Hands On: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Beta

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is the first military shooter in a massive & responsive open world that you can play entirely solo or in 4-player co-op.

Pros:

• Decent graphics, The wilderness has never looked so good with stunning vistas.
• Initial and ongoing tutorial.
• Solo or 4 player co op.
• Huge open map taking in towns, Villages and the big wide open lands.
• Earn exp and earn skill points to unlock new abilities like C4, Parachutes, Better stamina etc. Earn exp from kills, Discovering new locations and completing missions.
• Three AI partners that you can have some control over like open fire, Regroup, Hold etc..
• Can commandeer and drive a huge range of vehicles from bikes to cars to tractors.
• Fast travel between unlocked rally points.
• Optional side missions.
• Can interograte people to get intel like rebel, cash or upgrade stashes. Once learned it will fill in on the map.
• Drone- Used to spot enemies and can be upgraded with night vision and hacking skills.
• Has rain.
• Plethora of gadgets to unlock from night vision to the drone to grenade launchers, C4 and parachutes and diversion grenades.
• Over the shoulder or ADS options.
• Four difficulties-Recruit, Veteran, Elite and Ghost.
• Tight gun play, Each gun feels different and unique.
• The transition from open world to stealth self contained episode is really well done.
• Synchronized shot is back! Mark shots for your team and kill all at once.
• Unidad forces are a top tier force who roam the lands and are a lot harder to take on.
• Tag ammo/fuel/convoys for pick up to earn unlock points for new skills.
• Rescue rebels from captivity to unlock the ability to have them fight for you.
• Change shoulder view on the fly.
• Good mission variety from hitting a target to stopping a convoy to stealing vehicles.
• 23.37GB download file size.

Cons:

• Long loading times.
• Random glitches.
• Occasional insta deaths usually for wandering off the map without any warning.
• A lot to take in.
• The driving itself is not great. Feels weightless and twitchy.
• Getting in and shooting out of cover is a bit hit and miss.
• Control lay out is very clumsy and awkward.
• Easy to mess up missions by accidentally killing a civilian or blowing up a vehicle.
• Physics especially in regards to the cars are greatly exaggerated.
• GPS route doesn’t clearly show on the mini map.
• Needless swearing between characters.
• Managing your AI team is really awkward.

Having played and finished all the beta has to offer, I can honestly say I am impressed with the game and what it is offering. Yes it feels very Far Cry meets Watchdogs with The Division sprinkled in but the stealth element is typical Ghost Recon, Its tight its responsive and it is really well executed. I fear it could fall into the repetitive track of missions being re used over and over but for now it has decent enough variety. The way they have managed to make the transition from open world to a contained environment is a real high point, You forget that it is an open world game. It is a living breathing world, Civilians re act to you, To each other and its just great to see. The beta did just enough to keep me interested but not give enough for me to tire of it or see its possible downsides. Performance on a PS4 Pro yielded really nice graphics and some fantastic lighting. I for now am I very much hyped for the game now and look forward to reviewing it in the future. Ubisoft have it all laid out in front of them and only they can ruin it all. Here’s hoping the learned from The Division and the game has decent end game content. There is no real loot mechanic like in Division instead you are finding weapon caches located all over the map. With that in mind the end game is going to be an interesting watch.