History of Ghost Recon (2001 - 2019)

this video is brought to you by AMD welcome back everybody my name is Nick 9:30 and to celebrate the upcoming release of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon break point I want to share with you the complete history of Costa Rica [Music] [Music] Ghost Recon is a third-person tactical military shooter franchise created by Red Storm entertainment published by Ubisoft and endorsed by the late American novelist Tom Clancy in each game first control squad called the ghosts fictional special forces unit capable of infiltrating enemy territory using sophisticated tactics the franchise is known for its outdoor environments one-shot kills and squad based tactical combat though has seen a major transformation over the course of the past eighteen years with newer entries embracing more action-based elements the series has seen a noticeable decline in quality throughout its lifetime with several different developers and ports failing to truly understand what made the series great to begin with but has since started to clamor back into the limelight with a slight return to more realistic elements and a greater emphasis on non-linearity and player choice so how exactly did the Ghost Recon franchise get to where it is today well to properly answer that let's start by looking how the series started back in the early 2000s in 1998 a small game development studio called Red Storm Entertainment released the landmark tactical shooter game Rainbow six which not only helped to establish the studio's place in the industry but also helped to redefine the tactical shooter genre with its introduction of a one-shot kill mechanic and realistic atmosphere the title was a monumental success and after a few expansions that success attracted the attention of the up-and-coming game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment who acquired the studio in the year 2000 during this acquisition Red Storm was hard at work on a brand new IP built around a similar realistic gameplay aesthetic as rainbow but with a much larger scope instead of the small corridors and indoor environments of rainbow Red Storm 1 in this new IP to embrace comput in March open spaces players need to use the terrain and adaptive squad tactics to defeat the enemy the result was 2000 once Ghost Recon a game that redefined the tactical squad based shooter Ghost Recon story consists of similar plot elements - most of Tom Clancy's work including a focus on covert operations and large-scale geopolitical conflict while the original game story is complex when compared to games today the general gist of the plot is that a of ultra-nationalists in Russia take control the Russian government and proceed to threaten stability in the region in order to prevent the situation from escalating further the united states sent in the ghosts who proceeded to knock out hostile military installations capture high-profile targets and stop the formation of a new soviet union the story is told between each mission with lengthy briefing voice recordings maps and texts while providing insight into what the players objective is and how it influences the overarching story and while the narrative isn't directly written by Clancy the general concepts and ideas are fairly consistent with his writings after being briefed on the objective players are then presented with a squad setup screen in the setup screen players can choose from a selection of soldiers each belonging to different classes riflemen support demolitions and sniper each of these classes limits the character to a few different loadouts with riflemen getting basic m16s and grenade launchers while support soldiers have bulky LMGs and heavy armor players can assign up to six soldiers across three different squads in any order or configuration that they like each character also comes with unique starting stats that impact their accuracy detection range survivability and leadership all of which can be upgraded with combat points upon surviving each mission if a character is killed in combat they won't be available to assign later and all their awards and stat increases will be lost as well this screen is critical to Ghost Recon as a smart configuration of squad leaders specific class types and character stats can greatly affect the success rate of the mission after players are done setting up their squads they are then dropped into the game world and tasked with completing objectives while defeating brutally difficult enemies centuries unlike typical shooter games ghosts recons bullets are incredibly lethal a single round can kill any member of the players team meaning map knowledge and careful reconnaissance is key to keeping the ghosts alive unlike rainbow ghost recon doesn't have an actual planning phase meaning players are encouraged to make quick calls to their team based on the situation using the in-game command map first can select individual squads and issue a series of orders which can be executed to flank enemy hard points and avoid deadly ambushes this command system is so effective that it's possible to spend several minutes plotting out battle plans and then sit back and watch as the AI completes the mission on their own though for more complex actions like clearing up rooms or taking out high-value targets player input is advised fresh can take to reckon shoul of any of their squad members with a first-person perspective and can sprint crouch go prone lean to the sides open doors and zoom in for long range engagements to keep the game more realistic Ghost Recon forces players to stand still to drastically improve their weapon accuracy with the edges of the crosshair converging inwards to indicate reduce bullet spread this along with the incredibly low time to kill and severe punishment for losing a squad mate in battle makes Ghost Recon a brutally challenging tactical shooter game to help make the experience even more interesting Ghost Recon also features several online multiplayer modes including cooperative play and squad based competitive action visually ghost recon isn't very much to look at today the game's geometry is basic and there's no first-person weapon model visible to the player but at the time Ghost Recon features some impressive technical achievements including realistic lighting effects intricate character animations and some nice reflective services on the streets in one of the later levels the presentation was a huge leap Ford from red storms previous projects and demonstrated the benefit of their new partnership with Ubisoft Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon was met with generally positive review scores with many applauding the game for his intense tactical action and challenging yet addictive gameplay the game sold more than 400,000 units within the first year of release it went on to win both IGN and PC gamers game of the year in 2001 also helping cement the franchise as a major part of Red Storm and ubisoft's catalog after the success of the PC release Red Storm released several ports of their game for other platforms including the Mac OS X Xbox and the PlayStation 2 though these versions of the game weren't received nearly as well with many faulting the console releases for having awkward controls less squads to command and significally a weaker visual design than both the PC version and other games released around the same time a year later Red Storm released the first of two major expansions for Ghost Recon on the PC called Ghost Recon desert siege desert siege add some new multiplayer maps and weapons in addition to a brand new single-player campaign experience this new campaign takes place in the desert regions of air trauma an african nation has taken over by ethiop militants to keep the Ethiopian military from destabilizing the region further the US military deploys the coast once again this expansion is essentially more of the same tactical action only with new character models and a drastically different biome requiring players to adapt using less natural cover and complete more challenging objectives desert siege was only ever officially released for the PC and Mac platform though the new campaign was also included in the PlayStation 2 port of Ghost Recon a few months later Red Storm released their second Matrix panshin titled island thunder which again introduced some new multiplayer modes maps and a new campaign in a new jungle biome Island Thunder takes place in Cuba after the incorrectly predicted death of Fidel Castro in 2006 in order to protect democracy and prevent another communist ruler from using violence to ensure his victory in the elections the US government sends in the ghost island Thunder doesn't do much different but does allow players to explore board jungle environments requiring more careful movement and planning than any of the previous campaigns this expansion was initially only released for the PC but was then released as a standalone expansion for the Xbox a year later PlayStation 2 players never received a standalone expansion but were instead greeted with jungle storm in 2004 which not only contained all the campaign missions in island thunder but also comes with its own unique campaign set in Colombia involving a terrorist drug cartel overall these expansions received a mixed response the desert sage and Island Thunder expansions on PC were met with positive scores matching the reception of the original Ghost Recon but the reception to the console releases weren't nearly as positive either way Ghost Recon was a hit and with Ubisoft's huge success with their new splitter sell property running in parallel a sequel to the Ghost Recon franchise only helped to strengthen the growing Tom Clancy brand after the positive reception to the first game Ennis expansion packs the team at Red Storm began working on a direct sequel simply titled Ghost Recon - Ghost Recon - aimed to build off of the criticisms made to the first game while trying to retain the tense tactical warfare that fans loved the first criticism they addressed were the graphics thanks to the rapidly evolving graphics at the time Red Storm was able to implement significantly improved visuals including more believable outdoor environments advanced character animations and much better physics that allowed for new ragdoll death animations and dynamic debris Red Storm also implemented a unique over-the-shoulder camera design a simplified squad command system and improvements to the games online multi-part component making it one of red storms most ambitious projects today but unlike the previous title Red Storm and Ubisoft agreed to design this game primarily for the Xbox platform likely a response to software piracy in the early 2000s a PC port was initially planned as well but sadly never saw the light of day and Ghost Recon 2 final assault released exclusively for the Xbox November 18 2004 Ghost Recon 2 takes place in the year 2011 with a rogue North Korean military attempting to seize control of Chinese territory causing massive instability in the region to prevent the situation from getting out of hand the ghosts are once again called upon and tasked with disrupting the rogue general jung and his forces in north korea the narrative and Ghost Recon 2 is handled much differently from its predecessor with new high quality FMV cutscenes between missions that describe the events - a documentary special called modern heroes which features interviews from members of the ghost squad including series newcomer captain Scott Mitchell this introduction of actual characters into the story rather than the expendable grunts from the first game helps to add a more human element to the action it provides players with a unique perspective on the situation rather than just following orders blindly during the gameplay for example squad mates can be heard discussing the mission and communicating more naturally though the focus is still primarily on high-intensity combat in action Ghost Recon 2 is a vastly different game than its predecessor when it comes to the actual gameplay the most important distinction here is the new third-person over-the-shoulder camera design a landmark feature that predates resin evil for a game that is often credited for popularizing the design thanks to this new camera can now see their soldier on screen in relation to cover and more properly adjust their position to avoid incoming fire for purists who prefer the crosshair only first person camera of the first game the viewpoint can also be changed back to first person players can still run crouch go prone and zoom in to shoot distant enemies but Ghost Recon 2 also allows players to swap between shoulders and even roll to the side allowing for quick aim adjustment when trying to neutralize a target that's just out of reach another major change is to the design of the missions themselves well the original game was built as a sort of tactical sandbox with much larger environments to explore in any direction players wanted the sequel is much more restricted with more linear paths to and from objectives and much less of an emphasis on careful planning players no longer can control multiple squads from a map screen but are instead forced to play only as Captain Scott Mitchell and control a single squad of soldiers with much simpler real-time tactical maneuvers using a convenient Comoros command button bars can issue direct orders to squad mates based on the position of the players crosshair this allows the player to easily coordinate regroups flanking maneuvers and suppressing cover fire while the AI typically can handle themselves most the combat in action nav relies primarily on the player's own combat capabilities requiring them to find solid cover and good positions to engage hostels while still a brutally challenging game Ghost Recon 2's health was redesigned slightly to be more forgiving with negative effects from being wounded like having to limp around being removed instead of squad members dying instantly they now enter a down state requiring a revive from either the player or other stable squad mates players however are still incredibly fragile and unlike the previous game being killed results in an immediate game over with no way to control the other members of the squad Ghost Recon su also introduces ammo crates new enemy helicopters neut defensive objectives solo operations which drop squad play entirely and replace it with a sophisticated gun that can aim around corners and an expanded multiplayer mode with 16 player online competitive battles across Xbox Live visually Ghost Recon 2 was a major step board for the series character models were improved dramatically with more impressive animations and ragdoll physics allowed enemies to soar through the air after being killed by explosions other improvements include refined lighting an increase to the amount of environmental detail like foliage and debris and much larger draw distances even though the players movement is more restricted than before Ghost Recon see when the Xbox was met with solid critical reception with reviewers praising Red Storm for the improvement to the narrative and the intense third-person combat however at the same time many faulted the game for its often poor performance in addition to the incredibly inconsistent artificial intelligence sometimes resulting in teammates failing to flank properly and getting stuck standing out in the open still Ghost Recon 2 sold extremely well and Ubisoft managed to move over 1.4 million copies within the first few months a year later a standalone expansion called summit strike release for the Xbox and featured more open-ended environments and snowy valleys and mountain sides this expansion was also received positively and continued to build on the legacy of the Ghost Recon franchise with a stronger online community a continued emphasis on tactical squad play and an increased focus on faster paced action Ghost Recon 2 marks a major turning point for the franchise as the more accessible console market and intense third-person combat became to influence decisions to future titles moving forward but the Xbox wasn't the only platform to receive a Ghost Recon 2 in 2004 only a few weeks after the Xbox version Ghost Recon 2 first-contact released for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube a despite featuring nearly identical box art is a drastically different experience than its Xbox counterpart first contact serves as a prequel to the Xbox title it takes place in 2007 with the ghosts having just been deployed to North Korea after a missile launch from an NK battery sinks a US Navy ship called the USS Walsh the very same incident used as a catalyst for the Korean conflict in 2005 Splinter Cell chaos theory in response the ghosts are tasked with taking down general Jung and a subordinate general paik before they can fire missiles at South Korea and other nearby ally nations unlike the Xbox version this game's story is structured more like the original game with mission briefings and loading screens helping to explain the goal of each mission squad members chat a little bit but it's not quite as common and the focus seems to lean more heavily towards the gameplay though the idea that the story is directly linked to the Splinter Cell series does add a great amount of depth to the narrative especially for players that are fans of both series the gameplay also features a few unique elements unlike the Xbox version first context mission sure is even more linear with pathways being completely straightforward offering little to no way around scripted firefights with enemies the player still controls captain Mitchell using a third-person over-the-shoulder camera but the camera is zoomed in slightly more and the combat feels slightly more satisfying with bullets feeling more lethal and suspended firing causing a unique grayscale effect as smoke lingers in the air to account for the more linear level designs first contact squad commands are slightly different with no available flanking options but instead first can order their squad to throw a barrage of grenades to neutralize enemy hard points another unique feature is the ability to use a compatible PlayStation 2 headset and directly issue voice commands to order squad members around the game's voice recognition isn't the most reliable but it's certainly a unique feature that is rarely featured in games today the defensive missions aren't quite as intense as the Xbox version though first contact does still include the challenging solo missions equipping players with an advanced Arsenal and an underbarrel air burst grenade launcher unfortunately the prototype camera attached to the gun to target enemies around corners is not available in the prequel players utilizing the PlayStation 2 network adapter could also log online and play competitively in large-scale battles though because of the hardware limitations the panels were not nearly as impressive as the Xbox version and the game's camera view is forced into first person instead similar to the original game visually first contact is an obvious step down from the enhanced visuals of the Xbox version environments are smaller and vegetation isn't quite as expansive however first contact does still feature the enhanced physics and is also the first title in the series to be built on the Unreal Engine as opposed to red storms own proprietary engine ghostery consumed on the PlayStation 2 was met with mixed critical reception reviewers knocked the game for its lackluster visual presentation poor performance poly designed AI and uninspired level design like many Ubisoft games in the early 2000s the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions were not able to keep up with the more powerful Hardware of the Xbox and because of this the lead platform for the planned follow-up Ghost Recon 3 would once again target the Xbox moving in 2005 Ghost Recon 3 had begun full development but the team brainstorming ways to reinvigorate the franchise and stand out from the crowd of hundreds of other modern military shooter games at around the same time inspired by the real-life weaponry and the experimental arsenal that appeared in Ghost Recon 2 the team at Red Storm decide that Ghost Recon 3 we need to push forward into the future a bit more and have the ghost squad make use of high-end gear to best their enemies this shift in design philosophy resulted in a drastic redesign for the ghost squad themselves turning them away from being a team of highly trained spec ops into a small legendary squad of super soldiers this new vision for Ghost Recon forever changed the direction of the franchise as enhanced gadgets for man squads and intense cover based action all became synonymous with the IP as work continued into the later half of 2005 the planned PC port of Ghost Recon 2 was cancelled and Ubisoft instead hired several alternate teams of developers to work out ports of the upcoming 3rd entry while Red Storm focused on the lead Xbox 360 project finally in fall of 2005 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was revealed with a cinematic trailer showcasing the redesigned ghost squad and highlighting their newly upgraded Arsenal and the new urban environment the game was released a year later for several different platforms including the Xbox 360 PC Xbox and Playstation 2 and despite each version sharing the same box art they all differ from each other significantly so first let's talk about the main Xbox 360 version created in-house by Red Storm Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter takes place in Mexico City during the then futuristic Year of 2013 in an effort to reduce the drug and weapon trafficking coming out of the city the Canadian Prime Minister and US president arranged a summit with the Mexican president only to be interrupted by a sudden coup d'etat in response the ghost led by Captain Scott Mitchell or sent in to rescue the world leaders and put a stop to the coup before the situation gets out of hand the plot this time around feels slightly more involved thanks to the new in-game display that shows characters talking directly to the player but the documentary style cutscenes are replaced within HUD news feeds demonstrating the impact of the action on the world this new style of storytelling to keep the player in the action rather than being stuck watching cutscenes between each mission and vomit still retains that iconic Tom Clancy style of writing the plot overall feels a bit less complex and more cinematic as a result but advanced warfighters most notable change is to its gameplay design draw on the 360 is a third-person over-the-shoulder shooter game with even less of an emphasis on tactical gameplay and a heavier focus on intense combat and cover based mechanics player control is improved drastically with faster player speeds and the ability to snap to cover and peek around corners to engage targets the comma rose from the previous game is no longer available and in its place is a new smart order system that will change the order based on the position of the players crosshair if a player wants to move their squad to a specific point they simply need to look at the location they want them to move and press a single button with blue HUD elements showing their designated location first can also tag specific hostile threats forcing AI teammates to focus their fire and suppress the enemy other changes include more urban environments with sprawling streets and alleyways littered with vehicles and hostile forces the levels in general feel even more linear often funneling players and to scripted events and combat scenarios some levels even feature on Rails sections where the player is forced to fire a Gatling gun from a Blackhawk to destroy enemy positions in convoys staying true to its name Advanced Warfighter features a number of high-tech gadgets including the futuristic heads-up display that displays diamonds over identified targets and a new personal UAV that can be used to scout enemy positions remotely although changes made to Advanced Warfighter push the Ghost Recon series towards being more action-oriented with frequent combat encounters and plenty of explosions though the core experience is still very much in line with previous entries players can still be killed family quickly if they're not careful and smart tactical squad movement can turn the tide of a difficult firefight the multiplayer also shares a lot in common with Ghost Recon 2 including more basic soldier models the same stiff controls and a return of the fan-favorite cooperative wave based survival mode thanks to the power of the Xbox 360 Advanced Warfighter looks substantially better than his predecessor with completely reworked character animations and models more advanced lighting and shadow and a greater emphasis on special-effects performance is also much more stable improved further on the latest Xbox one X platform thanks to the backwards compatibility feature but for players still yearning for the incredibly challenging old-school tactical gameplay of the older games there's the Windows port of Advanced Warfighter created by the game developers grin known today as overkill software this version despite sharing the same name is completely different from the main Xbox 360 version instead of having the option to swap between third or first-person growl on the PC is completely first-person and also features unique level designs a more advanced command map screen and a much more challenging campaign experience the enemies in this version of grah are much more challenging often killing players and AI teammates with a single burst binning players will need to carefully plan out movements using the command map and spot as many hostels as possible using the available tools players can slide into a crouch aim down their sights peak manually around corners and can customize their weapons with preferred attachments like scopes suppressors and grips this version of gras also features some advanced top-of-the-line physics effects allowing for realistic destruction of vehicles and various environmental props alongside this port was a version built by Ubisoft Shanghai for the old gen consoles featuring a strange hybrid of the PC and Xbox 360 version with the first-person view point and more forgiving enemies to make the game more accessible this version featured much smaller levels and even reduced the size of the squads down to only two soldiers but it is important to note that this version of the game is also the first title created by Ubisoft Paris the same studio currently in charge of the Ghost Recon IP these ports of Advanced Warfighter received mixed reception with the PC version standing out a little bit more due to its classic design but still failing to elicit the same level of praise as the Xbox 360 version the 360 version received overwhelmingly positive review scores and sold nearly twice as well as Ghost Recon 2 with year-end projections nearing 2.4 million copies this made Advanced Warfighter the number one best-selling 360 title in 2006 beating out major titles like Call of Duty 3 Dead Rising and even Gears of War girl success is likely the reason why feature ghost week on games would aim to be simpler and more action-oriented as opposed to being tactical and overly challenging a creative decision that would change the series forever during a 2006 fiscal projection meeting Ubisoft unceremoniously announced a follow-up sequel to the previous game and confirmed that it would release in early 2007 this sequel simply called Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 expands on the core elements introduced in the 2006 game with a new campaign experience enhanced graphical design upgraded artificial intelligence and a few minor additions to the gameplay just like before gras 2 was built differently for various platforms with the xbox360 once again getting the third-person cover based shooting mechanics while the PC received a more hardcore first-person tactical experience however unlike the previous game got 2 also debuted on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable with the old gen platforms like the Xbox and Playstation 2 finally being left behind Advanced Warfighter 2 takes place immediately after the events of the previous game with the destruction of the coup and mexico city resulting in a civil war between nationalists and a growing insurgency to keep the insurgency from spreading across the border the ghosts are ordered to support the mexican loyalists and by themselves traveling around flores and the surrounding mountainous regions as the investigate rumors of a rebel own dirty bomb this game's plot shares a lot in common with the game before though the more rural environments do offer a nice change of pace from the dense city streets of Mexico City as far as the gameplay is concerned very few changes were made the most notable additions are a new squad medic that can heal teammates and new remotely controlled vehicles like the mule that not only can provide extra ammunition but can be used as mobile cover in open-ended environments other than that though the game is practically the same as growl 1 the player is able to run slide snap to cover and neutralize targets using high-end gear the PC version of the game still retains the same unique first-person perspective as before and along with the same new features introduced to the console version also sports improvements to the heads-up display that more easily translates to the player where friendly squad mates are set to regroup and take cover but regardless of which version you decide to play the more outdoor rural environments greatly change the pace of the experience with players need to make smarter use of their squad and assets to defeat the enemy aside from the addition of a unique cooperative campaign the multiplayer for both versions remains mostly unchanged as well with the same old-school Ghost Recon 2 style movement coupled with several new maps and modes but the popularity of the previous title helped to make draw twos online community one of the strongest in the series history likely inspiring a standalone multiplayer experience several years later gras 2 also benefits from some decent improvements to the visual design both the PC and Xbox 360 offers some nice graphical enhancements including much more realistic dynamic lighting effects improved character models and more varied environmental designs Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 was again met with high critical acclaim with many praising the graphics addicting gameplay and robust multi-part component the PC version was met with mixed reception again with many complaining that the artificial intelligence despite and previous to the command system would still get lost and stuck in the environment gras 2 once again made it into the top 10 best selling games of the air however 2007 also marked a major shift for the gaming industry with major releases like Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4 redefining industry standards with much larger and in-depth experiences this left the Ghost Recon franchise in an awkward position as the more realistic hardcore elements I made the series proper to begin with we're going out of style and the bulk of the growing gamer population fought to the more casual and accessible games instead in an effort to build off of Advanced Warfighter success Red Storm entertainment began working on a ghost recon 4 with more futuristic weaponry more intense combat and an overall more casual experience this new game given the working title Ghost Recon Future Soldier was set to release as early as 2010 but because of the massive shift in the game industry during this era and the threat of stiff market competition Red Storm and Ubisoft were forced to push the game into the next fiscal year marking the start of several delays that played the game's development while Red Storm and UB Paris continued to work on this next main line entry Ubisoft contracted various other teams to work on smaller projects in an effort to keep the IP relevant the first of these side projects was the PlayStation Portable release titled Ghost Recon predator predator takes place in Sri Lanka where the ghosts are sent in to investigate a terrorist attack on nearby American freighters predator takes the solid third-person combat mechanics of the Xbox 360 warfighter games and scales them down to function with the PSP's limited control scheme to account for the lack of a second joystick for example levels are designed to be more linear and flat reducing the need for precision aiming the game's difficulty was also scaled back considerably with the classic one-hit-kill system being removed entirely enemies now feature health bars prolonging firefights if players can now easily heal themselves with available health packs players can even accept optional side missions from local civilians introducing a slight RPG style approach to the experience predator was received poorly overall with many knocking the game for its lackluster presentation sloppy controls and major departure from the IP score identity and even bigger departure came with next-level games Ghost Recon for the Wii this game is played completely on Rails using the Wiis motion controllers players have almost no control in how they approach the mission and are instead thrown into a shooting gallery complete with infinite ammunition and an unexplained slow-motion ability as expected this game received abysmal reviews and maybe one of the lowest rated entries in the entire franchise by the end of 2010 the first of several delays for future soldier was announced pushing the game into a targeted spring 2011 release in anticipation of this release Ubisoft asked our newly formed Ubisoft Sofia studio to work on a Nintendo 3ds spin-off based in the same futuristic universe called ghost recon shadow wars shadow Bors offers another unique take on the franchise with a new top-down perspective and an interesting turn-based gameplay design surprisingly this spinoff managed to earn some positive reception when compared to the other titles released from endless time with reviewers praising the game for its tight design and controls though it still failed to deliver the same quality of storytelling an addictive multiplayer that fans have come to expect from the series meanwhile future soldier was still suffering from some major development problems forcing Ubisoft to once again push the game back this time into 2012 and even at one point cancelling the planned PC board finally after several delays and subpar spin-off titles Ghost Recon Future Soldier released in 2012 for Xbox 360 Playstation three and pc only a month later future soldier takes place in the year 2024 with a new generation of ghosts being deployed to the field and major scott mitchell taking command of the program but after our mission in nicaragua goes south resulting in the death of a ghost team mitchell sends in a new team of ghosts to investigate future soldier expands slightly on the narrative with more time dedicated to establishing the various characters any much bigger scope resulting in players travelling across the world to several different locations including South America Africa the Middle East and ultimately Russia the gameplay design shares a lot in common with the 360 version of Advanced Warfighter with a locked third-person camera and emphasis on cover based shooting and plenty of intense action in fact feature soldier is probably one of the most action-packed entries in the mainline series with the levels designed solely around moving from cover to cover like epics Gears of War series players can now more easily snap to cover with the press of a button rather than needing to walk into walls like in gras and general movement is much smoother and more responsive allowing for faster target acquisition and gunplay unfortunately feature soldier does not feature the return of the iconic squad command feature instead opting to put the player in the place of a basic squad member instead to make up for this future soldier introduces the sink shot to the series allowing players to manually target hostile enemies prior to engagement and then take them all down simultaneously with either player or AI controlled squad mates this mechanic is incredibly satisfying and works hand-in-hand with feature soldiers new self mechanics oddly enough the Ghost Recon series has not offered any sort of stealth based gameplay mechanics up to this point despite all the promotional material and game intros prior suggesting that silently dispatching enemies was a major pillar of the Ghost Recon program future soldier addresses this by offering options to not only dispatch enemies silently with suppressed firearms but also allows for silent melee takedowns players can also make use of a slew of futuristic hardware including adaptive camouflage a smaller more maneuverable quadrotor drone a sensor grenade to spot enemies to cover and occasionally the war hound a large walking robotic dog that can be used to fire a barrage of mortar rounds and missiles at enemies other changes include new cinematic on rail sequences at scripted points throughout the campaign hugely expanded weapon customization system allowing players to tweak practically every aspect of their weapons including triggers barrels scopes magazines stocks and skins future soldier also offers several multiplayer components including full 4 player campaign co-op a rebirth cooperative survival mode called guerilla mode and smaller scale competitive multiplayer requiring players to make use of covered in the environment and various available caches to come out on top visually Ghost Recon Future Soldier wasn´t improvement but not very competitive without the games in 2012 the character models are highly detailed with high resolution textures and advanced animations but things like explosions and blood splatter look no supply at a place and the smaller level environments broken up by repetitive door opening sequences feel like a major step back when considering the massive scale the environments in Advanced Warfighter Ghost Recon Future Soldier received generally positive reviews on par with previous mainline entries any publications like IGN pays the entry for it's smooth controls and plentiful content others fault of the game for failing to deliver the iconic tactical gameplay that the series was known for the PC version received even harsher criticism due to its sloppy porkchop that resulted in poor performance limited user settings and an unstable online component despite the numerous frustrating delays Ghost Recon Future Soldier still managed to deliver a solid experience but unfortunately the industry and the general gamer population had already begun to move on with future soldier only managing to sell about 800,000 copies in the first month marking a steep relative decline in this once-great franchise this obvious lack of interest in the IP forced Ubisoft to put the mainline series on hold and would explain why the series was eventually transformed into what it is now however the Ghost Recon franchise wasn't entirely dead back in 2011 Ubisoft confirmed that their Singapore studio was working on a competitive multiplayer experience in the Ghost Recon universe tailored specifically for Windows and the Wii U platform this project referred to then as Ghost Recon online ran into some similar robots to Future Soldier with frequent delays and confusion as to whether the game was still in development the game entered a beta phase for PC in spring of 2012 shortly after the release of future soldier by fall of 2012 Ubisoft confirmed that their focus had shifted entirely to the PC platform with no plans to bring the game to the Wii U anymore and after several updates and a final release in spring of 2014 the game was renamed it's a Ghost Recon phantoms phantoms offers no distinct campaign or story and is instead a free-to-play competitive shooter experience built heavily around the design of future soldiers multiplayer mechanics first could choose between three classes the assault specialist and recon all of which offered their own unique weapons and abilities like a riot shield or a cloaking device and all of which could be upgraded by earning points in game or by making purchases via an in-game store phantoms was met with mixed critical reception while the general idea behind the games seemed simple enough the pay2win aspects greatly hurt the overall balance making it sub players that spent literally thousands of dollars were able to completely dominate other players simply trying to play the game for free this game is pay2win model resulted in a steep decline in the average player base forcing the studio to shut the service down in late 2016 in the mid 2010 Red Storm entertainment drifted away from the ghost recon franchise to work on different IPS including collaborative work on games like Far Cry and the division this left Ubisoft Paris's studio to assume full responsibility for the main Ghost Recon titles moving forward immediately after work had wrapped up on Future Soldier Ubisoft decided to reassess the franchise analyzing its various strengths and weaknesses and experimented with ways to mesh the classic tactical shooter with their signature open-world experiences the result was 2017 s Ghost Recon wildlands the start of a completely new era for the Ghost Recon property wild lands takes place in modern-day Bolivia with a powerful drug cartel called the Santa Blanca having taken almost complete control of the region in response the US government deploys the ghost and task them with dismantling the cartel and their leader el Sueno players take control of a new team of ghosts led by series newcomer Nomad Nomad doesn't have much of a personality only chiming in occasionally during the rare dialogue sequence and serves more as a vehicle for the player to insert themselves into the narrative other characters include Karen Bowman a CIA operative and lead contact during the mission Peck Atari a rebel leader sent to assist in El sueño himself a vicious leader and one of the more memorable villains in the Ghost Recon franchise while this game is still technically canon the overall narrative feels like a fresh start for the Ghost Recon series and only ever mentions past events from older games as if they were urban legends outside of a few cutscenes that trigger after completing a major objective wildlands doesn't really spend too much time establishing its story prayers are instead challenged with creating their own stories based on their own personal gameplay experiences the gameplay in this entry is very different from the other games hers are now given the freedom to approach mission objectives any way they want bars that prefer to play stealthily for example can wait for the Sun to set so that the patrols are easier to bypass it can shoot out lights and knock out guards to remain unseen bears that prefer to engage from a safe distance can fly up to a high vantage point and snipe using a selection of high-powered sniper rifles all of which with varying amounts of bullet drop and four players that prefer a more direct approach they can always take their suppressors off and drive in guns blazing destroying everyone and everything in sight it's a much more freeform approach to the gameplay and one that rewards repeat playthroughs and experimentation wild lands playable area is absolutely massive and features the most diversity of any game in the series with dense jungles snowy mountain sides dry deserts and lake resorts collectively adding up to roughly 200 square kilometers to more easily traverse this huge environment whereas can now pilot several different types of vehicles many of which offer their own tactical advantages when on the ground the game handles a lot like classic Ghost Recon games with players able to perform most of the same functions the white sticky cover system from advanced warfare returns along with the simplified stealth detection mechanics and weapon customization from Future Soldier but wildlands also introduces a few cool new features like the ability to kidnap targets and hide them in the trunks of cars also new to wildlands is the extended progression system players now need to earn points to level up their character with level increases unlocking experience points that can be spent on improvements to stats and equipment like the new and improved drone many of these upgrades also require resources to unlock which can all be found throughout the game world encouraging players to risk sneaking into more dangerous territory or intercepting deadly convoys if players complete enough optional rebel side missions they'll also have access to rebel support options allowing for vehicle drops and even motor bombardments to help even the odds and while they serve no real gameplay purpose players are given the option to fully customize a character with hundreds of cosmetic options allowing players to really make the experience their own like every Ghost Recon before it wildlands features a squad of AI teammates that can be controlled using some basic Comoros command features however aside from performing the Future Soldier sync shot maneuver this squad is almost entirely useless and players are better off playing online with their friends through the fully integrated drop-in co-op feature Ubisoft also issued a number of free and paid updates throughout the game's lifetime to help expand on its content including small side missions involving other popular Tom Clancy game properties a mission featuring a showdown with the predator for some reason and a competitive multiplayer mode called ghost war that pits two squads of players against each other in an elimination style deathmatch complete with unique classes abilities and weapons all these changes combined with the more sandbox open-ended nature of the game allow for a completely new and unique Ghost Recon experience designed specifically to appeal to a variety of play styles visually wildlands marked an incredible leap forward in graphical technology thanks to the streamlined design of the anvilnext 2.0 game engine wildlands features a gigantic sprawling environment that would have otherwise not been possible the world is densely populated with an insane amount of vegetation high quality character models beautiful dynamic lighting effects and realistic weather simulation all helping to bring the fictional depiction of Bolivia to life Ghost Recon wildlands was met with a mix of average to positive reviews while critics praised the game for its solid gunplay emphasis on player choice and beautiful graphics many found the game to be repetitive and unpolished vehicles for example were criticized for their poor controls a major fault considering how often vehicles are needed to traverse the world and the game's story while more ambitious than past games in the series failed to live up to the industry norms Ghost Recon wildlands despite this mixed response still managed to sell extremely well even outselling major titles like breath of the wild and horizon zero dawn during their initial launch Ubisoft had taken a risky move moving the Ghost Recon series to the open-world space and while it wasn't perfect it still managed to become one of the fastest selling games under the Tom Clancy umbrella and that brings us to the upcoming Ghost Recon break point the latest in this nearly 20-year old tactical shooter franchise break point takes place in the near future estate year of 2023 on a fictional island in the Pacific called Aurora this island owned by the billionaire tech founder of the fictional Scout technology is home to several research and production facilities responsible for a fleet of private military drones but after an ex ghost in his paramilitary take control of the island they begin to use the facilities for themselves and use it to bolster their forces with drone base reinforcements players once again assume the role of nomads who was sent to the island to shut down the rogue ghost in his operation but after his chopper shot down the hunter is turned into the hunted as a highly advanced squad of soldiers called the wolves begin to hunt nomad and his go squat down according to the writer of the game breakpoint will explore themes of pain and mental exhaustion and we'll take players out of their comfort zone of air support and superior firepower it put them more on the defensive breakpoint features some drastically reword gameplay mechanics including an emphasis on survival and a new design based around RPG light elements the player level system used in wild lands returns in breakpoint and not only determines when players can unlock new abilities in the skill tree but also will determine the player's effectiveness against more challenging enemies enemies in a higher level zone for example will now be more lethal killing players with a single shot and taking more shots to kill when in active combat that being said high-level enemies can still be killed with a single shot to the head when they're not alerted preserving the popular stuff mechanics introduced in future soldier breakpoints survival mechanic someone necessarily require players to drink and eat to stay alive but will instead offer buffs for players that decide to do so fast travel points now serve as optional campsite locations to set up a bivouac where players can consume items to increase their stamina or damage resistance for a short time breakpoint also removes the needless weapon scavenger hunt from wild lands and instead offers players an alternate in-game store where weapons attachments and cosmetic items can be purchased from a vendor in a large safe sound similar to the player hub used in destiny and the division other new features include a cool new camouflage ability to hide from enemy patrols the ability to pick up bodies and carry wounded teammates to safety and an improved presentation but don't take my word for it Ghost Recon breakpoint is currently available to play this weekend in an open beta so be sure to check it out for yourself and don't forget to check back next week for a detailed comparison and full review when the game officially releases the Ghost Recon series is a culmination of nearly 20 years of game design and progress that has not only spawned countless mainline titles and spin-offs but has also gone on to inspire several independently developed games based on similar concepts ground branch for example is based heavily on the classic tactical gameplay in the first Ghost Recon game as even being worked on by one of the original developers at Red Storm but while this may appeal to old school fans of the series the Ghost Recon franchise has grown significantly since then and offers a completely different experience tailored to appeal to a combination of new and old fans of life all the best mechanics introduced over the years like Ghost Recon twos over the shoulder camera advanced warfighters cover system and future soldiers emphasis on stealth action have become major components that help to make Ghost Recon what it is today and regardless of where to give yourself decides to take the series next there's no denying the impact this franchise has had on tactical shooter games and the industry as a whole but what do you guys think do you like how the series is progressing or do you still prefer blowing the older titles share your thoughts in the comment section now I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsor for this project AMD for not only providing me early access to Ghost Recon break point but also providing me with this amazing top-of-the-line AMD build complete with the new 3900 x12 core 4.6 gigahertz CPU and the new Radeon 5700 XT an awesome card built for 1440p gaming empowered by AMD's new rDNA architecture all which was used to record the PC gameplay footage for this video if you want to learn more about AMD's new tech for this year be sure to check out the link in the description if you want to see more documentaries like this one please because becoming a member of my patreon your support helps to make these videos possible also don't forget to Like and subscribe for more reviews comparisons and documentaries posted every week

Channel: Nick930

Views: 966,187

Rating: 4.9098582 out of 5

Keywords: Ghost Recon, Tom Clancy, Mitchell, Scott, History, Retrospective, Ubisoft, Red Storm, Development, Story, Gameplay, Features, Review, Impression, Summary, Full, Analysis, Fan, Favorite, Best, professional, High Quality, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Breakpoint, Wildlands, Future Soldier, Advanced Warfighter, Rainbow Six, Comparison, Nick930, Splinter Cell, Sam Fisher, Squad, Realism, Tactics, Stealth

Id: 1hgmuSMQ4q0

Length: 47min 5sec (2825 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 28 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/ClaytonBigsbe]

Ghost Recon 2 and Ghost Recon 2 Summit Strike were my favorite online shooters ever. Played the shit out of them on XBL back in the day, was really good at them too, so many memories and made so many online friends that I lost touch with playing it. Wish GR would go back to something similar to that.

[u/walterdog12]

It's like Ubisoft saw Breakpoint as their chance to "create the ULTIMATE GAME FOR GAMERS", and decided the best way to do that was to basically stick The Division 1 and 2, Siege, and dashes of Destiny all in a $10 used blender.

[u/Erasmus86]

What a fucking downfall. Breakpoint feels so incredibly desperate to check all the AAA game boxes. Wildlands wasn't amazing, but at least it was kind of doing it's own thing.

I'd really like Ghost Recon to get back to being a tactical shooter with a campaign and multiplayer, but I'm guessing Ubisoft wouldn't want to create a competitor to Rainbow Six maybe?

The path the franchise is on now with turning it into an RPG is something I want nothing to do with. I like looter shooters, but I don't want Ghost Recon to be one of those.

[u/tirmas]

Tried BETA of Breakpoint and deleted it in 15 minutes. Majority of these games (incl.CODs) don't have soul, decent plots and characters. Popcorn games for masses.

[u/Bahmerman]

Shame, I think Future Soldier was the best (better with the DLC that removed the digital camo). Gunsmith was really good in that too. Kinda missed commanding the squad but liked how they could slow down pacing by planning your attacks. Actually escorting HVTs (even if it was on rails) and counterattacks. Felt like they could have built on that better in titles after.

[u/KOTRShadow]

Ghost recon wildlands was my first gr game and tbh the story was ok and the villain was pretty good. The true star of that game though was the open world and if breakpoint continues then that’s awesome. I remember when I saw that wildlands was one of the best selling Tom Clancy and ghost recon game and I wonder if that will happen again with breakpoint. Personally I’m in that mindset where I don’t care if the story isn’t the best I just want that feeling of having so much to explore And do.