Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

[Art Blade]

sounds good. It surprises me that UBI*bleep* actually managed to pull something off that you like

[LowPolyOWG]

Well, I assume UBI*bleep* realised they cannot go like ATVI *cough cough something Call of Duty cough cough*

[fragger]

All looks and sounds good, PZ I like that "sync-shot" feature.

[PZ]

I love the sync shot feature - really cool - reminded me of the SEAL group that rescued that ship captain with the sync shot off the stern of a Navy ship.

Recall that if you fired a shot in FC2 everyone in the world immediately knew where you were and fired deadly volleys in your direction? That characteristic annoyed me in FC2, but in this game, you can use your suppressed weapons and not alert the entire area. No lame head banging music spoiling the experience, and a HUD that you can control to your hearts content.

Yeah, I keep hoping, but the UBI*bleep* games seem to be getting worse rather than better. I'm not going to hold my breath, but if the rest of the game is like what I have already experienced, I'm going to be happy. One thing that encourages me is one of the negative comments; words to the effect: "the missions appear to be all variations of the same theme".

That comment piqued my interest almost immediately, reminding me of the same in FC2. If it turns out that particular "negative comment" is true, then I'll be quite happy. Of course, what annoys the typical gamer seems to be exactly the characteristic that I tend to appreciate. I really like approaching a mission with time to plan, weighing all my options, and then executing the hit. To me this feels more like real world "missions"

However, I'm still waiting for the hammer to fall with the first stupid boss character that I encounter. 

[Art Blade]

OK, now I'm counting on it. 

[PZ]

So far so good - in fact, this game is what FC3 should have been - this is more FC2 like than either FC3 or FC4. The landscape is similar to FC2, roads also, and the general ambiance of day/night and weather. No lame sound effects so far - no head banging music. The radio is on by default in the vehicles, but you can turn them off easily. There are generally multiple paths to a target (other than by walking overland). I went on a mission, and set a map way point which took me the long way around - I saw a much shorter road on the map.  Like in real life, you need to be careful about toads because this one was rather hazardous - it is easy to fall off the cliff-side roads, and this one was little bigger than the tire tracks themselves. I had to drive slowly just to arrive without harm.

The assault trucks are wary of you, but they do not automatically attack unless you are doing something outrageous (in their opinion)

Not a single irritating mission - yet

Here I picked up a sniper rifle and went into the customization screen. You can change lots of things, including your suppressor on the fly. With suppressor, the weapon does not pack as powerful an impact as when non-suppressed, so you can aim your weapon and press a button which toggles the presence of absence of the suppressor.

[PZ]

I really like the sniper sync function, and you can use your skill points to increase the number of simultaneous targets.  I can do two simultaneous so far

[PZ]

This one was kind of funny - a cartel patrol was loitering on the side of the road and did not like us going by them so they open fired.  My boys started hanging out the windows firing back at them (reminded me of the faction mod in JC2). I did not fire a shot - they took care of them all.

[LowPolyOWG]

  Hmm, the bullet wizzbys sounds familiar to a certain UBI*bleep* game from 2008

[Art Blade]

a suppressor actually improves a shot (longer barrel, compressed air behind the bullet) and it is better for you (not going deaf, less muzzle flash) -- no idea why they always put a penalty on suppressors.

[LowPolyOWG]

It usually comes with a reduction in effective range in most games.

[Art Blade]

there are the type of myth buster vids by some weapon freaks on YouTube that go into detail -- some vids are dedicated to the stuff that's wrong in video games.

[PZ]

I understand a suppressor causes a reduction in velocity as well as impact power, at least with the shorter barrel military special operations weapons, but who knows, unless you actually use them.   

My son got me into this game, and he said it contains all real world weapons that actually behave as they should, which makes it more fun than having lasers and other unrealistic weapons.  I asked him more about the game since he has completed it:

• NO BOSS MISSIONS!
• No timed events except for a single one that he recalls to rescue your CIA contact, and even then, it is more of a realistic time scale.
• NO RACES! None of those stupid race your vehicle through the rings nonsense.
• Nothing but real world people, just like in FC2 - no ghosts, spirits, or other dumb stuff
• If you wear military gear, then you are more likely to attract the attention of the cartel patrols. Go as a civilian and you can mostly escape attention. Drive a military vehicle and you are also more likely to attract unwanted attention.
• If you are using a sniper weapon and are shooting beyond a certain distance, then you need not use a suppressor because the cartel will not hear the blast, or if they do, will not know where it originates, which allows you to hit harder and at longer distances with less bullet drop
• No stupid animal skinning to build pouches!
• No eagles, tigers or other zoo animals to attack you

After collecting some weapon parts I want to another map area and sure enough, I could go anywhere I wanted. As I flew over the area, the fine detail was revealed.

Evidently this game is so open world that you can actually kill the main end game cartel king pin any time during the game if you can find him - you collect intel and then can make a good educated guess where he might be.

As I was playing today, I felt almost like this game was a fusion between ArmA and what a Far Cry 2 sequel should have been.  I played for most of the day today, which is more than I have played in as long as I can remember.

[fragger]

This is sounding better and better! Thanks for the reports PZ, I may seriously consider this game.

I also found that the very things people complained about in FC2 were the same things that most endeared the game to me Some folks don't like it if it isn't full-on action all the time, it seems. They don't like to think, study and plan. These are the very things that also attract me to good strategy games. I like ones that engage my mind and require me to plan stuff out.

[PZ]

This one definitely appears to be a thinkers game so far fragger.  I'll keep playing and post my experiences - you never know if a game will take a sudden bad turn, as has happened to me in the past.