Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is a mobile adaptation of the military tactical series, in which the player commands a unit of elite soldiers equipped with advanced technology and completes missions with an emphasis on cover, methodically clearing an area, and coordinating with squadmates instead of charging headlong at the first enemies in sight. Unlike purely arcade shooters, the game emphasized cautious advancing, using cover behind walls and crates, and tactically positioning targets on screen, which forced the player to think about the order in which to eliminate enemies rather than just mashing the shoot button.

Keypad controls simplified movement to a few directions and added buttons for taking cover and aiming, while the game tried to signal enemy positions and unit status through simple HUD elements so the tactical layer remained playable even with a limited display. The graphics matched the level of Gameloft's more demanding action titles of the time, with military environments of cities and bases and a matching soundscape of gunfire and radio communication that underscored a more serious, military tone compared to the lighter action games on the same platform.

The title fit into a wave of mobile adaptations of computer and console military series that tried to reach players moving between a home console and a phone who wanted to take a favorite brand along even outside the home. For the Ghost Recon series it was one of the attempts to keep the brand visible outside the main platforms during a period when licensed mobile games were at the peak of their popularity. Today the game is interesting mainly as evidence that seriously-made tactical action could work even with limited controls on a numeric keypad without a single analog element, and as a reminder of a time when even military simulators were finding their way onto an ordinary phone without having to significantly compromise their serious, matter-of-fact tone.

Why play it: For players interested in the history of mobile gaming who want to see how seriously-made tactical action worked even with controls on a numeric keypad with no analog elements.