Review: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (PlayStation 4)

Rating: 7.8
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · October 21, 2019

Become a Ghost, an Elite US Special Operations soldier, as you fight to survive against your brothers who have turned against you. Put yourself in the shoes of a Spec Ops soldier stranded behind enemy lines as you explore the massive open world.

Pros:

Gorgeous graphics.
59.76gb download size.
Platinum trophy.
HDR support.
Stealth shooter gameplay.
Constant tutorial pop-ups (optional).
Graphics mode-Resolution or graphics fidelity.
Uplay Club support to earn/spend coins on DLC.
3 save slots.
In-game cutscenes.
Four difficulties-Arcade/regular/advanced/extreme. (can change in the menu)
Play how you want.
Initial opening area to get your bearings and learn the ropes.
Map uncovers as you play. Use your drone to identify question marks and locations.
Gear is a loot drop style with colored rarity levels and is displayed like in the Division games.
Missions-show rewards, info, marker on the map and you can pin up to 3 missions for quick reference.
Gear level-like any RPG thing, gear has a score and the level is your overall power.
Four classes-Medic/Assault/Panther/Sharpshooter. Pick one for unique special ability and you get set challenges for skill point rewards.
Earn EXP and level up to earn points to put into a massive skill tree split into areas like stealth/survival/tactics etc.
Skin-overall looks for your character (think transmog) or you show each piece of equipped gear.
Not much loading when in the game world.
Day/night cycle with weather like sun/cloudy/rain.
Stamina system for running.
Bases act like their own entity with loot and enemies, you can take these at anytime.
Enemies have levels to help keep you in particular places.
Bivouac camps-discover them and act as fast travel points. When at them you can craft, use the shop, meditate and get timed buffs and set the time of the game when you leave.
Can skip cutscenes if you want.
Vehicles- bikes/boats/cars/hummers etc.
Drone-can mark enemies and be upgraded to shoot people or mark other things.
Dismantle unwanted gear for materials to upgrade weapons on the fly or craft new items/gear at the shop.
Can go into high-level areas but one hit deaths are a thing.
Satisfying gunplay.
Solid stealth mechanics.
In-depth controller options for shortcuts and tip pop-ups.
Intel-found on computers or interrogate certain individuals. Once found you get a map marker.
Autosaves frequently.
Boss type encounters.
Different enemy types but not just want guns they have, some have better loot or Intel.
Auto picks up flowers/shrubs/bananas that are used for medicinal crafting.
Uses a DS4 touchpad for the map.
Skins for weapons.
The world is proper lush from snowy mountains to jungles to crashed helicopters and bunkers. It really is a beautiful world to explore.
Ghost War is a 4v4 PvP multiplayer.
Co-op is up to 4 players and you can join randoms, friends only and private.
2 modes of play-guided (map icons and markers) and exploration (no icons or help and instead you have to work out locations from clues).

Cons:

Many glitches with missions. I had it where I hadn’t finished a mission but got the rewards.
Missions disappearing entirely from the map.
Hiding in a cover is 50/50 if it will work and your over the shoulder view always messes up.
Constant difficulty spikes with the Ai having amazing aiming and once alerted they know exactly where you are.
Enemy drone ships fly overhead and are really hard to avoid and escape.
Long initial load but also a really long reload after death.
Menus whilst clean are somewhat slow to load.
Slight pop up at times.
Finding loot boxes I. The world (thanks to the handy icons on screen) take you out of the world as it really smells like they came over from assassin’s creed games.
Civilians do not react to you or your actions.
Gameworld whilst looking amazing does have a lot of open dead space.
Can be hard to remember the many input combinations for the many inputs.

9/10

Graphics - 9/10
8/10

Sound - 8/10
7/10

Accessibility - 7/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
8/10

Fun Factor - 8/10

7.8/10

Summary

I am a die-hard Ghost Recon fan playing all the games on every platform possible. I saw how it went from a set-piece strategy game to an open-world game. Again Ubisoft takes us back to the open-world setting after Wildlands, the world they have created is jaw-droppingly beautiful full of so much heritage and secrets, you can again play and go wherever you want. The story is drip-fed in through set missions and whilst the story itself is not that good it does fit the tone and setting of the game. I loved taking on the smaller bases and compounds and treating them like self-contained experiences. I hated open-world exploration thanks to the ever-present drone ships that bring the heavies in quickly and to get away is next level bullshit. The gunplay is still strong and the gunsmith menu is back so you can tinker and customize to your heart’s content. Dismantled gear gives you materials to upgrade your stats on guns and can be done from the menu. Shooting is not the problem for me is it feels like they have tried to shoehorn in many ideas and features from other games in their catalog and with that Ghost Recon loses a lot of its unique features and feel. Don’t get me wrong, I will continue to play the game as I love the smaller objective stuff and sense of adventure but the game has many issues and when it’s things like missions disappearing, you can only do so much. Fans of the series should definitely give it a try but it’s not the Ghost Recon we all K ow and love and the story is definitely the weakest part second only to the constant glitches and bugs.