Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Reviewed By Luke "Lukaz" Withoos
Over many years Tom Clancy's stories were a part of American military history. His tall tales were plots for many different forms of media other than just video games. His works such as The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games were all used in classic films by the same names. However, since the writing of his original books he leant his name for use in many other titles from the same “universe” that led to many different famous titles by other authors.
The first video game to be released under the Tom Clancy title was Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six; released in 1998, the same year as the book. Fourteen years on, Tom Clancy's universe has expanded beyond what many believed possible, even with the writing fame he secured. With the release of several titles and series including the Rainbow Six series, his name was loaned to the Splinter Cell series, the EndWar series, the H.A.W.X series, and finally the Ghost Recon series. Throughout these series, a total of 45 titles were released with a further 4 titles slated for future release where Tom Clancy has given his name for use.
The most recent release in the Ghost Recon series is entitled “Future Soldier”. Set in a future close to present day, players are sent travelling the globe as a member of a team of “Ghosts” whose primary purpose is as a stealth unit. Many see this formula as a common theme in modern video gaming, however Future Soldier has a whole new feel. The same realism expected from a game which has received the Tom Clancy seal of approval is found in a somewhat futuristic format. I was dubious to believe this possible. I was pleasantly surprised.
Operations are fairly straight forward. Arrive on site, capture the package (which can be a person or item), reach the extraction point and return to base. The over-arching story-arc is themed around a form of terrorism that seems to be fairly common in military strategy games in this era. Someone wants to blow something up that is either the United States of America or another western power. Having said this, the story needs to start somewhere and I don't see this as a detriment; however when this title was first announced at E3 in 2011, it was not met with much excitement. The title has far exceeded many expectations though.
The team of four “Ghosts” are armed with a plethora of futuristic equipment. Thermal-optic camouflage, UAV drones, and sensors are the primary kit in support of the rifles and sub-machine guns that the team are equipped with as standard. The most crucial game mechanic is the use of thermal-optic camouflage to remain hidden at almost all points in time. While hidden, the player can deploy sensors to get a reading of any life signs in an area, or even deploy the personal UAV drone to fly above targets and paint them for your team to shoot.
Issuing orders to your team is also crucial. If there are four enemies positioned nearby, you and your team will need to perform simultaneous shots to ensure an alarm is not raised by your presence. Fortunately, your team do not have a useless AI; a common flaw in many games that require teamwork. They do not run into crowds of people and get themselves shot; they do not alert enemies to your presence; they wait for you to give the order to simultaneously shoot a group of enemies instead of taking the shot when they want to. The AI is very impressive and it kept my faith in the title throughout.
But not every mission requires the amount of subtlety this great AI affords. In some missions, you are given the big guns; just for some variety. Sitting in a helicopter firing a chaingun filled with tracers to take out enemy vehicles, or even controlling the Warhound; a ten-foot-tall “mech” that is equipped with a mortar and missile battery. While these things don't necessarily match the theme of the game, it does spice things up when you can cloak yourself alongside the walking cover that is the Warhound launching mortar shot after mortar shot into the oncoming hordes of enemies just to make them go BOOM! The mission I played with the Warhound included EMP devices as part of the standard loadout. I didn't use them once. I was too busy blowing things up. It didn't present a challenge, that's for sure, but it certainly did make it fun.
The most enjoyable part of Future Soldier is the ability to modify your weapons. Modifying barrels, sights, stocks, clips, handles, suppressors, gas systems, rails, and even a lick of paint when you've got your weapons right is just superb. What makes this even more enjoyable is the ability to not only build your “perfect” gun, you can also take it out to the in-game gun range for testing. If you don't like it, you can always build another. I spent a couple of hours here just modifying.
The only disappointment for the title was the story. The characters, while a close-knit team, were quite forgettable as individuals. The dialogue wasn't great, the scene direction looked somewhat stilted and facial expressions were quite poorly rendered throughout. Had there been greater character development, I probably would be inclined to play another title from the series with this team. As it stands, I am satisfied with the way these characters ended up.
Overall, this title is fantastic for a gamer that loves to be highly strategic in every conflict. Missions can take a long time, dependant on whether you want to run in “guns-a-blazing” or if you wish to use the highly intuitive cover system to duck and weave through every area. Personally, I chose the latter and enjoyed it immensely. Pick your targets, paint them for your team members to hit, duck and hide at every piece of cover, and think about your every move. If you're looking for a first/third person shooter title that really makes you think, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is perfect for you.
Rating: 80%
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Game: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
System: PC
Developer/Co-Developer: Ubisoft Ukraine
Publisher: Ubisoft
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