OVERVIEW
Island Thunder is the second expansion pack for the 2001 game of the year Ghost Recon (you must own Ghost Recon to play Island Thunder). Since you’re reading this review I will assume that you’ve already either played Ghost Recon or have read Shane’s review on it. Here is what Island Thunder has to offer:
1. A new, eight-mission campaign in the Cuban jungle.
2. Six specialists, most of whom use newer and deadlier weapons.
3. Thirteen new weapons for use in quick missions.
4. Greater kit variety
5. New enemies who also use newer and deadlier weapons.
6. Cinematic insertion and extraction scenes on most missions.
7. New quick mission type.
8. New multiplayer game types and maps.
9. Much more!
BREAKDOWN
1. The eight mission campaign puts you and your platoon in the thick of conflict once again; this time in Cuba. The year is 2010, Castro is no more and a revolution has toppled the Communist government. A free election has been scheduled, but the Communist faction is terrorizing the people with the intention of preventing the election. The Ghosts have been called in to safeguard the election and if possible, subdue the Communists.
Most of the combat takes place in the jungle. While the scenery in Desert Siege was less impressive than that in Ghost Recon, in my opinion the scenery in Island Thunder blows it away. Thicker ground vegetation, massive trees, and dangling vines bring a whole new feel to combat. As usual, the soundtrack is awesome--Island Thunder comes with a full complement of jungle noises. One mission (which takes place during a thunder storm) absolutely blew me away with its realism. I have a fast PC and the storm effects pushed it to the max. A few levels have gigantic sniper/guardtowers. If you can manage to get to the top of one of these, the view is breathtaking. The campaign setting reminds me a lot of “Clear and Present Danger”. In fact, the first mission (which takes place on a tobacco plantation) could have come right out of the movie. All in all, it is a most impressive and immersing campaign.
2. You will have the potential to unlock six specialists. While the specialists are the same as the ones from the previous games, most of them are armed with newer weapons such as a silenced M4, a semi-automatic bomb launcher, a new sniper rifle, and more. These specialists have high starting skill levels, and I guarantee you will need them; enemy AI is tough (see #5).
3. You will have access to thirteen new weapons during quick missions. These include the following:
RIFLEMEN: M4 SOCOM, vz. 58, AK-74, AK-47
SUPPORT: Russian 7.62 mm DP, RP-46, M24OG
DEMO: Z-84, MM-1, SA 25
SNIPER: SR-25 (available with or without a silencer)
PISTOLS: 9mm SA, Russian 9mm
4. Kits now come with a greater variety of secondary weapons and binoculars are standard issue. One thing in particular that stands out is that standard riflemen can now equip sensors. When fighting indoors or in building complexes, this can be invaluable.
5. You will be fighting armed-to-the-teeth Cubans. They also will have access to new weapons. They seem to react more dramatically to the sound of gunfire also. Fire a shot and they’ll come running... and sneaking. These guys definitely seem to be able to run faster than Russians or Ethiopians; however, they can also sneak up on you if you’re not careful.
6. Cool insertion and extraction scenes on most missions. Nuff said.
7. A new quick mission type called “Defend” will be available. It is, well, just like it sounds. (really difficult too)
8. New game types for multiplayer include Defend, Behemoth, and Cat and Mouse (your guess as to what those last two are like is as good as mine). As for the multiplayer maps, you’ll have to see what they are like for yourself. New multiplayer options are also available.
9. Much more... such as: new emplaced weapons, the ability to change the names of your platoon members, the more extensive use of vehicles by your enemies, different camo than in previous games, more powerful scope on the standard sniper rifle, and of course… much more.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Pentium2 with 450 MHz
128 MB of RAM
Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP
16MB video card with DirectX 8 compatibility
.5 GB of drive space
DirectX 8 compatible sound card
Those are the minimum system requirements, but my system is twice that and my frame rate still slowed up a bit during periods of intense graphics (such as the previously mentioned thunderstorm).
SUMMARY
All in all, if you have Ghost Recon, you need Island Thunder. My one and only complaint was that it takes fairly long to load the game from the desktop; and this was easy to overlook. I highly recommend this expansion to all Ghost Recon owners and even to future owners. If I had to give the expansion a rating, I would give it 9 stars out of 10—I enjoyed it more than the original, and for $19.99 it's a total steal for an expansion...
