Before there was Battlefield and Call of Duty, there was Ghost Recon. It’s been almost 14 years since the original Ghost Recon came out. Ghost Recon was the first of many shooters that would hit the gaming market over the past 15 years. Ghost Recon found it’s roots in another Tom Clancy title which preceded it called Rainbow Six. The original Rainbow Six was heavily focused on stealth and team tactics rather than on sheer firepower. A single bullet could kill easily take your character’s life.
Ghost Recon was released in late 2001 and graphically looked very similar to Rainbow Six down to the game’s targeting reticle. While Ghost Recon shared some similarities with Rainbow Six, it was wrapped in heavier political undertones, set in larger environments, and was usually set, ten to twenty years into the future. As new games were released from the series the game evolved to become more accessible to mainstream gamers. The game perspective shifted to third person and the gameplay felt more arcade like with military technology taking center stage.
It has been almost three years since the last major release from the series and at E3 this year, Ubisoft surprised many people by announcing a new Ghost Recon title called Wildlands (catch the stunning E3 trailer here). Wildlands sees you command a team of US Army Special Forces who have been deployed to the South American Country of Bolivia. The Santa Blanca drug cartel has turned Bolivia into a modern day Afghanistan: a narco-state, rife with violence, internal conflict, lawlessness and corruption. Bolivia serves as a perfect safe haven for the Cartel who is running a massive cocaine empire.
Rather than following in the footsteps of past games in the series, Wildlands will be the first game to feature a fully breathing open world environment with day-night cycles. In fact, Wildlands will feature the largest open world environment Ubisoft has ever created. To help you traverse the open world, players will have access to numerous vehicles including dirt bikes, boats, dune buggies, jeeps and helicopters. The freedom doesn’t stop there. The game’s missions can be completed in any manner you wish and at any time (day or night). If you love stealth, you can take the sneaky approach against your enemies or you can engage in an all out assault. Wildlands seems to have more in common with Far Cry than previous Ghost Recon titles.
Wildlands can be either played solo (with three other AI controlled friendlies) or cooperatively with three other human controlled players. What’s really unique about Wildlands is the manner in which coop is presented. So many coop shooters have you joined at the hip with whoever your playing with, but Wildlands allows you and your team to split up and do your own thing. This gives you complete freedom in how to approach objectives and explore the open world.
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“On paper, Wildlands has a lot going for it. At the same time I can’t help but be a little skeptical as Ubisoft has made big promises in the past, only to under deliver. I’m looking at you Watch Dogs!”
When you’re not completing missions, the open world offers so many things to do. Players can choose from a variety of side missions, take over outposts or try to build relationships with the locals and other rebel groups. The relationships you build with non-player controlled characters can impact how the campaign unfolds. From what’s been revealed so far it appears that fighting the enemy is just as important as relationship building and winning the hearts and minds of the locals. It’s appears that the game has been heavily inspired by the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On paper, Wildlands has a lot going for it. At the same time I can’t help but be a little skeptical as Ubisoft has made big promises in the past, only to under deliver. I’m looking at you Watch Dogs! No release date has been announced yet, but it has been revealed that the game will ship for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
