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I was wrong about Ghost Recon Wildlands and you probably are too.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=230212898&highlight=#post230212898

The new Ghost Recon plays like trash.

That was me like a month ago on Ghost Recon Wildlands. I played the closed beta and didn't really enjoy it. I had a few moments that made me think "there's something here" but ultimately I had decided against buying it.

Then the open beta came and I ended up having a ton more fun with a group of friends. Some of the issues I had had been fixed, some were the same, and some remained. Despite the fun I had in the beta, I still wasn't sure though.

So now it's a while after release and I'm ready to admit I was wrong. I got caught up in how GAF felt about the game and my initial impressions betrayed me. Now let's be honest here for a second. It's on Ubisoft to convince me to like the game right away. The poor marketing combined with the poor beta is on them. But ultimately the game is far better than I ever thought it would or could be.

I'm not going to launch into a full review but here are the three things that make me want to log on and play every night.

* The best open world variety I've experienced in quite some time. I've played TW3, Skyrim, every Assassin's Creed, GTA 4 and V, etc etc. This one tops them from a gameplay perspective. That doesn't mean Wildlands has a better open world than those games. A lot of the value in something like GTA V comes from the people, the visuals, and the auditory aspect. The attention to detail in that is insane. But where Wildlands excels is the variety of each zone.

Each zone has a purpose and feels different from the zone before and after. This zone is filled with cocaine labs, this zone is flat white desert, this one is a jungle filled with corrupt military police. That changes how you approach things and isn't immediately obvious because it's so natural. In a flat desert when you're trying to stop a convoy there's almost no cover and you have to plan accordingly. In a zone filled with high up long twisting mud roads, we had a completely different approach to the exact same side mission.

* The game is a vehicle for cooperation. I'll be 100% clear if you're going to play this solo I can't recommend it. I literally haven't played a minute of this game solo and I intend to keep it that way. Now beyond that as a cooperative experience, it's fantastic. Like Metal Gear Solid V the world is a sandbox and as you can imagine that is just infinitely more fun with friends. You can invade a base from two different directions to split apart the enemy forces. You can have a friend cover you with a sniper rifle as you clear small structures while looking for an enemy lieutenant. Basically, the game gives you the tools to execute whatever plan you want. Just the other day after failing multiple times to penetrate the defense of a particularly difficult stronghold, I flew up above the clouds in a helicopter. When we reach the highest point my friends parachuted down full speed right into the enemy base. I followed them and the copter landed in their base too! We all died but the fun factor there is undeniable. You can basically recreate whatever ridiculous action sequence you saw in last summer's blockbuster.

I know what some of you are thinking and it's a legitimate thought because I make the same criticism. Whenever someone tells me a game is fun with friends I scoff because...so is pretty much anything. When I was a kid and shoveled snow with friends we had a good time, that doesn't make shoveling snow my second favorite past time. Wildlands is special in that it gives you every opportunity to have as much fun as possible. If you don't have friends and you don't have any imagination ("let's go in, snipe everyone from away, and leave" rinse and repeat) you probably won't have any fun.

* I underestimated the story and its characters. So in the open beta, you go after these 2 fuckheads, yes I just said fuckheads, La Yuri and El Polito. These two are the most vapid, uninteresting, boring, you get the point. They're trash characters. When I finally killed them I felt nothing because they were nothing. Those 2 as the boss of the first zone gave me the impression that every boss would be largely uninteresting and poorly written. Flash forward to the Stewmaker...

I won't spoil anything. Frankly, Wildlands isn't about the story but whew this guy was fucking sick. In more ways than one. Not every boss is going to be The End or Sniper Wolf or The Boss don't get me wrong. But they are at least serviceable and at most actually compelling characters. I actually want to kill El Sueno, the game's big bad. That in itself is tough for a game to do these days. To make me care about killing the guy I'm supposed to want to kill.

I've already written way too much. Wildlands still has a lot to dislike. The gunplay pales in comparison to MGSV and a few other third person shooters. It's serviceable but doesn't stand out. I constantly wish the game was made by Kojima because it'd be so much more interesting. There aren't a ton of different side missions and it's possible 20 hours after my first 20 I'll get bored. The unlock system is exactly what you'd expect from a Ubisoft open world title. I've already unlocked everything I want and don't care about collectables as much.

But I was wrong about the game. I thought it was bad and it really isn't. I think it's a solid 8/10. A real one too not an "every AAA game is an 8". I see this idea on GAF that this is some ho-hum bro shooter. That's just not giving the credit it deserves. No game lets you do what Wildlands does. There are no other games out cut from the same cloth as Ghost Recon Wildlands so yeah maybe step outside of your bubble and give it a shot. At the very least don't be so close-minded about it.

TLDR: I was wrong. You're probably wrong too. It's got a fantastic massive open world. It's probably top 5 co-op games all time. It's unique in it's variety of locale and moment to moment gameplay. Despite the initial impressions the gunplay isn't even bad it's just about average. So yeah it's really good. Just do not play it solo and if you're a hardcore Ghost Recon fan look elsewhere because it's totally different.

Edit: PS I played the game on max difficulty at all times too. Not that hard and makes the game more deadly. YMMV.
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
I disagree wholeheartedly. It's a fun mindless co-op game, but it's janky as all hell and every single encounter ends up the same. The vast open world has no variety at all. The different weapons feel almost the same. Game's ugly.

I could go on and on.

I'm right!
 

Jawmuncher

Member
Did they add a knife yet to slit throats with?
It was so whack that you grabbed cartel and just knocked them out.
 

Cess007

Member
I remember playing the Beta alone, and been utterly bored with it. Then, I played with a friend, and had a lots of fun doing a lot of silly things and approaching missions in different ways. If money wasn't an issue, I would have bought it.
 
I played the beta on Hard solo-only and had a really good time and was surprised that everyone hated on it. Yeah, it's dumb as all get-out and the VO and writing sucks a lot, but it plays alright and lets me sneak and work my way through enemy bases in an open-world, which is basically the good parts of MGS5, only it doesn't play half as well, but absent anything better I'll take it. Just waiting for a price drop, just got done w/ Zelda and I'll probably play Mass Effect next.
 
It sounds pretty cool to me honestly but you not playing solo immediately makes me not want to try it. It's how I played Destiny.

I also love the team/group aspect of Destiny but 90% of the time I teamed up it was with randoms. Can you do that in this game?

Is voice chat pretty much mandatory? Because I don't like that either.

So on paper it sounds great...if I had 3 other people to play it with. Instead it sounds like I'll just keep waiting for Destiny 2.
 
It sounds pretty cool to me honestly but you not playing solo immediately makes me not want to try it. I love the team/group aspect of Destiny but 90% of the time I teamed up it was with randoms. Can you do that in this game?

Is voice chat pretty much mandatory? Because I don't like that either.

So on paper it sounds great...if I had 3 other people to play it with.

You don't need 3 people I spent most of my time as a duo or a trio. 1 friend is all you need.

Voice chat isn't mandatory if you play with people that have a similar play style. I don't think I'd recommend it with randoms but it could be good.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
Eh. I'm not playing on PC.

Compare Wildlands PS4 graphics to something like MGSV PS4 and it's a joke.

And that's not even touching the millions of graphical glitches the game suffers from.

I feel the game looks way better than MGSV to be honest. But I miss the MGS mechanics. And that 60 fps
 

Mossybrew

Member
Is it any good solo? I rarely have 3 friends to play a game with.

I think so. I've played the majority of my time so far solo. Of course playing co-op adds a whole other dimension to the experience.

Personally I don't have the same open-world fatigue that a lot of GAF folks seem to. I still love open world games, and the world here is huge and varied. The gameplay is freeform and you can play it stealth or action or any mix of the two, and there are great options to make the game more challenging if you'd prefer.
 
Eh. I'm not playing on PC.

Compare Wildlands PS4 graphics to something like MGSV PS4 and it's a joke.

And that's not even touching the millions of graphical glitches the game suffers from.

I just don't agree honestly and I love MGSV way more than Wildlands. I have a Pro though so maybe that's why.
 

Dabanton

Member
Is it any good solo? I rarely have 3 friends to play a game with.

I've played a lot solo as I'm looking for specific weapons and it plays fine. Not as crazy inventive as co -op but you can also search for other players if your friends aren't around. I must say I've done that and the people I played with were just as tactical as me.

Also there is a Gaf group for this game. You should look into joining one of them.
 
I've played a few hours on PS4 and every mission plays the same and the gunplay is garbage.

Also all these threads desperately trying to sway opinions shortly after a game is released and has an active OT are really starting to get suspect.
 
You don't need 3 people I spent most of my time as a duo or a trio. 1 friend is all you need.

Voice chat isn't mandatory if you play with people that have a similar play style. I don't think I'd recommend it with randoms but it could be good.

Maybe I'll try it some time. A lot of people wouldn't recommend Destiny solo or with randoms but it was pretty much the only way I played (aside from Nightfall and Raids where you couldnt play with randoms). And I loved it.
 
This post sounds like Generic: The Post.

Because I've seen it a thousand times. Get it?

I'm in the camp it's pretty generic Ubisoft tripe as always. The missions are incredibly bland and by the numbers. None of the characters you play as stand our that the writing was clearly going for. The "open-world" is too big for it's own good. The world feels lifeless with little to no real sense of importance but rather just a base with dumb enemies like most of these types games.

Obviously people keep giving Ubisoft a pass on terribly developed games and let the bugs and glitchi-ness slide because...well Ubisoft. Plus all of these games could have their titles swapped and you wouldn't be even able to tell the difference.

I also disagree on the point about "playing with friends" being a benefit of the game. I've played plenty of bad and/or appetiser (small dose/party) multiplayer games with friends such as Brink and Mario Party which are so much more fun with friends. Brink in particular I wouldn't play on my own, but when I had 3 other friends, we had a lot of fun with the campaign because it was just us messing around in a pretty overall meh game. The same can be said for Ghost Recon: Wildlands.

Edit: I was just playing this with friends 5 hours by the way.
 
Eh. I'm not playing on PC.

Compare Wildlands PS4 graphics to something like MGSV PS4 and it's a joke.

And that's not even touching the millions of graphical glitches the game suffers from.
Ghost Recon looks much nicer than MGS V to me. The sense of scale in the vistas and variety of terrain is far superior. Nevermind how much richer the lighting is with HDR. Just no comparison.

MGSV's 60 fps is the only thing I miss between the two. (Graphically that is)
 

Alienous

Member
Unless it's enjoyabe solo I'll still pass.

Besides I don't think I've played a co-op game that wasn't fun - co-op is inherently fun. So if the game doesn't hold up outside of that I probably wouldn't bother.

You say no game lets you do what Ghost Recon Wildlands does, but I don't know, I sort of feel like Just Cause 2 might, and other similar open world combat games.
 

Cob32

Member
I'm in the camp it's pretty generic Ubisoft tripe as always. The missions are incredibly bland and by the numbers. None of the characters you play as stand our that the writing was clearly going for. The "open-world" is too big for it's own good. The world feels lifeless with little to no real sense of importance but rather just a base with dumb enemies like most of these types games.

Obviously people keep giving Ubisoft a pass on terribly developed games and let the bugs and glitchi-ness slide because...well Ubisoft. Plus all of these games could have their titles swapped and you wouldn't be even able to tell the difference.

I also disagree on the point about "playing with friends" being a benefit of the game. I've played plenty of bad and/or appetiser (small dose/party) multiplayer games with friends such as Brink and Mario Party which are so much more fun with friends. Brink in particular I wouldn't play on my own, but when I had 3 other friends, we had a lot of fun with the campaign because it was just us messing around in a pretty overall meh game. The same can be said for Ghost Recon: Wildlands.

Edit: I was just playing this with friends 5 hours by the way.

Is it just the beta on a bigger map? Seemed like an alright coop game but not worth £50.
 

Syncytia

Member
Haven't played the full game yet but briefly played the closed beta and got a few hours into the open beta. I'm disappointed with it in the sense that it isn't really a tactical game at all but I still enjoyed it. If it didn't have co-op I wouldn't be interested at all. I have almost the same expectations for it as I had with The Division: It's decent but I would be bored if I wasn't playing co-op with my friend. I'm definitely looking forward to trying on harder difficulty since everything I've read here seemed pretty positive on the game with increased difficulty.
 
The missions are very samey and the sense of humor in this game is TERRIBLE. From the radio stations dj to the mission briefings on some of the targets. It's really tonally off from a lot of the background/stuff happening in the game. I feel Ubisoft was trying to go in the vein of GTA and Just Cause but it doesn't work at all.
 

Mossybrew

Member
Plus all of these games could have their titles swapped and you wouldn't be even able to tell the difference.

That's ridiculous. We get it, you don't like the style of game, so why would you like Wildlands? I don't like fighting games but I'm not going to post some drivel in a Street Fighter thread saying "all these crap games are the same! You just fight guys!"
 

Skyzard

Banned
I had a lot more fun with the betas when I put the difficulty on maximum but I only did that near the end of the beta and didn't get to see if it held up.

On even advanced difficulty it felt a bit too easy. I wasn't really thinking about positioning, just using all the tools and going in guns blazing. It was different on extreme.

Luckily you can change difficulty at any time.

I'll jump back in if they have a free weekend...though I've got so many games to play right now, I'm not in a rush.

Some of the one-liners are absolute garbage though.

Looked good on my PC, though it didn't get a constant 60 even at 1080p on a 980ti and 4.4ghz i7. Often dropped into the 50s after tweaking graphics down within reason.
 

OniBaka

Member
I probably am wrong but I lost interest in shooters in general, haven't really played one in awhile.

Mass effect might change that though.
 

Vinnie0003

Neo Member
I won't deny that The Division did a great job ruining a couple of co-op experience I had with my friends, couldn't login, couldn't connect had to re-download the game twice I even bought the season pass but we had so many problems along the way... But I won't write off the game just yet, but I won't be paying full price for it either, maybe with a good discount...
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
I feel the game looks way better than MGSV to be honest. But I miss the MGS mechanics. And that 60 fps

I just don't agree honestly and I love MGSV way more than Wildlands. I have a Pro though so maybe that's why.

Ghost Recon looks much nicer than MGS V to me. The sense of scale in the vistas and variety of terrain is far superior. Nevermind how much richer the lighting is with HDR. Just no comparison.

MGSV's 60 fps is the only thing I miss between the two. (Graphically that is)

That's fair.

The graphical issue isn't anywhere close to being my biggest grip with the game, though.

Again: I'm enjoying it mildly by playing co-op with my brother, but it's as mindless of an experience as it gets, and I can only do 2 hours in a row, tops, due to how repetitive things get. And I'm playing on the Advanced difficulty.
 
I had a lot more fun with the betas when I put the difficulty on maximum but I only did that near the end of the beta and didn't get to see if it held up.

On even advanced difficulty it felt a bit too easy. I wasn't really thinking about positioning, just using all the tools and going in guns blazing. It was different on extreme.

Luckily you can change difficulty at any time.

I'll jump back in if they have a free weekend...though I've got so many games to play right now, I'm not in a rush.
I've only played the game on Ghost (in beta) and Extreme (which replaced Ghost in retail) difficulties, and ubisoft definitely tweaked things between the two.

It's harder now on the highest difficulty​, and the game is better for it. It was just too easy even on Ghost.

My friends and I have also adopted a no respawn policy on missions, which has proved to be really fun. Having to clutch revives or fail is a great way to raise stakes.
 

Calderc

Member
Is it any good solo? I rarely have 3 friends to play a game with.

It's pefect for quiet, slow, methodical gameplay solo. Really, really enjoying it.

Haven't played co op. None of my friends have it and everytime I'm on everyone in the GAF taskforce is unavailable :(
 
I'm sorry but the fact that the defense force is out in full force only a week after release just feels desperate. I've been playing games for almost 3 decades and I know what good controls are by now, and this game doesn't have them. I was constantly fighting with the controls during the open beta. The driving was shit, the flying was shit, and the cover mechanic and shoulder cam was shit.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
I'm sorry but the fact that the defense force is out in full force only a week after release just feels desperate. I've been playing games for almost 3 decades and I know what good controls are by now, and this game doesn't have them. I was constantly fighting with the controls during the open beta. The driving was shit, the flying was shit, and the cover mechanic and shoulder cam was shit.

It's a defense force if people talk about liking games you don't?
 

KORNdoggy

Member
I disagree wholeheartedly. It's a fun mindless co-op game, but it's janky as all hell and every single encounter ends up the same. The vast open world has no variety at all. The different weapons feel almost the same. Game's ugly.

I could go on and on.

I'm right!

This pretty much sums up everything.
 

Gator86

Member
Having played the alpha and beta, I disagree. It's not good. The gameplay isn't fun and the feedback isn't good. The weapons aren't enjoyable to fire. Playing almost all the Ubi games, I doubt the story says anything of value beyond "hey, this thing exists and occurs sometimes." The vehicles all control like shit. It's fun with a group or friends, but literally everything is.

I wanted to like the game too, but it isn't worthwhile, to me. And this is from someone who loves almost every Ubi game, especially Far Cry, Division, and Future Soldier. Wildlands is mediocrity defined unless the full game is more different from the beta than any game to be released thus far.
 
I'm sorry but the fact that the defense force is out in full force only a week after release just feels desperate. I've been playing games for almost 3 decades and I know what good controls are by now, and this game doesn't have them. I was constantly fighting with the controls during the open beta. The driving was shit, the flying was shit, and the cover mechanic and shoulder cam was shit.
Having an opinion that doesn't agree with yours constitutes a defense force?

I'm not a huge fan of the driving or flying controls and physics, but that hasn't stopped me from having a great time playing this with friends in co op. I was also firmly in the "didn't like the beta, not going to buy it" camp, but I'm glad I gave it another chance. Turns out it's almost everything I liked about GTAO co op jobs in a more focused package.
 

Belker

Member
That's fair.

The graphical issue isn't anywhere close to being my biggest grip with the game, though.

Again: I'm enjoying it mildly by playing co-op with my brother, but it's as mindless of an experience as it gets, and I can only do 2 hours in a row, tops, due to how repetitive things get. And I'm playing on the Advanced difficulty.

I think there's a smaller gap between normal and advanced, than there is between advanced and extreme. On extreme things can go bad very quickly, which I think is more interesting.

I think the repetitive nature of the game will be more apparent as people clear areas and go back to repeat missions multiple times and see that the NPCs never change. I'm far from doing that. Even so, one of the good things is that the game does afford a certain freedom to change how you tackle these repeat missions, whether that's trying different points to attack from, tactics or load outs.

I've been wondering how they game would play on extreme/no HUD using a hard limit on the respawn.

For those that haven't played, when you get knocked down your teammates can revive you. You also see a respawn timer. But even if the timer runs out, your teammates can still revive you; its literally a timer on your ability to choose to respawn.

I'd like to see how a mission pans out if allies have the length of the time-until-respawn to get to you - and if they don't, you sit that mission out until it succeeds or fails.

EDIT - Just saw teasing pink saying they'd tried this method. Hadn't seen it as I was drafting the post.
 
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