Chapter 2 Lived Through

The Chapter 2 download for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™ constitutes the closest thing to a full fledged expansion pack yet available on Xbox Live® Marketplace. With new weaponry, new face paint, new camouflage, relit versions of classic maps, and four brand new cooperative campaign missions, there's a whole lot of new GRAW content to get excited about.

You can get the overview here, but if you're looking for hands on impressions from playing through the new co-op maps, stick around and read on.

Bring Your Crew
Before focusing on the specific missions, it's important to note that the new missions come with a hefty helping of brutal challenge. Where you may have been able to squeak by the original co-op Campaign missions with even a single buddy, the River Depot, Shipping Port, Coffee Plantation, and Jungle Mines maps will eat you alive without an able bodied and good-sized crew of at least four.

Diversity of Talent
Also more important this time around are the classes of soldier you play. I've seen the entire set of original missions bested by nothing but Riflemen, but that's not going to cut it anymore. It's feasible, yes, but definitely not advisable. In particular, the secondary objectives require unique abilities and weaponry, so make sure you've got your bases covered with Rifleman, Marksman, Grenadier, and Assault classes all on hand.

The fully realized co-op missions make it feels like a natural,
more challenging extension of the original title.

River Depot
Neutralizing terrorist weapon shipments is the order of the day here, and while the objective may be a classic, the terrain challenges are anything but. Taking place in thick forest, the River Depot mission is notable for its hard to find enemies. Because the drone can't look through cover, you'll have a devil of a time spotting all the enemies on patrol. Patience and cover are the keys here. The drone will eventually, if fitfully, pick up enemy placement, so use it more as a guide and less as your sole tool for identifying tangos.

• River Depot Tip: Before engaging any of your objectives, be sure to clear the areas directly to the south and east of your starting location. Then, send one group towards the near eastern ammo dump (the white box on your map), and another to the southern ammo dump. Clear both areas simultaneously. Once that's done, you'll then have to eliminate two separate vehicle trains. They'll be heading directly to the ammo dumps you're already at, so you should be able to clear your secondary objective without too much trouble.

Coffee Plantation
This luscious green map on the waterfront may look inviting, but the current residents are less than thrilled with the arrival of the Ghosts. In direct opposition to the River Depot map, the Coffee Plantation is wide open, making it easy for enemies to spot and snipe you from afar. Of course, the reverse is true as well. The Coffee Plantation also makes use of armored vehicles more than any other co-op mission in the game.

• Coffee Plantation Tip #1: Because of the wide open spaces, make sure you've got at least one quality Marskman in your group and put him in charge of drone placement. With their long range scope and drone movement, they should be able to spot enemies for the rest of the group as they move forward.
• Coffee Plantation Tip #2: The Grenadier class may have seemed superfluous on some other levels, but they're crucial here. In fact, if you can, bring two to help neutralize the heavily armored vehicles scattered across the map.

Shipping Port
A more aptly named map I cannot imagine, as you're plunked down at the edge of a shipping port and tasked with eliminating weapons caches and eventually, fuel trucks. This is the most densely packed map in the pack, with towers, walls, buildings, and shipping containers providing more than ample hiding places. Of course, this works both ways.

Also, while other missions may offer similarly substantial numbers of enemies, you'll find them in much larger groups in the Shipping Port, buzzing around in clusters like agitated ants roused from their hill.

• Shipping Port Tip:This is the most vertical map in the game, with multiple towers providing excellent sniping opportunities. It's a good thing too, because you'll need all the high ground you can get. Use these towers to clear out massive groups of enemies from a distance.

Jungle Mines
To take a look at this map is to see a maze, because that's exactly what it is. With twisting tunnels, a multi-tiered mine in the middle, and more bottlenecks than any other map in the game, immediate danger lurks around every corner. Also, because of the covered tunnels, you'll run into problems tracking enemies with the drone, so be wary of surprises. Your primary task is eliminating the enemy presence around the mine and taking out the rebel leader.

• Jungle Mines Tip #1: This first secondary objective on tap is a roving helicopter, which you'll find taking off after heading up the first major tunnel. Treat this as a primary objective, because if you leave it alone the helicopter will track and shoot at you throughout the mission. Luckily, you don't need a rocket launcher to take it down. A few well spent clips from a rifle will do the trick just fine.
• Jungle Mines Tip #2: Securing the mine means killing every last enemy, so if you're wondering why the objective hasn't cleared, chances are there's a tango lurking somewhere nearby that you just haven't spotted yet. Use the drone to track up and down the area to locate them quickly.

Chapter 2 for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter packs a remarkable amount of content, and the fully realized co-op missions make it feel like a natural, more challenging extension of the original title.

Article by Ryan Treit