Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Review
Review by Joystiq (4.5/5)
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is a game that, at first glance, may seem like an advertisement for ‘murica’s armed forces circa 20XX. “Sign up. You can rock Pantera in the barracks, blow up helicopters and assassinate evil warlords every day,” I imagined the end credits might read.
But between every clichéd cutscene, showing the four members of Ghost squad swilling beer and talking car engines while they wait for their next mission, are a bounty of excellent gameplay scenarios: VIPs to rescue, things to blow up and stealth missions that require diligent adherence to caution and calculation rather than simply making sure you move slowly and stay out of sight. No two missions in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier are the same, and the diversity in locales and armaments means there’s always something new to see – and shoot.
There’s a loose narrative thread tying together the campaign, but the story isn’t terribly memorable. You’re a member of an elite squad dispatched to hot zones across the globe to rescue people, shoot other people and generally protect America’s interests.
Review by Destructoid (9.0/10 – Superb)
Much of the slow-paced careful planning and executing of tactical engagements in the original Ghost Recon was lost in the console versions of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, while the Rainbow Six: Vegas series cannibalized the franchise with its beloved co-op tactics. Future Soldier attempts to take the franchise back to its roots, but in a modern fashion. In more ways than one, it’s also somewhat of a stylistic reboot in the way Conviction changed the way we look at, and play, Splinter Cell.
The influence of Ubisofts last installment of the spy thriller series is evident through Future Soldier‘s bountiful visual aids — such as overlaid text on top of the 3D scenery — and the action in general is much more dynamic and in-your-face than before, largely helped by a competent camera system that appears to be handled by by a shaky hands cameraman directed by someone like Paul Greengrass. If Conviction was the Bourne Ultimatum of Splinter Cell, Future Soldier is The Hurt Locker of the Ghost Recon series.
Review by Game Spot (7.5/10 – Good)
The decades to come may be full of unknown potential for wondrous inventions, but in the gaming realm, the future is old hat. Invisibility, X-ray vision, and miniature floating cameras are modern marvels that have long since become familiar. Though these tools are potent in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, there’s precious little novelty in your futuristic arsenal, and this can make you feel like you’re undertaking missions you’ve run many times before. So is Future Soldier just another by-the-book third-person shooter?
Fortunately not. Though there’s plenty of familiarity to be found here, Future Soldier’s brand of stealthy action and streamlined teamwork gives it a distinct appeal. The lengthy campaign lets you wield your AI allies like autonomous weapons; their guns are yours to command, but they handle their own maneuvers, pushing the action along at a slick pace. Replacing them with your fellow humans brings its own challenges and rewards, as does facing off against said humans in the lively competitive multiplayer modes. Though it’s more of a product of the past than a vision of the future, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is a robust package that provides plenty of satisfying ways to exercise your itchy trigger finger.
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