Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - first look

When Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter launched its assault on Xbox 360 it was one of the first games to really earn its next-gen stripes. Glorious visuals,sweet tech tricks and intense gameplay combined to make it one of the best games of 2006.

And, as our first look at the 360 version has revealed, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 is looking even better.Even more advanced, if you will.

The action picks up where the previous game left off - Ubisoft told us that the sequel is like the second chapter of the same story - with the remaining rebel Mexican forces gathered along the US border, threatening to launch an attack on the land of the overweight and the free.

And so GRAW's hero, Captain Scott Mitchell, and the ghosts are sent back into the line of fire to assess the seriousness of the threat and to prevent a direct attack on their homeland. Operating undercover, Mitchell and his merry men must avoid detection - if their cover is blown then the risk of an attack against America increases.

Interestingly, there will also be a link within the story between the multiplayer co-op and solo campaigns and will reveal the full extent of the danger posed by the Mexican rebels.

Above: The rebel threat has increased since the events of the original game, with combat now taking place on both Mexican and US soil.

The battle lines are drawn on both sides of the border with two cities - Juarez in Mexico and El Paso in the US - now hosting hostilities. The ghosts will also be dispatched to surrounding natural locations, so expect some dusty desert-based skirmishes.

Split into three sections, the game plays out like so: first, the sneak-about planning bit as Mitchell and the ghosts fight alongside Mexican loyalists battling to open the way to Juarez; when this plan fails they are sent behind enemy lines - inside Juarez - and we're assured this will bechaos in a hard hat.

Finally, as the scramble to stop an attack on US soil reaches its dramatic conclusion, the ghost squad will move back and forth over the border in a series of frenetically fought, cat-and-mouse battles.