301w ago - The new gear introduced in GRAW 2 is still pretty freakin' sweet. The UAV Cypher, for example, gives you an eye in the sky to scout ahead for enemies. The MULE is a mobile, automated weapon shop; it can be used in a pinch to run down any bad guys foolish enough to stand around out in the open. And the Gun-cam lets you take a bead on enemies without stepping out from behind cover.

And all that spiffy recon gear is put to good use, because GRAW 2 liberally mixes strategy and action, balancing the two more adroitly than in any other tactical shooter I've played to date. In some levels, you'll go in guns blazing; in others, you'll creep from cover to cover and pray you're not seen. Sometimes you'll be alone, other times you'll make heavy use of your three-man squad, and sometimes you'll end up with additional support as the mission moves forward. The game constantly mixes things up, and in the process manages to neatly avoid the most common frustration of tactical shooters: figuring out how you're supposed to be playing the level.

See, most tactical shooters I've played have a specific path in mind for the player; you need to take out this guy first, then move to that cover, and take out that vehicle with this weapon -- and if you don't do everything right, and in order, the mission becomes vastly more difficult,...