Two Days to Launch, My Official View on Ghost Recon Wildlands

[Rocky]

The biggest ever Ghost Recon game launch is only 48 hours away. 

Ghost Recon Wildlands is the biggest game in the Ghost Recon franchise in many many ways. It's already breaking records and it's not even out yet. It's the #1 best seller on Amazon right now, Uplay store has sold out of some special Collectors editions, and it's the biggest beta participation Ubisoft has ever seen - for any game - ever.

Ubisoft announced Ghost Recon Wildlands to the world in Los Angeles at E3 2015, and I was lucky enough to be there and experience the most exciting and ambitious Ghost Recon game that has ever been announced. Since then I've been to numerous Ubisoft workshops in Paris and watched the game grow into what has become one of Ubisoft's most challenging propositions - make this game appealing to the masses, without alienating the hardcore old school franchise faithful. 

And this is where Wildlands will stand or fall - can a game really satisfy two very different styles of gamers? Can a game be both tactical and realistic, but remain accessible and playable for the masses? Can it successfully cater to what some people would call a niche hardcore, and also satisfy the mainstream gamer?

If it fails in this challenge, anyone who has been saying "It's a great game, but it's not Ghost Recon" will have been proven correct. If it succeeds in this challenge, Wildlands will be the most successful Ghost Recon game by an exponential percentage.

I've been playing Ghost Recon since 2001. For around 16 years I have been supporting this series by keeping this fan website running with news, views, content, downloads, competitions and community forums - for fifteen full years.  I'm at an age now where although gaming is still something I take a huge amount of satisfaction from, if my heart was not in it anymore, I would shut the doors, focus on new ventures, and sign off on this amazing chapter in my life.

But I'm not going to. This book is not complete. The Ghost Recon story is not finished, it is just getting started.

Why? Because Wildlands is giving us more than we have ever had in a Ghost Recon game. More map, more choices, more eye candy, more story, more enjoyment, more media - just more. Sure, as someone who played the original Ghost Recon inside out, I can see some features are missing in action, and playing the closed/open beta both at home and in the Ubi studio, I saw and reported the same issues that cropped up during the open beta. 

But I am not bothered about most of these issues; the vehicle physics, the helicopter difficulties, a solitary floating car, the bullet speed etc. I am not concerned at all about these. Why? Because I know Ubisoft will fix these issues, and they will continue fixing issues with the same type of post release commitment we have seen for Rainbow Six Siege. This is part of the road map for Ubisoft and their AAA titles now, post game support like we have never seen before. 

So I look past these issues and I look at what the base game has to offer.

A massive stunning and detailed world, that I can play co-op in a team of 4, slow, stealthy with tactics and comms, and have an absolute blast of a time with a freedom of choice never seen before in a Ghost Recon title.  I can tweak the game settings and alter the HUD, change the difficulty level and tweak the game so it offers a real challenge for the team, and subsequently a satisfying reward if we pull it off.

If that's not your thing, you can jump in a vehicle, race around some jaw dropping scenery, and play the game with bullet lead and civilians flying everywhere, and spitting Llamas running for cover.

And it does not matter which of those play styles you prefer, as gamers we can all appreciate the stunning amount of detail embedded into such a massive map; from the dirt track roads that muddy up and splash upon vehicle paintwork as it starts to rain, to the flies that swarm around electric lights at night as I sneak into a UniDad compound while they lie in their beds asleep. This all adds up to an immersive and enjoyable experience - enjoyable by gamers from a diverse set of priorities.

So yes, I do think Wildlands is successfully catering to a diverse and demanding gaming community. I read comments from gamers who simply cannot wait for Tuesday to come around so they can start the campaign, either as completionists, or first past the post gamers - either as a niche hardcore tactical gamer, or as a more mainstream gamer.  

I know how I'll be playing it, how will you be playing it?

LONG LIVE GHOST RECON.

Credit Bodark Zulu and Panic for Wildlands Screenshots.

[thales100]

And long live you and gr.net. 

[Rocky]

Thanks Thales, and long live you and your creative talents!

[EasyCo]

Long live Ghost recon!

I'm counting down to play this game so that should tell you something.

[Zeealex]

long live the king!! oh wait, wrong line. Long live ghost recon!

Long live GhostRecon.net and all who inhabit it!

I'm really hoping they add at least some limited modding capability to the game, it's too big not to!

 

Edited March 5, 2017 by Zeealex

[NightCrawler]

Lock and load dog face it's time to move out!

[Zeealex]

who's dogface? i only know catface

[NightCrawler]

Lock and load Catface we need you on this mission too.

[Lightspeed]

Welcome to Bolivia....better get your passports ready.

An important thing that all GR diehards should take note of is that OGR was a point in time, and a one off really. Once we tasted it, nothing else would quite be the same and thatcremains true today.

I look at Arma and see it as the closest thing to the true hardcore GR successor. Others won't and that's ok.

The point is that it's pointless living in 2001-3, that's history. But lokking forward and at this game in particular, tgere is do much that this game offers that GR never did.

They are different and yet amazing games in their own right. I haven't been excited for a GR game for 10 years, finally I see something to smile about.

The beta was enough to tell me that this is the future of GR. I'm already thinking about where the next campaign will be!

[struth__]

so true...

9 hours ago, Lightspeed said:

look at Arma and see it as the closest thing to the true hardcore GR successor

   ...and I miss the hardcore TDM 32/64 player spawn camping backin' forth slather that ARMA can't provide.

It's much the same story from one clan to the next, most have moved on to other titles, and why; hardcore 32/64 TDM modes, dedicated server files, mod tools & anti-cheat support.

I miss the sound - the frightening anticipation of hearing players at distance sneaking up all around you with only one objective in mind, or actually getting a sense of humiliation when taken down with the sound of a deafening projectile ripping through flesh. Rather than the sensation of having a tin of paint thrown over one's head coupled by a slap in the face. For me, it seems a somewhat diminishing progression irrespective of the title or series with most modern games.

Nonetheless, GRW will turn out to be quite a coop once they fix the above-mentioned issues but again, I'm troubled by my addiction to FP, TDM and have my doubts that this game will help me get over it, I will buy the game to support the series that's provided me so much inspiration, joy, and a community spirit I've loved for over a decade.

I truly hope the community embrace it and moves into the future with this title. It sure looks to offer a huge amount of content with a different approach than other games, who knows, this might just change up the field.

-JH

Edited March 6, 2017 by struth__
gramer