Entertainment Charts this week, with seven titles clogging up the top ten, barely leaving room for rival publishers Ubisoft, Codemasters and Konami to steal a little glory.
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Happiness in magazines.
Much like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the absence of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter from the 360's launch line-up was a regrettable one. As one of the undoubted stars of X05, it looked for all the world like Ubisoft had finally done enough to propel the brand into the big league for the first time, after years in the shadows of its other Tom Clancy titles. No wonder people wept at the four month delay.
But never mind about that; we'd always much rather play a 'finished' version than some rush job drop kicked out of the door just to cash in on the launch frenzy and appease shareholders. Just as we hoped all along, the chance to savour a more rounded, polished version of the third in the action strategy series seems like a much better idea - especially now people can actually walk into a shop and buy a 360 without going on a mile long waiting list.
Sticking broadly to Red Storm's excellent formula, GRAW is once again a squad-based shooter (in 'over the shoulder' third- or first-person, the choice is yours) all about 'near future' warfare and kicking the butt of some nefarious megalomaniac and a posse of foolishly loyal insurgents. Being set in 2013 in Mexico, it gives Ubi full license to throw in a few obligatory 'weapons of the future' to add to the otherwise standard load-out that accompanies each 'ghost'. In this instance Scott Mitchell and his merry band come equipped with the IWS, or Integrated War System, combining satellite comms, 'enhanced survivability', and the odd new weapon thrown in for good measure.
By Mr Producer himself.
Following the announcement that the PC version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter has been delayed, producer Mathieu Girard has gone on record to explain why.
PC version slips to summer.
The Xbox 360 version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter has had its release date changed again - but the good news is it's arriving early.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
It'll be great with friends, but what of single-player?
With no Halo to speak of (and indeed no speaking of Halo), a lukewarm reception for Joanna Dark and, in Call of Duty 2, multiplay conditions arguably harsher than the conflicts Infinity Ward was actually fictionalising, it's probably safe to say that anybody with an Xbox 360 perched there or abouts is resting a hopeful eye on Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. With GRAW, as it's affectionately known, now due out in Europe in March, we toddled along to sit in Microsoft's carpeted swimming pool (we didn't understand either) and see how it's shaping up - starting with the single-player mode.
There's a new trailer, too.
Ubisoft has announced the release dates for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - and there's now a new trailer for the game on Eurogamer TV too.
And latest instalment in series.
Two of the developers working on Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare have revealed what they think of the Xbox 360 in a live webchat.
Webchat reveals all. Well, some.
More details of forthcoming squad-based shooter Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter have come to light following a live webchat last night with a few of the developers.
Apparently the PC version of the game will be strikingly different to its console counterparts - "Content art, sound, technology and gameplay is entirely unique for the PC version. The entire PC version is made exclusively for the PC, and stand alone from the console versions in terms of gameplay," explained lead designer Ulf Andersson.
"The tactical layer of the PC game is much more advanced than the console approach. We have a realtime 3D view of the battle field where you as a squad leader can see the action and plan it real time. This to be able to set up the best tactical approach as the combat and pre combat changes.
In live online chats.
With just a few months to go until squad-based shooter Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter hits the shelves, Ubisoft is hosting two online chats which will give you the chance to put your questions to the game's developers.
Until February.
Ubisoft is "pleased to announce" that Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is getting another few months in development, putting the Xbox 360 version in shops next February.
King Kong, Ghost Recon 3 to appear at Xbox 360 launch
Ubisoft confirms reports.
At a press and retail event in the UK last week, Ubisoft outlined its plans for Christmas 2005 and confirmed that both Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and Peter Jackson's King Kong would be released to coincide with the launch of Xbox 360 toward the end of November.
Both games are due out on other formats. Advanced Warfighter will also be released on PC at some point as a first-person shooter - the Xbox 360 version is predominantly third-person. King Kong, meanwhile, is due out on a massive eight formats. As well as X360, it will appear on PS2, Xbox, Cube, PC, GBA, DS and PSP this Christmas as one of Ubisoft's biggest ever launches.
Recently speculation based on US retail pages linked both titles with the launch of the new console, but we believe this is the first absolute confirmation of the French publisher's plans - at the very least, it's reassurance that those plans are firmly in place, and now confirmed with UK retailers.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Q&A, trailer
The new face of Ghost Recon 3 PC.
Ubisoft revealed this week that Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3 will not be known as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3 at all. Instead it's to be termed Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter when it sees release later this year on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2 and GameCube.
And no, it's not about a jet. It's about a next-generation network of tools dotted about the average soldier which combine to form the Integrated Warfighter System - finally giving the average private's heads-up display some meaning and justification.
But of course there's more to it than that. You can read up on it by checking out our previous preview and interview and screenshots, published during E3. What's more, we've got a brand new trailer hosted on Eurofiles, and what follows is a brief Q&A session with Ubisoft producer Mathieu Girard made available by the publisher this week.
The tactical shooter goes 360...
Some fans might not agree with this, but probably the most improved game series of 2004 was Ghost Recon, getting a long overdue and very welcome visual overhaul that made it one of the most enjoyable tactical shooters released all year. Fast-forward a few months and suddenly Ubisoft's Red Storm studio has pulled a third game out of the bag, somewhat unexpectedly (at least when it made the announcement a while back), with the French publisher also using brand as the spearhead to its concerted next-gen assault.
