Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Review

Ghost Recon Future Soldier is a good game but it feels like it could be a great one. It's a thrilling and enjoyable tactical shooter held back by some larger issues.

I'll start off with the bad first. The first mission is really terrible, it sets a bad first impression, tons of scripted sequences, you can't be revived and the unreliable stealth are at the forefront here, it's the shortest mission in the game but it also feels the longest due to how awkwardly structured everything is. The level design is also at it's weakest here due to how much of a scripted corridor shooter it feels like. Once you get past this mission, the game improves greatly. Other issues include the context sensitive action not always working the way I want it to like me pressing the x button multiple times in order to get into cover and the biggest issue with the game: the stealth mechanics, this is why I couldn't get into the game the first time, it's because I tried to play it like a stealth game when in reality it's best to play it stealth for a little while then get caught and then start slowly picking off enemies from cover. The problem with this is that there are some mandatory stealth missions where you can't alert nearby guards not even once until the game decides that is no longer needed, these sections don't last long but it can be frustrating trying to sneak around and then randomly get alerted or how it's never made clear if it's better to kill people or play as a "ghost" and kill no one since you will randomly get spotted and it takes a bit of trial and error to finally be able to get past these parts. It feels like all of this could be avoided if the game added had the guards enter into a search mode every time a body is found or lets you break line of sight and then go back into stealth again, I say this because the level design and mechanics can make this feel like a solid stealth game but the lack of nuanced AI makes the act of playing stealth a chore. I also didn't like that I used the see through wall ablity too much, it has the same issue that Batman Arkham Asylum of leaving the mode on at all times since it gives you so many advantages without any disadvantages.

Now the bad out of the way, lets get to the good, this game feels like if Rainbow 6 Vegas and Splinter Cell Conviction had a baby. You got the mechanics of Conviction and the squad and thrilling cover shootouts of Rainbow 6 Vegas. The sound design for the weapons when firing and hitting enemies all feels great and makes the act of particapating in the cover shootouts thrilling and I have said before that I dislike cover mechanics but I do like how in this game, your health pool isn't that big even on easy so you have to engage in long range combat and slowly move and flank around enemies in order to be efficent at combat. It's basically a 3rd person Rainbow 6 Vegas in that regard but now you get a stealth camo and allies can revive you when down making combat more fair as a result, you can still die and I did wish the number of revives resetted after reaching a checkpoint but this is fine. The campaign is also varied and thrilling and shakes things up constantly. You got the 2nd mission in Africa where you are in croweded villages sneaking around, later the game throws in a sandstorm, you have missions where your see through vision is acting up, you get access to a mobile mech unit that can shoot missiles and mortars but only for that mission, you go on in alone without your squad, you will be killing enemies on rooftops, you will also have turret sections on occasion, while also fighting enemies who are also invisible and this is only some of the variety the campaign has on offer. The sync shot ability also isn't a gimmick and can be satisfying and useful to pull off.

Overall, while I did enjoy my time with this game a lot, I feel like some refinements could make it great. If you dislike the constant influx of military shooters in the 7th gen, I can assure this game is easily one of the better ones. If you are casual tactical shooter player like me, there lots of enjoyment to be had.