I picked up Advanced Warfighter last night. Needless to say, there have been a great deal of explosions. More thoughts to come!

[update]

After a few days of surviving “G.R.A.W.” as the kids call it, I can say with confidence that this game is deserving of all the high praise that’s been floating around the net.

While the gameplay itself is not completely revolutionary, the game none the less takes on the air of a ground breaker because of the environment in which it takes place. Screenshots and videos do not do this title justice. Walking around the streets of Mexico City taking in the air of its sun-baked streets is a real treat in 720p, the High Dynamic Range Lighting casts bloom effects that really make you feel the heat, even though outside here in Michigan it’s 40 degrees.

Frankly the environment is so intriguing I wish there was some sort of unlockable exploration mode, “Mexico City Street Vendor Xtreme” perhaps. Selling counterfeit Oakley sunglasses on a street corner would be fine by me, as long as it’s looking this pretty.

Being one of the first truly next-gen titles for the 360, GRAW is great evidence of the incredible advances in interactive media that we’re going to be experiencing during this generation of hardware.