The single player section of the game follows Scott Mitchell and his team throughout Mexico in an effort to foil any plans those dirty terrorists may have. Okay, so there isn't a huge story here, but that's all set aside as soon as you blow up your first tank, or set off a C4 plant right as a cluster of bad guys walks by. G.R.A.W. 2's campaign is absolutely full of "No way!" moments where the game takes over and immerses you in the desert and you feel accomplished in every successful sniper shot, successful strike, and every helicopter you blow up. Oh my God, the helicopters. More on them, later. The coolest thing about G.R.A.W. 2 is actually the Cross-Com available to Scott. At any point, you can access the camera in your mates' helmets to keep track of them, or perhaps a bird's eye view in a small machine (UAV) hanging up in the sky to survey the battleground several hundred feet out. Some of the smartest moments in the game come when using the Cross-Com to hover the UAV over a set of rubble to find a sniper lying out on the ground, only to have him marked to be shot a few seconds later.

As for commands, there are the general calls for help, or orders to kill, hold back, regroup, etc. In co-op and multi-player, orders can be given to call your buddy's attention on his screen to save your life. Much appreciated to Red Storm is the improved company A.I. At times it's akin to playing with your friend at your side, since your teammates won't find themselves wandering the battlefield at odd times, but instead will tactfully make a run around obstacles to take out some crazy guy flanking your position. This is probably the biggest upgrade from G.R.A.W., and notably so -it is the most appreciated.

The controls are very detailed and specific, as one would expect with a Tom Clancy game. In a simple description, the A button manipulates your ammunition, B swaps weapons, Y is context sensitive, and X toggles night vision. Additionally, the D-pad is for calling your teammates, L-trigger aims, and R-trigger fires. That's all basic, as the controls can be customized, and there are other functions, such as the left bumper for switching modes between assault and recon, the right bumper changes views, L3 changes stances, and R3 changes the scope level. The only button not used it, --well, there isn't one! Multiplayer is an entirely different affair, as the campaign lasts for roughly eight hours. In the multiplayer settings there are dozens of options to set up gameplay for Xbox Live, LAN, or local play. You may play campaign missions through co-op with a friend, go into a deathmatch, compete for kills, or go in under a time limit. These are just a few of the many gameplay types available to set up, or even customize to your liking. Players can even take Xbox Live onto a clan level, where things get even more competitive. Notably, there is a helicopter hunting mode where if you get them set on a high level of aggression, you'll be up all night with your friends screaming and howling over why there are seven choppers in the sky. One of many very cool tings G.R.A.W. 2 has going for it.

In short, there's not enough to say about G.R.A.W. 2, but there also isn't much to mention that hasn't already been said. I'm actually short of words out of the way that you should buy this game. If you own an Xbox 360, then here's another essential title for it. There appear to be endless options, and it's a great entry-level game for anyone unfamiliar with Tom Clancy's series of games. Of course, the visuals are some of the best on the console, and the sound effects are especially immersive. This isn't mentioning the soundtrack itself, which is notably effective and enjoyable. Everything in this package fits together so well that you'll probably still be playing it years down the road, or at least until another iteration of the series arrives. If you don't already own G.R.A.W. then you might want to ask a friend who played the first one how it was, and they'll tell you to forget it and sit down to play G.R.A.W. 2. At that point you'll realize what I opened with is the truth, they already know the score.