Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder is an expansion pack for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. It is also a playable campaign in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm, a game released for the PlayStation 2 and N-Gage systems.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
Developer(s)Red Storm Entertainment
Publisher(s)Ubi Soft
Writer(s)Richard Dansky[4]
Composer(s)Bill Brown
SeriesTom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Release
  • NA: September 24, 2002 (PC)[2]
  • NA: August 5, 2003 (Xbox)[1]
  • EU: September 5, 2003[3]
Genre(s)Tactical shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Plot edit

In 2010, two years after the events of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, and one year after the events of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege, Cuba is free, or at least it's supposed to be. Since Fidel Castro's death [in the storyline] in 2006, the island of Cuba is wary of the communist rule it had been under for nearly 50 years. It's time for the first free and open elections since Carlos Prío Socarrás, who was overthrown by Batista in the early 1950s. The FDG (El Frente Democratico de la Gente or People's Democratic Front) has fronted a man named Ariel Priego as their candidate. The FDG are an outspoken anti-US political faction that wishes to return Cuba to its long-standing communist dictatorship. Although the FDG publicly denies utilizing violence as a means of coercion, the reality is quite the contrary, as the Ghosts quickly discover. Now it is up to them to set things right again, without making it appear that the United States is getting its hands too dirty, and ensuring the elections proceed smoothly.

The first few missions see the Ghosts conducting operations against arms and drug shipping operations by agents and allies of Priego, the ultimate aim being to prevent any strong-arming of voters on election day. When election day comes, the Ghosts are responsible for protecting a voting center at the town hall in Cienfuegos, a task that proves none too easy as men loyal to Priego assault the building and take hostages elsewhere in the city. Unsurprisingly, Priego loses the election badly. Becoming desperate, he asks for help from his backers in Colombia, and FARC sends in hired soldiers to take Cuba by force. The Ghosts assist in defeating this effort, and FARC soon decides to cut its losses.

Running out of allies, time, and options, Priego flees to an old fortress in a hilled section of Cuba. The Ghosts are ordered to assault the fortress and capture Priego alive. If he is killed, he could be made into a martyr all too easily, something that would be highly detrimental to the new Cuban government. The Ghosts succeed, destroying a helicopter that Priego had intended to use for his escape. Trapped and with his remaining soldiers killed, Priego surrenders.

Gameplay edit

Character development edit

Every time a character survives a mission they earn combat points. These points are used to further advance the characters in-game abilities including the strength of their weapons, how successfully they are able to move around enemies without being seen, their endurance (how many hits they can sustain before dying) and their leadership (The stats of a fire team member under a leader with a high leadership rating will be increased).

Reception edit

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder was met with positive reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 81.59% and 82 out of 100 for the PC version,[6][7] and 81.65% and 81 out of 100 for the Xbox version.[5][8]

Combined sales of Island Thunder and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm reached 1.1 million copies by the end of March 2004.[27]

References edit

  1. ^ "Ubi Soft ships Island Thunder". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  2. ^ "Ghost Recon: Island Thunder ships". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  3. ^ "What's New?". Eurogamer.net. 2003-09-05. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  4. ^ "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm PlayStation 2". YouTube.
  5. ^ a b "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  9. ^ House, Michael L. "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder - Review". AllGame. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  10. ^ Edge staff (November 2003). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Xbox)". Edge. No. 130. p. 108.
  11. ^ EGM staff (September 2003). "Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 171. p. 120. Archived from the original on January 1, 2004. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  12. ^ Taylor, Martin (September 23, 2003). "Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  13. ^ "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Xbox)". Famitsu. Vol. 796. March 19, 2004.
  14. ^ Brogger, Kristian (August 2003). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 124. p. 96. Archived from the original on September 19, 2003. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  15. ^ Four-Eyed Dragon (August 4, 2003). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  16. ^ Park, Andrew (October 1, 2002). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  17. ^ Shoemaker, Brad (August 11, 2003). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  18. ^ Chick, Tom (October 22, 2002). "GameSpy: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (PC)". GameSpy. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  19. ^ Gallant, Matthew (August 23, 2003). "GameSpy: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  20. ^ Zacarias, Eduardo (October 13, 2002). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  21. ^ Valentino, Nick (September 19, 2003). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  22. ^ Adams, Dan (September 25, 2002). "Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (PC)". IGN. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  23. ^ Irwin, Mary Jane (August 8, 2003). "Ghost Recon Island Thunder Review (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  24. ^ "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder". Official Xbox Magazine. September 2003. p. 79.
  25. ^ "Ghost Recon: Island Thunder". PC Gamer. December 2002. p. 84.
  26. ^ Catucci, Nick (August 26, 2003). "Public Enemies: Regime Change in Cuba Is a Two-Way Street". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  27. ^ "Annual 2003/2004 Sales: €508 Million (+22.5% at Constant Exchange Rates); Free Cash Flow Revised Up to More Than €50 Million" (Press release). Ubisoft. April 29, 2004. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.

External links edit