GHOST RECON: FUTURE SOLDIER (X360)
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Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Ubisoft (Paris; Red Storm; Romania). Released: May 2012. Genre: Third-person shoot 'em up. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 28th May 2013. By Shane Battams © 2013 |
Ever since its Xbox 360 debut, the Ghost Recon franchise has enjoyed great success on next-gen platforms. Advanced Warfighter still remains one of the standout games on the system, and while GRAW2 felt more like an expansion than a true sequel, it still was enjoyable. It’s been five years since GRAW2, and repeated delays have left Future Soldier cooking in the proverbial oven for three years. Some may believe this will bring Future Soldier out with a crisp taste, but sadly gamers are instead left with a slightly burnt turkey, missing most of the meat which made Ghost Recon one of the best tactical shooters in the business, though it’s still somewhat edible, especially if you like to play in groups.
Future Soldier opens to a grim scene, as gamers witness a ghost team being killed by a dirty bomb. What follows is a tale of revenge mixed with real world conflicts, as a motley crew of ghost soldiers attempt to track down the source of this dirty bomb while preventing a war between the US and Russia. Much like the soldiers you play as, the story here hides in the shadows. It also doesn’t have much impact, bar the opening moments. The banal depiction of the ghosts through cut-scenes which bookend each mission serve only as distraction, and fail to reach a level of narrative excellence. Then again, the story has never been the selling point of Ghost Recon.
Those who loved the last two games should feel comfortable with Future Soldier’s mechanics – and not necessarily due to them being overly-familiar. Ubisoft opted to streamline a lot in this instalment. Levels are a lot more confined, feeling more like a series of corridors in comparison to the spacious and tactical battlefields of the previous games. Perhaps the most streamlined mechanic is the squad commands. Now you can’t even move teammates: instead you simply highlight targets or order squad mates to heal when others are downed. It removes many of the tactical opportunities seen in previous games, consequently diluting the series’ identity. The squad A.I. is competent though, and the enemy A.I. can be vicious when it comes to flanking. That being said, hardcore ghosts should prep themselves for a more straightforward experience.
No, you're clearly not clear. Unless you're shooting your friend
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Locked in combat, but I don't rate the guy in the background's chances
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Given that it bears the subtitle Future Soldier, Ghosts come equipped with some fancy new gear; the most notable being the Active Camouflage. Think of Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, though you can be detected at close range and it doesn’t work when shooting or standing up. It allows a lot more freedom when it comes to stealth, but it also becomes a mechanic you can rely on to carry you through the game. Worse is the Sync Shot feature, which allows players to mark four targets to be taken out at the same time. At first, it’s satisfying to watch the slow-mo effect, but it becomes a crutch which can be easily lent on to avoid challenging gunfights. The injection of opposing squads with similar weaponry (including camo suits) later in the game does increase the challenge somewhat, but most should have little trouble even on Elite difficulty.
Though unsatisfying, at least there’s a fair bit to go around. The campaign passes the 10 hour mark, which is longer than most equivalent games these days. Challenges and an end-level scoring system encourage repeat plays, but some of the challenges border on silly, such as knifing 40 soldiers in one level. One other nice touch is being able to play the entire campaign with three other players – a first for the series. A lack of split-screen is disappointing, but nevertheless, co-op does bring with it some extra enjoyment. There’s also another co-op mode called Guerrilla, which challenges players to last for 50 waves. It’s familiar territory, but Ghost Recon-touches make the mode fun despite its derivativeness.
Multiplayer has always been a central component to the series, and here it is mostly a solid affair provided you get some buddies and form a squad. All match types are objective-based, though they vary between one another. Saboteur challenges you to blow up the other team’s base while Conflict throws objective after objective and the team who secures it must then defend it. Tying all the games together is a ranking system which rewards you in the form of weapon attachment unlocks through credits. You also gain rewards after specific ranks, rewarding dedication to one class. Maps are well designed, the ranking system does a good job of encouraging repeated playing and, through post-release patches, online games have sturdy connections. It’s okay to play as a lone wolf, but the game is most fun when you work with friends in smaller squads.
Though unsatisfying, at least there’s a fair bit to go around. The campaign passes the 10 hour mark, which is longer than most equivalent games these days. Challenges and an end-level scoring system encourage repeat plays, but some of the challenges border on silly, such as knifing 40 soldiers in one level. One other nice touch is being able to play the entire campaign with three other players – a first for the series. A lack of split-screen is disappointing, but nevertheless, co-op does bring with it some extra enjoyment. There’s also another co-op mode called Guerrilla, which challenges players to last for 50 waves. It’s familiar territory, but Ghost Recon-touches make the mode fun despite its derivativeness.
Multiplayer has always been a central component to the series, and here it is mostly a solid affair provided you get some buddies and form a squad. All match types are objective-based, though they vary between one another. Saboteur challenges you to blow up the other team’s base while Conflict throws objective after objective and the team who secures it must then defend it. Tying all the games together is a ranking system which rewards you in the form of weapon attachment unlocks through credits. You also gain rewards after specific ranks, rewarding dedication to one class. Maps are well designed, the ranking system does a good job of encouraging repeated playing and, through post-release patches, online games have sturdy connections. It’s okay to play as a lone wolf, but the game is most fun when you work with friends in smaller squads.
Ah, nothing like a good old gun rotisary
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Dressing up as Daredevil proved a poor choice of camouflage
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The Advanced Warfighter games were praised for their visuals, but Future Soldier falls short in this regard. Some things are pretty, such as the detailed environments, impressive explosions and smooth frame-rate, but a lot of FS looks flat. Lighting is much duller in compared to previous games, characters lack detail in some spots and the in-game engine cut-scenes look poor. The CG cut-scenes between each scene are somehow worse, looking like something that jumped out of 2006. The audio is a bit better, with powerful weapons and some nice touches like the whirring sound of bullets. Voice-work is bland however, adding no character to the story whatsoever, and the music is mostly non-existent.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier falls short of the lofty standards set by its predecessors. Ubisoft has attempted to streamline the experience in order to appeal to a wider audience, as levels feel more straightforward and squad tactics are rendered almost non-existent. Though that’s disappointing, what’s worse is the implementation of both Active Camouflage and Sync-Shots, both of which reduce gunfights to tensionless slogs. The game wins points for appealing to the multiplayer crowd though, with extensive co-op features and a solid online component. Perhaps, then, it is easier to recommend to those looking for a new game to spread between their friends, and anyone looking for a functional shooter may enjoy a cheap purchase. But hardcore Ghost Recon fans will come away disappointed.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier falls short of the lofty standards set by its predecessors. Ubisoft has attempted to streamline the experience in order to appeal to a wider audience, as levels feel more straightforward and squad tactics are rendered almost non-existent. Though that’s disappointing, what’s worse is the implementation of both Active Camouflage and Sync-Shots, both of which reduce gunfights to tensionless slogs. The game wins points for appealing to the multiplayer crowd though, with extensive co-op features and a solid online component. Perhaps, then, it is easier to recommend to those looking for a new game to spread between their friends, and anyone looking for a functional shooter may enjoy a cheap purchase. But hardcore Ghost Recon fans will come away disappointed.
VERDICT
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Visual: 6/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 6/10 Longevity: 8/10 OVERALL: 6/10 |