Advanced Warfighter follows the story of Captain Scott Mitchell, who commands the Ghosts and other allied military units during a crisis in Mexico City after the signing of a new bi-lateral defence agreement between the United States of America and Mexico. This creates some dissent between the Mexican government and some of its military, leading to revolt which is the centrepiece for game. As the plot unfolds, players are tasked with the completion of a number of different objectives, such as diplomatic protection, escort, sabotage and the handling of nuclear devices, one after the other, making for some fast-paced action. This non-stop action forces you to be careful with the resources you are given, including your men, because the next re-supply Ghost truck may be some time away.

For those of you that are familiar with Ghost Recon, the difficulty level and controls will come very naturally. But for those coming from games such as Halo 2 on the Xbox, watch out. The learning curve is quite high for a shooter but the game eases you into it inch by inch and the difficulty level can be a challenge as one bullet can be death sentence. The HUD is well organised and easy to read, the best innovation by far being the new cross cam in the upper left hand corner which allows you to see what your team mates are seeing, both in single- and multi-player modes - always handy in a tight situation.

Visually, the game is awesome. The details on the uniforms, vehicles and environment are superb, with a robust physics system which mimics realistic blast patterns and body movement. The development team spent some time in Mexico City in preparation for the game, looking at the culture and style of the city and it shows. Mexico City looks just as good in the game as it does in real life, the only notable exception being that of innocent bystanders: for a wide open cityscape there is a significant lack of civilians running in fear.

The game's atmosphere is enhanced by the sound quality. Every shot, every wall you hit and every breath is bought to life in surround sound.

Multiplayer on Advanced Warfighter is intense from the first moments. The style of the multiplayer gameplay is similar to that of the single-player experience and doesn't cater to the run-and-gun player. Teamwork and careful positioning will help you win long before running into the fray with an antitank missile does.

In taking that into account, multiplayer is fun but perhaps not a good place to start someone new to the genre. The first-person perspective of the multiplayer gameplay detracts from the game's strong third-person camera but not enough to make it any less enjoyable. Live support, as with other 360 titles, is built to perfection and despite our terrible Internet quality, lag isn't too much of a problem. Advanced Warfighter is a must for every 360 owner and is by far the best-looking game on the console, taking full advantage of its capabilities to provide a well-polished experience that will keep you sitting in front of that hi-def screen for hours.