Military video games have never been known for their subtlety, but over the last few years they've become increasingly bombastic, culminating in the flamboyant pyrotechnics of the mega-selling "Call of Duty" franchise.

So I was a little surprised the first time one of my squad mates in "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier" (Ubisoft, $59.99, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3; for PC, $49.99) gave me some solid advice — by whispering.

This isn't the sort of game where you can rush headlong at enemies, spewing bullets by the hundreds. More often, you and the other three guys on your team are seriously outnumbered, so you need to approach quietly and take down targets one at a time until you've evened the odds.