What we have here are new screenshots for upcoming game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 courtesy of IGN. The title was supposed to ship out back in May alongside the PC version but Ubisoft eventually delayed the release date. Some sources now say that GRAW 2 is coming this August 21.

Anyway, GRAW 2 is actually the eight installment in the highly successful tactical shooter franchise Ghost Recon. A few of the new features that come with the game include improved AI as well as version 2.0 of the ever-popular Cross Com. If you really want to know, its musical score was provided by Tom Salta.

The game brings players to year 2014, just around 48 hours after the events in the first GRAW game took place. The U.S. Army is having an encounter with Mexican loyalists and the whole story of the game only happens in 72 hours so expect a lot of action immediately.

See more screenshots after the jump!

  

It looks like Apple is getting serious about offering quality games to iPod owners through its online service iTunes. The company announced earlier today that Gameloft's LOST has just been added to the official lineup, bringing the total number of games to 14. The price is similar to other games in the store at 4.99 euro or around US$ 6.71.

LOST is based on the hit TV series with the same title that has Jack and the other castaways in their quest to seek truth and survive. Some of the game's features that are worth mentioning include:

• Storyline created by the writers behind the series
• Play Jack and interact with other main characters of the series: Kate, Locke, Sayid, etc.
• Production quality that measures up with the LOST phenomenon: faithfully reproduced settings, intuitive and extremely varied gameplay
• Explore the island's main sites: the beach, the jungle, inside the Hatch, the Black Rock, etc.
• Relive the most eventful moments from the series: the crash scene, running from the black smoke, meeting the Others, etc.
• Take on a multitude of challenges: exploration, hunting, helping the wounded, searching for dynamite, etc.

Quite recently, Tom Salta's original soundtrack for Wii video game title Red Steel has also been added to the store. All these gaming related additions are fine but it is still a mystery if the Beatles will ever show up at the store.

Composer and music producer Tom Salta has announced that his original soundtrack for the Ubisoft title Red Steel is now available for download through iTunes. The award-winning soundtrack will also hit retail outlets by Persist Records/Sumthing Distribution on May 29.

"We're really happy to make this possible, especially with Tom's spectacular work on Red Steel," said Didier Lord, Executive Director of Ubisoft Music. "It's an important move as it will be Ubisoft's first soundtrack released on major digital distribution channels – the first of many to come!"

Red Steel was one of Ubisoft's launch titles for Nintendo's Wii video game console, and it let players use the Wii's remote and Nunchuk controller to wield guns and katanas. The Red Steel soundtrack itself has received numerous accolades for its "unique approach and vibrant musical palette."

One big chunk of the immersive gameplay experience, along with great graphics and content, is soundtrack. What would Super Mario Bros be without the memorable soundtrack by Koji Kondo? That said, what would Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (and the original too) be without soundtrack composer Tom Salta?

Well, Tom Salta's soundtrack of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 pretty much lets us in on both the action and the general feel of a particular scene or a level. We've got three of examples of which from IGN. One is a tearjerking soft aria (The Tragedy of War), while the other two illustrate mounting tension (A Bridge Too Far and Juarez Under Fire).

For those who haven't played Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 yet - or was too busy taking care of business to pay attention to the score, click on play to check out the songs. Oh, there are a couple more over at Full Article.

If you fell in love with Tom Salta's game music for Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and Red Steel, then you'll be happy to that GRAW's award-winning composer is making a comeback for GRAW 2.

This time around, Tom has enlisted the help of the likes of the Hollywood Studio Symphony and the Page LA Studio Chorus groups. The former is best known for their works on "Chronicles of Narnia", "Spider-Man 2", and "Lost".

And while GRAW2 will be featuring hints of GRAW's Bruckheimer-ish tunes, Salta used a more aggressive and expressive overall tone to help draw out the title's intense moments. Well, given that some things are better experienced rather than heard, it may be best to mention that you can catch a glimpse of the game's soundtrack by way of yesterday's multiplayer demo - enjoy playing through while you're at it.

We couldn't say enough good thing about Ubisoft's Red Steel. We've ogled at the screenshots, gazed at the in-game videos, and listened intently to the music. So far, the only bad thing is we still have to wait for November for the game to come out. Since patience is a virtue we got some new in-game videos for you to stare at until delivery day.

Before you start downloading the videos below, though, we implore you to first turn down the volume. No, it's not because Tom Salta's music didn't live up to expectations, but rather because of all the realistic background noise you'll hear: the dulling hum of the air conditioners in the hangar during a shooting spree and the distracting buzz of a plane in the middle of a sword fight among others. The reverberations of the game will take you as near as possible to a real fight.

The graphics are above average (this is extremely good considering that the Wii's asset is gameplay). Little subtleties like how sunlight comes down through gratings or how the baddies fly like rag dolls in the air when hit with a grenade, goes a long way for most gamers. There are some things though that may need improvement, such as the way enemies move in swordfights; they need to react more fluidly. Let's hope the game developers work on this before the game gets shipped out.

You can tell us how you feel about what you've seen (or heard) by commenting below. Until the next batch of videos and screens, we hope you enjoy the vids.

Download: [Red Steel In-game Video 1]
Download: [Red Steel In-game Video 2]
Download: [Red Steel In-game Video 3]

Pre-Order: [Red Steel]

In our book, Tom Salta is a minor god and one of the Lords of Gaming. For example, the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter "Main Theme" is perfect for the game; when you hear it, your first guess is "ah, this music is for an action movie from Jerry Bruckheimer."

Our point is Tom Salta's music fits the game's genre. And his music is populist - it's for we the people (and not for some snobby musical elite) because it's composed of the patterns, sounds, and instruments that we, the movie-watching common folk, expect to hear for the genre we're playing or watching. And then he adds a few unique touches. And you go away moved.

In other words, he gives a game that "big screen movie" feel. And this isn't empty hype or hero-worship on our part. You might remember the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards where Ghost Recon was nominated for Best Video Game Score.

Look at what he has for Ghost Recon and Red Steel. Ghost Recon's "Main Theme" we already covered in that "gosh, Tom Salta makes me wet my pants" opening paragraph above, so we'll move on to Red Steel.

"Katana" (Choir Theme) Words cannot explain what this music sounds like. Amazing. We're listening to it right now and I can't resist trying to slice through our Patrick Star stuffed toy with a plastic ruler. Classic Japanese sounds (reminds the QJ anime geeks of "Ghost in the Shell"). The dynamic movements and the dissonance between the orchestra and the choir and the percussion... We have to invent a word: ninjorgiastic!

Heavy Theme Head-banging might affect your gameplay. This music grabs you by the gut and *twists* it.

J-Pop Theme I personally found this mediocre. That's not to say it's bad. Most of us liked the sound of "Katana" better, and as J-Pop goes, we've heard better. I can't find the QJ writers who are serious J-Pop fans (they're probably out having fun and having a life), so I guess you'll have to take my one opinion as the truth. Hehe. Or you can listen to it at his website and tell me I'm wrong.

Do you think Red Steel is a contender for the 2007 Best Video Game Score award? Comment and discuss below!