Tom clancy's ghost recon wildlands review
If not for the third-person viewpoint and the squad-based gameplay, this game could easily be mistaken for another Far Cry entry in terms of setting and themes. Arguably one of Ubisoft’s most ambitious sandbox playgrounds to date, it rivals Kyrat and the Rook Islands entries in terms of its size and stature. Wildlands is very much rooted in the present day, trading in its weaponised inventiveness for a bigger map. It makes chasing up all of side missions feel like nothing more than busy work to extend the life of the game. However, many of these items outlive their usefulness quickly and aside from the occasional difficult story mission, you can get by with nothing more than the basics and a little patience. As the game progresses and you work your way up the skill tree, you’ll have access to perks that will enhance your drone, make your team more robust and improve the effectiveness of your weapons. Interrogating cartel members can provide you with valuable intel for side missionsCompleting side missions for the rebels such as tagging supply caches or intercepting convoys will give you skill points that can be traded in for additional tools and upgrades, but don’t expect the futuristic vision of warfare that we’ve seen before in the likes of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Stealth maybe the favoured option, but winning an all-out firefight can prove to be just as satisfying. Taking equal inspiration from both stealth masterclass Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and the explosively bonkers Just Cause, this is a game that can be rewarding no matter what mood you’re in. As and how you approach each mission is of course up to you, but with a range of stealth and reconnaissance toys at your disposal, planning ahead is a must whether you plan on sneaking up on your targets or kicking in the front door. It’s an approach seen before in the likes of Watch Dogs or Assassin’s Creed, albeit in a very different sandbox environment. Flushing out Santa Blanca leadership requires you to chase down intel and interrupt regional operations to the point where lieutenants have no choice but to rear their ugly heads. Developed by Ubisoft Paris, this is a game that has more in common with other Ubi-franchises than it does with its own lineage. Throw in a generous helping of experience gathering, weapons collecting and skill-building side missions and you’ve got yourself all the makings of a traditional Ubisoft scavenger hunt in the making. As the leader of the four-man Ghost unit, your goal is to systematically assassinate or capture each one of these deputies and climb your way up the corporate ladder, so to speak, in order to gain access to the big boss man himself and put an end to his drug-peddling shenanigans for good. “…and here we have a lovely two-bed apartment overlooking the spirits of the dead.”Each of Bolivia’s provinces is ruled with an iron fist by one of El Sueño’s underlings. Only after one of their undercover operatives is killed in an embassy bombing, does the CIA dispatch Ghost Squad to exact its revenge, by restoring stability to the country and dismantling this drug empire one capo at a time. Under the watchful eye the pious kingpin El Sueño, the Santa Blanca cartel has finely tuned its operation to run like clockwork, with not even a local rebel insurgency being able to throw a cog in its well-oiled cocaine producing machine. Ghost Recon: Wildlands continues the patriotic tradition of the Tom Clancy franchise by reimagining the South American country as the world leader of the drug trade. It’s easy to understand why the real life Bolivian government has expressed its disgust at the game’s depiction of their country. It’s an abhorrent situation that, in true Tom Clancy fashion, can only be resolved by shooting now and asking questions later. A toxic cocaine industry poisons the country from within, turning this scenic utopia into a gangster’s paradise. Card-carrying cartel members loiter on every bridge, street corner and fork in the road while a corrupt government turns a blind eye.
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But look a little closer and you’ll realise that this is a nation trembling in fear. A picturesque postcard containing plush forestry, calm lakes and majestic mountain ranges that stretch as far as the eye can see.