Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 continues the first installment, sending its Captain Scott Mitchell into a fictional armed conflict in Mexico, where the Ghost unit fights insurgents equipped with stolen military technology. The Xbox 360 version makes full use of the then-new console generation, with more expansive battlefields, more sophisticated AI-controlled squadmate behavior, and a cover system that builds on what the first game on Xbox hinted at, but only here reaches its full potential thanks to the new hardware's power.

The game introduces the so-called Cross-Com system, through which the commander tracks squadmates' positions in real time and can issue them orders or take control of a subordinate unit of vehicles and drones, making GRAW 2 one of the first console shooters with such a strong emphasis on commanding a small unit instead of a lone hero cutting through the front line alone. Switching between one's own character and overseeing the whole squad from above gives players the feeling that they're not just aiming down a barrel, but directing the tactics of the whole group, and the same principle carries over into the multiplayer cooperative campaign. Multiplayer over Xbox Live offered team modes built on the same tactical philosophy as the campaign, emphasizing communication and cover over pure reflexes, which set GRAW 2 apart from the faster arena shooters of that generation. The sound design, with realistic squad chatter and combat-scarred environments, filled out the atmosphere of a war conflict in which the player commands a small group of professionals rather than a lone superhero, and it was precisely this emphasis on the team that made the Xbox 360 version, at the time of release, one of the technically most ambitious tactical shooters on the market.

Why play it: The Xbox 360 version shows GRAW 2 in its most original and most fully realized form, with the Cross-Com command system making full use of the then-new console generation's power and with the largest online player community.