Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2

Although it carries the exact same name as the Xbox version, the PS2 take on Ghost Recon 2 is in fact a separately developed game. The Xbox version was made by Red Storm Entertainment on an engine built around the power of what was then the strongest console, while the PS2 release was created at Ubisoft Shanghai as its own project adapted to weaker hardware, with differently constructed missions, a different pace, and less emphasis on large open environments. This difference in approach was dictated mainly by the limits of the console itself, which simply couldn't accommodate the sprawling environments of the Xbox version without major compromises.

In terms of gameplay, the PS2 version sticks closer to the more tactical and slower style of the first Ghost Recon than to the more action-oriented approach of its sister Xbox version; missions place greater emphasis on planning your advance and carefully maneuvering the squad than on direct firefights, and even the enemy AI reacts to noise and visibility differently from what players were used to on the Xbox. The campaign and specific missions differ between the two versions, so a player who finished the Xbox Ghost Recon 2 won't encounter the same battlefields on the PS2, even though the setting in the Korean conflict remains common to both versions, so the series at least keeps a consistent story backdrop. The smaller scope of the missions also means a more compact pace that better suits occasional play on shorter evenings. Visually, the PS2 version has to make do with blockier models and a shorter draw distance than its sister version on the more powerful Xbox, but the setting, weaponry, and overall military tone remain recognizably the same, so the player never feels like they're getting a shoddy substitute.

Why play it: Anyone looking for a different, more tactical take on the same setting than on the Xbox will find in Ubisoft Shanghai's PS2 version effectively a different game under the same title, not merely a technical rewrite of the same campaign, even with the awareness that it's a visually more modest rendition of the same setting.