The originalGhost Recongame from 2001 was the quintessential anti-FPS FPS game. While esteemed franchises such asMedal of Honor,Call of Duty,Doom,andQuakewere all about carefree low brainpower shooting,Ghost Recon(2001) compelled players to plan and think before pulling the trigger. It even rewards minimized casualties and methodical gameplay.
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It’s safe to say thatGhost Recon: Breakpointhas broken off too far from what can only be assumed as Tom Clancy’s preferred style. It’s certainly not a military simulator anymore and is closer to something likeFar Cryor other homogenous open-world Ubisoft games.Breakpointserved as somewhat of a current low point for the franchise and it thus sets examples of what can be avoided by thenextGhost Recontitle.
8Less Arcadey Gameplay
The biggest issue with the latestGhost Recongames is how it tries to be everything trending in the current mainstream scene instead of being a trendsetter. Its gameplay is practically the same as otheropen-world Ubisoft gameswith gun and gear customization akin toCall of Dutygames.
Looking back at the originalGhost Recontitle and refining that semi-casual mil-sim formula, as well as more serious missions, could breathe a new life into the franchise. Higher-quality and innovative missions would certainly be preferable to the identical run and gun checklists inBreakpoint.
7Ditch Or Cut Back The Open-World Design
Ubisoft is on a roll in the open-world formula as it just keeps incorporating its open-world formula to almost every new title under its wing. In a lot of cases for bothGhost Recon: WildlandsandBreakpoint, this open-world design can be more of an annoyance than a useful or fun feature.
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The sprawling open-world only means players will have to drive (usually uneventfully) from point A to point B. Fast travel is available but in that case, what’s the need for an open world then? That would’ve been fine if the radio was as entertaining asGTAgames or the driving mechanics were smoother. But inBreakpoint, it’s just unnecessary bloat; the environment can get old quickly as other games such asRed Dead Redemption 2are just better if players want digital sight-seeing.
6AI & Enemy Improvements
AI hasn’t really improved much in many mainstream FPS games compared to their older counterparts andGhost Recon: Breakpointis a glaring example of this. One of the most common complaints from bored players is that enemies are not that bright nor challenging; cranking up the difficulty only artificially increases their HP and damage, not their overall tactics.
Meanwhile, enemy variety also suffers badly here sinceGhost Recon: Breakpointcan’t be as wacky or as outrageous asFar Cry;it’s still too grounded in realism. The robot enemies, while new, don’t exactly make things exciting or high-stakes. Overall, there’s not much reason to tactically plan out assaults as it’s easy to just take advantage of the enemy squad’s AI.
5Weapons & Equipment As Loot
Another homogenization that’s carrying over toGhost Reconfrom other Ubisoft titles likeAssassin’s Creedis theloot system. At times,Ghost Recon: Breakpointcan almost feel like it’s just a newAssassin’s Creedgame set during contemporary times. It’s even funny when one considers the logic behind guns being locked behind the open-world chests.
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Originally, the Ghost Recon units were supposed to be armed to the teeth pseudo-spec ops who nip impending World Wars in the bud with everything they’ve got. It only makes sense that they have the best equipment. Instead, players will have to loot all those equipment from the very enemies they’re fighting as if their funding got cut and they now have to roleplay as third world guerillas.
4Tacked-on RPG Systems
But of course,the loot systemis just one part of a bigger issue inGhost Recon: Breakpoint, which is the identity crisis. Like the latestAssassin’s Creedgames it pits players against a world-threatening mission or quest which also comes with a seemingly terrible urgency. But the open-world design, loot system, and other RPG mechanics are blatantly in the way of world peace here.
The game incentivizes procrastination, sidetracking, and leisurely exploration while also forcing a pressing matter in the player’s faces via the main story. This has always been an acceptable issue with open-world RPGs, but this gameplay loop doesn’t really fit in a modern military game with “Tom Clancy” in its name. Imagine a Navy Seal or SAS unit on a mission to stop a rogue faction but decides to drive around tocollect weaponsand trophies first.
3Dialogue & Presentation
As part of its identity crisis,Ghost Recon: Breakpointalso incorporates a rather unnecessary. Most of them are just other characters talking to the player’s character regarding briefings or backgrounds and the answers or responses to them are usually inconsequential.
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What’s even worse is that some of these dialogues don’t measure up well to contemporary standards. The talking characters are typically just standing and talking with dead-eyed gazes. The presentation definitely needs more showing and less telling, otherwise, radio briefings could do the job just as effectively as the bland dialogues.
2Bugs & Clunky Animations
At launch,Ghost Recon: Breakpointwas one of the most troubled as far as Ubisoft games go. It quickly earned notoriety due to the myriad of bugs, glitches, and performance issues. If anything, the game felt as if it was rushed. Eventually, all those issues were ironed out but the game was already in the bargain bin by the time it has gotten better.
Even as the bugs and glitches were fixed, some of the animations were odd or didn’t seem like they underwent proper motion capture. One can even notice this when characters in cutscenes transition from a sitting to a standing position or vice versa. That’s also probably the reason why almost everyone seems to be standing in cutscenes or dialogue.
1Microtransactions
One can only keep hoping for a AAA Ubisoft game with little to no microtransactions. In free-to-play games, these are actually fine butGhost Recon: Breakpointwas a fully-priced AAA game, same withAssassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Still, that didn’t deter the publishers from pushing microtransactions in this non-competitive and full-priced game.
The problem with microtransactions in these kinds of games is that their content seems to have been made deliberately tedious so that players would be compelled to skip them by paying. That essentially boils down to paying more to play less of the game. Not to mention seeing content that was cut on purpose being sold for an extra fee can also be frustrating. Hopefully, the nextGhost Recongamerespects its players better.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpointis available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia.
