UNCLASSIFIED

FROM: Scott Mitchell, futuresoldier@ghostrecon.net

TO: Undisclosed Recipients

MEMORANDUM

SUBJ: Concept Art Analysis

The new concept artwork that was mentioned a few days ago is back and would seem to suggest that G4TV got a little trigger happy and posted the pics before they were supposed to. While many of these pics were included in the various press releases that were provided yesterday or the day before, I am posting this as a separate blog to discuss them, or at least some of them. Many of the pics were already available and others aren’t particularly noteworthy.

In previous chapters of Ghost Recon, the skirmishes and conflicts were, for the most part, regionalized engagements that occurred in various hotspots around the world. And while we already know Future Soldier is set to occur in a few locations like Russia, Norway and the Middle East (though that region hasn’t been mentioned much), the images and videos we’ve seen to date seem to suggest that the USA is going to suffer some catastrophic losses.

The teaser trailer showed a US Navy aircraft carrier under attack, and this is corroborated with the concept drawing that shows an aircraft carrier severely damaged with another missile inbound. People can be seen falling from the carrier and one person in the lower right hand corner looks to be in pretty bad shape. While these photos are concepts and not actual in game screen shots, it does suggest that whatever force the Ghosts are going up against are very well equipped and prepared to use excessive force.

This is further substantiated by the photo of the downed US Air Force plane. (Ghost Recon usually has a downed aircraft recovery mission, so perhaps this is a hint of a potential mission). The plane appears to have crashed into a large building or other structure, which may cause a bit of controversy depending on how it is incorporated into the story. Is this Future Soldier’s version of the Modern Warfare 2 Airport scene? I don’t know that I’d make that claim just yet, but if the plane is crashed into a building by the Russian Ultranationalists (which some might call terrorists) – then it very well could be. At this point, it’s just speculation.

There is a nifty picture of a shipyard with two aircraft carriers under construction. The information suggests they are Russian. (The atmosphere of the shipyard closely resembles the photo that shows the buildings with Russian architecture – or what I call Tetris buildings). It will be interesting to see what role this level has on the story of Future Soldier, or at least I think so. If the Ultranationalists have seized control of Russian military forces, then the Ghosts will indeed face a formidable opponent.

One of the other pictures shows two Ghosts firing from behind cover. One is equipped with the new assault rifle, while the other is equipped with a weapon that I can’t identify due to the limited visibility. What is obvious though, is the weapon appears to be outfitted with a silencer and a forward handgrip. While the [Ghost Recon] didn’t allow weapon customization, some of the later versions did (optics and attachments) and Future Soldier is supposed to allow for it as well.

Most of the other pictures are either previously released or of little substance to make a fair assessment of what they are showing.

However…

The final two pictures I will discuss are perhaps the most visually stunning (at least I think so) and informative. One shows a detailed image of the new assault rifle, and the other of the new Ghost headgear. I’ll take a moment and discuss each.

Ghost Headgear Features:

-Waterproof Antenna

-HF Antenna

-Cross Com

-Tactical Optronic (thermonight, x-ray, magnetic)

-Gas Capsule (Skydiving, Waterdiving)

-Gas Filter

-Power Cable (Computer, Optronic)

While I doubt the game will expound on what functions each of these features offer and are probably included for visual effect only, I will make a few comments myself.

A waterproof antenna and a gas capsule for waterdiving would suggest…a water environment. Again, could just be for looks, but could be a hint at what to expect.

HF Antenna – almost hate to speculate on this one as most two way radios are UHF or VHF, but HF could be used for voice and/or data, including IP connectivity.

Cross Com – this has been previously discussed, although the implementation in Future Soldier is different than some of the previous games.

Tactical Optronic – Hmm...Splinter Cell comes to mind.

Gas Capsule – Skydiving…I recall this FPS that was going to incorporate an airborne component and the various techniques into the game…could someone at Ubisoft have caught wind (no pun intended) and thought it was a great idea? Nah, surely not.

Gas Filter – I know it might not seem like much…but I am really interested in this. Let’s see – the live action trailer had many of the soldiers in gas masks. I assumed it was for the tear gas they launched to disperse the rioters. Several of the concept artwork show the bad guys in gas masks. And now the Ghosts have a built in gas mask as part of their kit. (We even have a pic of Ubi Kimi wearing a gas mask). Makes me wonder if it will serve a real in game purpose or just more decoration?

Power Cable – Doesn’t show the power source…which I was kind of hoping to see. I’m curious if it’s a Duracell or the size of a car battery.

Ghost Assault Rifle Features:

-Holographic Site

-5.56 bullets Uranium

-Disputor Shotgun

-Titanium Hook

This has got to be one of my favorite pics released so far. I love the look of this weapon. None of the information is really new, except we know the name of the shotgun is the “Disputor Shotgun” (sounds very intimidating) and the weapon uses uranium rounds.

Holographic Site. DARPA is really supposed to be creating one of these, in development now. There are various other shots that show it – but the real question is how will it look in game?

Uranium rounds. Well, I already mentioned in my Public Service Announcement – I AM NOT a weapons expert. I know nothing about why we would use uranium rounds against a soft target like a person. Penetrate body armor, perhaps? Shoot up bad guy ground drones, perhaps? I’ve read a little bit about this on Wikipedia and understand why it is used against tanks and what not, but not sure why it would be used in this capacity.

Titanium Hook. One magazine suggests you will be able to cut fences (like Bad Company 2, I suppose), breach doors or melee opponents. Not enough information has been released at this time to make too many assumptions about this piece of kit.

Until then, happy hunting.

Cheers.

//SIGNED//

Scott Mitchell, futuresoldier@ghostrecon.net