Ghost Recon: Future Soldier First Impressions Review

Introduction

Video Review

Gameplay Overview

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There were a few elements that stuck out to us during gameplay and were different than other Ghost Recon and most military third-person shooter games. It was hard to return fire when being shot at in between cover spots because your line of vision on the screen decreases as shots are fired toward you. You will also have the option of using a new type of camouflage - "optical camouflage" - that can be a bit tricky to take advantage of. Players can activate it by simply crouching down We found that once we shot toward an enemy or made movement from room to room, we were no longer under the camouflage's protection. Perhaps it will take more time spent with Ghost Recon to master this feature.

Another feature, which needs to be attained during gameplay, was "X-Ray view". This view allows you to see through close-range objects and shoot enemies that are waiting behind a car or large object. We thought this feature was especially helpful when "marking" targets for members of your team because inaccurate fire will bring in enemy reinforcements.

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This third-person shooter game offers 52 weapons - such as exotic assault rifles, pistols, shotguns and submachine guns - each with 10 different customization points (for example, you can change the trigger type or gun length). These guns, both American and Russian, are acquired with credits via in-game achievements such as killing a certain amount of men with a specific type of gun. There are also a number of different grenades that you can choose from if you want to dial up an enemy target from long distance. We didn't seem to have too many issues shooting with accuracy and switching between guns while on the move.

Controls

As mentioned above, we had trouble using the optical camouflage feature at times because we weren't sure when it was going to turn on and off. Aside from that, we thought {{product.name}} had solid, user-friendly controls.

Multiplayer

You can switch between single and multiplayer, up to four players total, and developers told us at PAX East that they want gameplay to be the same whether it's just you playing or your friends are included as well. In multiplayer, you can choose between the rifleman (access to assault rifles and light machine guns), scout (sniper rifles), or engineer (shotguns).

Storytelling

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Ghost Recon's storytelling didn't seem to be the most important aspect of the game. Your four-man independent squad will travel to Norway, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to take on an enemy (called "ultranationalists") that took control of Russia and are invading neighboring countries. You will have control of Kozak, who's a commando flanked by three other Ghosts: an engineer (Bones), 30K (reconnaissance expert), and Pepper (sniper). Acquiring new weapons and how you approach decision-making between Kozak and the other three Ghosts seemed more critical to the user than the actual story of Ghost Recon.

Art Design

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We wouldn't define {{product.name}}'s design qualities as revolutionary, but Ubisoft did a solid job of capturing Russian and Middle Eastern landscapes. Though the camouflage view was a cool feature, it wasn't anything we hadn't seen before image-wise.

Sound Design

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While Kozak's narration voice may be a bit too gritty (or creepy) for some, the game's sounds were generally in line with that of a third-person shooter.

Conclusion

After a five-year delay in between Ghost Recon games, Videogame Ghost Recon is coming to a game store near you. It does have some new bells and whistles, but nothing that will knock your socks off. Users should expect a solid third-person shooter that gives them a wide variety of tools to use and realistic surroundings. Videogame Ghost Recon will be available to XBOX and Playstation3 users on May 22.