Max Romano

Ghost Recon is hitting later this month. I love tactical shooters, most especially when they emphasize strategy and put cool future tech in your hands. Naturally I’m drawn to this game but I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any concerns. When I first saw the game I was presented with something that looked very much like science fiction; a world of the future, perhaps twenty five years from where we are now. That game got some flak though and as the team pushed themselves the game seems to have changed; it seems more like advanced warfighter in that it seems to be only a few years from now in setting. This is probably nitpicking but I was excited for a farther future after all it provided an environment of free change for this series. To me it seems as if tying the setting of the franchise so closely to modern day will only shoehorn the design.

Getting to see the game at Ubisoft’s Launch Event in Toronto eased my fears a bit. While I haven’t spent enough time with the campaign to make any decisions yet, I spent some serious time with the multiplayer and it is quite good. The horde mode was what I expected though. It featured a high level of polish and depth and flaunted the deep interaction and reliance upon team play. I enjoyed it so much I can easily put it toe to toe with the very best of gears or special ops. The competitive multiplayer was where I truly took a liking to the game, the cover mechanics and shooting seemed extremely tight. Team play and tactics take precedence over rushes and the map design struck a balance between game-like and real-like that I very much appreciated. Ghost Recon is out on the May 22 nd and you can expect my full review soon after. Perhaps Ghost Recon will be the shooter of summer 2012 or maybe it’ll just be good – we will see.