Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Wildlands Review. Available on Xbox One reviewed, PS4 and PCBuckle up, Ghost Recon veterans. How To Write Vmstat Output To A File there. Were a long way from Advanced Warfighter, and not just in terms of the 6. Ghost Squad Pc' title='Ghost Squad Pc' />Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter GRAW is a tactical shooter video game released for Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. Worlds Biggest Ghost Recon Fansite covering all titles from Wildlands to the original Ghost Recon with Forums, Downloads, News and moreMexico City to mountainous Bolivia. For all that it shares GRAWs third person view, recon drones and four man squad dynamics, Wildlands is another example of Ubisofts single minded dedication to large scale open world games. Tactics take a back seat, action grabs the wheel and the whole vehicles heading in a familiar direction Far Cry via Assassins Creed via Watch Dogs. Even then, Im not sure that even Ubisoft has delivered something this big, dumb or bombastic before. Poking holes in Wildlands isnt difficult. In fact, its on the fishbarrel, candybaby level of challenge. The storyline is every bit as clichd and stupid as you might expect, making you part of an elite unit working deep in drug cartel territory, taking down the cartel piece by piece. There are efforts at nuance, irony and satire, but these clash with the gung ho spirit of the action. Its as if Wildlands cant decide whether to be Bad Boys 2, Narcos or Sicario, so it just tries to be all of them at once. Theres also something really cheap and nasty about the way it uses brutality and violence, as if hanging corpses and tortured bodies represent nothing more than suitable set dressing for a villains lair. Theres nothing here you wont have seen in a Call of Duty, but so what Thats not exactly a byword for intelligent storytelling, either. Related Best Xbox One Games. There are problems with the gameplay, too. As we noted in the preview, Wildlands hints at a tactical dimension without ever really committing to it. Sure, you can use your binoculars or a drone to spot tangos, mark them for death and synchronise shots and theres something undeniably cool about pulling that off. Yet your enemies are dim witted, prone to dumb corner camping strategies and spectacularly unobservant, to the point that shooting a helicopter down so that it crashes into a narcotics farm wont necessarily stir the neighbourhood killers into action. Id say that theyre all high on their own supply, except theyre meant to be chewing coca, not nodding off on dope. Your AI controlled squad mates are made of sterner stuff, capable of blasting away baddies and reviving you when youre downed. However, they cant do much more than that, and its not long before your limited command set begins to feel like its holding you back. Beyond this there are minor technical issues that see dialogue from one mission appearing when you tackle a later one, or where a collision between a cartel soldier and an SUV might see an assault rifle sticking out of the bonnet for the duration of the ride. At one point, my protagonist was wondering around with a sniper rifle emerging from his chest, and couldnt shoulder it to take a shot. Bizarre and annoying. Ubigame haters will take their usual grumpy satisfaction in knowing that Ubisoft has once again stuffed a map full of side missions, systems and different collectibles without necessarily bothering to make them interesting or distinctive. Dont worry if you botch stealing medical supplies, hijacking that helicopter or grabbing and interrogating that cartel lieutenant another one will be along in a minute, and another one not too long after that. And why does a game where stealth and cover are so crucial have such dated systems for both The cover system isnt half as smart or flexible as The Divisions. Stealth wise, its comfortably behind both Assassins Creed and Watch Dogs. Related Best PS4 Games. In short, you might expect me to say I hate Ghost Recon Wildlands, but the horrifying truth is that I kind of love it. Why Well, it really comes down to a couple of things. Firstly, Bolivia. The world Ubisoft has created here is just vast, taking in a range of diverse environments and ecosystems mountains, jungles, swamplands, desert, shanty towns, military bases, cocaine factories and upscale lakeside resorts. Its fun to get around, too, whether youre sliding a dirt bike around the hairpin corners of some narrow, muddy mountain track, bouncing an SUV down a rocky hillside or racing a drug lords stolen sports car along the highways at ludicrous speeds. And thats just the land vehicles there are zodiacs and powerboats to speed around in, not to mention helicopters to hijack and planes to pinch. If youre a fan of stupid vehicle high jinx in a sandbox playground, youll love Wildlands and it all looks absolutely beautiful to boot. Secondly, Wildlands has a more addictive and engaging gameplay cycle than some recent Ubisoft open world games. Instead of finding towers to discover new collectibles and missions, you search for intel which will lead you to story missions where youll steadily frustrate the cartels plans. Bolivia has been carved up into regions, each with its own theme and its own cartel boss, and this gives each its own identity, so that youll end up smashing up casinos and running sex surveillance scams in one, then tracking down gold caches and fighting a weird, witchy cult in another. At times, Wildlands feels like a bunch of different episodes crammed together, but with the caveat that you can flit between them just by getting in a car or leaping in a helicopter. Related Destiny 2 latest news. While Wildlands cant match The Divisions compulsive shoot, loot and upgrade cycle, you can still enjoy levelling up, unlocking new skills and abilities and discovering and modifying guns, taking them apart piece by piece using the Gunsmith interface Ubi introduced with Ghost Recon Future Soldier to tweak each and every one for your own style of play. Most of all, though, Wildlands gets the action right. Driving around like a maniac, blasting away at cartel goons is a lot of fun. Sneaking through the swamplands to find hidden prototype drug mule submarines can be tense and exciting, as you pick off your enemies from a distance while dodging hunting copters. The same goes for infiltrating military bases, instructing your team to take out snipers while you search for a lurking cartel boss. Even at its silliest or most clichd, Wildlands is wildly entertaining. If thats true played solo, it hits a new level when you bring in other players. The whole shebang is designed for four player co op play, and you can join with friends or activate the automated matchmaking at any time you like. Its flexible, too. It doesnt matter if all four of you are fighting in different provinces or if two of you run one mission while the other two run another Wildlands is cool with that. The automated matchmaking does its best to pair you with players that have similar play styles, at a similar level and with similar objectives on the go, so if you cant play with friends the ideal option playing with strangers shouldnt be a waste of time. Related Best PC Games. Of course, it doesnt always work out. Sometimes you can find yourself tackling the same infiltrate and abduct mission over and over with some moron triggering the insta fail alarm every time. At other times one player will pull down an army on your head before quitting out to leave you alone to face the music. But when youre playing with friends or with a great bunch of strangers, Wildlands can be one part ridiculous to two parts sublime.