Over the span of ten years, Ghost Recon has been a series that has evolved multiple times, and even devolved multiple times. Our latest entry, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is no exception to this, and this newest iteration forgoes our previous experiences with the third person shooter series. It’s one that ditches ongoing war efforts against enemy countries such as Spain, Russia, and even Mexico. It’s a game that decides to throw a curve ball and head straight for the urban jungle territories of Bolivia. In this location the Ghosts are tasked with taking down a drug cartel and even overthrowing the current regime, which just happens to be taken over by the narcos there.
However, there’s a few things that players will notice about this game. It feels like Just Cause 3 in the aspect of competitive play being absent, weapons, gear, and loadouts have no stats. Better said by a colleague of mine: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is The Divison 2.0, but without being locked inside of New York or dealing with a viral outbreak.
Ghost Recon Wildlands is About Hostile Takeover
While you already know you are being tasked with taking out the Santa Blanca cartel and disrupting their pats on the back of the government, you also know you are being tasked to assassinate, and overthrow the cartel all together. This means players will liberate towns in order to build up a reputation with the local rebellion, and lead your four-man team of Ghosts through Bolivia without backup.
Just remember, the SBC and the local military will fight back, and they have much bigger guns. Don’t look so down, just remember, you’re ghosts, so tactics matter. Just remember to have a sniper ready to pop off gunners and drivers whenever possible. This also means those new friends you made? Y’know, the locals? They’re a good idea to have on your back while attempting to overthrow their oppressive leaders and moving on. This can be done by killing off the leaders, clearing camps, and just helping them out with side missions.
Also, they make an awesome valet service for when you need those vehicles of yours, or y’know, a friendly mortar strike right into the enemies backyard.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Has A Lot of Locale Sights and Goods
If you’ve ever wondered if you’d decide to stop on a hill top and take a gander, you will. Ghost Recon has a lot to offer you as you find yourself strolling about or taking across the lands in cars, trucks, helicopters, boats, airplanes, and even motorcycles. If you are up for opening up fire from the tree lines, this is fully plausible, and something you can do. That’s assuming you aren’t taking a few seconds to watch the realistic rain fall, the mud caking your boots, and your friends leaning out the windows like a couple of dimwits.
After all, you can always ditch them, parachute out of a plane and go through Bolivia to take on a sampling of the local goods. That includes finding hidden intel, interrogating a couple of enemies, and even finding a stash of some equipment for your load-outs. Just remember, silencers are your best friend, and they’ll be very useful to have while sneaking around.
However, one of the most important experiences remains hidden. Don’t forget to tag enemies, locales, and niceties they may like. Why? Sharing is caring and that is something you can’t forget. Whether it’s launching out a grenade, landing a plane, or simply just flying around, sampling everything is important while taking your friends on this tropical getaway. Mostly because the A.I. can’t appreciate the wacky things that’ll happen.
Closing Thoughts
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands left a lot to be desired from the Closed Beta. Whether it was from the character customization to the laughable moments of my team not flying out of a rolling over truck, Ghost Recon is back. However, if you’re a fan of the competitive side? You’ll have to hold your breath for now as competitive play was incognito from the Beta and could be until post-launch.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.