Tactical Combat Strategy

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™ is known as a tactical shooter, and that's a genre description you should take seriously. It takes serious strategy to traverse the challenges that await you in Mexico City, but keep the following tips in mind and you will find the game much more rewarding (and much less frustrating).

Anyone got a hotdog?

Game Tips
First up, the game does half the strategy work for you from the get go. Not only does the tutorial get you fully immersed in the mechanics, but a Tips section in the main menu highlights the most urgent and crucial strategy to keep in mind. Pay very close attention to these tips. They're there for a reason.

Deliberate Pace
This is no run-and-gun shooter; you need patience and poise to progress smoothly throughout the missions. One false move can put you back at the beginning. Trial and error gaming is never fun, but it doesn't have to play out like that. Treat each new area as a major threat and move carefully. Don't rush out against enemies, but plan their demise from afar and then execute your plan carefully.

Recon by Default
The game is called Ghost Recon, not Ghost Assault, so make sure you don't have your fellow soldiers set to Assault (weapons-free). You don't want to attract attention to yourself until you're ready. You're ghosts after all; silent killers that only reveal themselves to the enemy when it's too late for them to recover.

Proceed with caution.

Eyeing the Cross-Com
The Cross-Com lets you view the environment from your teammates' point of view, so when you send them down an alleyway you can see just what's there without moving an inch yourself. Use as many viewpoints as you can to learn as much about the environment and enemy positioning. This is also a good way to keep tabs on threats to the soldiers in your command while you're off investigating something on your own.

Single Shot
Typically speaking, Advanced Warfighter doesn't lend itself to the fully-automatic tactics commonly found in shooters. Enemies take only a few bullets to be eliminated, so there's no need to go Rambo on them. Short controlled bursts work great and switching your rifle to single-shot is often even better. Make each shot count.

Tactical Map
Pressing the Back button on your controller brings up the three-dimensional tactical map. It's easy to forget about, but crucial to use. You can spot all the ins and outs of every location, immediately determine which areas are ally- or enemy-controlled, assess enemy locations, and even direct your troops or vehicles to specific locations on the map. When in doubt, bring up the tactical map and take an overhead view of the situation. You'll find options you would never have thought of otherwise.

It seems so peaceful from up here.

The Slide and Belly Flop
Just like your enemies, you're not nearly invincible. A few well-aimed shots and you're down for the count. A popular and effective tactic is the slide or belly-flop when you're fired on unexpectedly. While running, simply click down on the left stick to slide on your butt behind cover (or, at the very least, offer a smaller target). The other solution is to click and hold down on the left stick to make your soldier belly flop on the ground. This is particularly useful when crossing the street to take cover behind a building.

Vehicle Distractions
Occasionally throughout your command in Mexico City, the army assigns you a vehicle to help pave the way. Often this is an APC (armored personnel carrier) or Black Hawk helicopter. Either way, vehicles offer tremendous firepower and make for excellent distractions. Whenever possible, use a vehicle to draw the enemy's attention, and then flank them with your troops. You can eliminate large enemy positions in a hurry by cutting them up from opposite directions.

Covering Fire
The simple act of moving from cover to cover can be an anxiety filled experience with enemies bearing down on you. For that reason, make sure you don't move at the same time as your troops. If you need to cross a road, send them across first and provide covering fire while they run. Then, when you're ready to cross, have them pin down the enemy with fire to give you safe passage. This tactic comes into play constantly, but if you use it effectively you save yourself a world of worry.

Now get out there, soldier, and Recon your way to victory.

Article by Alex McLain