Post by novanleon on Nov 15, 2012 15:41:05 GMT -5
My five-month review of GRFS
(cross-post from the Ubisoft forums)
WARNING: Several weeks ago I wrote this review and posted it to the Ubisoft forums. All-in-all, I'm a big fan of GRFS, so I included a lot of thanks and encouragement for Ubisoft in my comments. Expect a certain level of fanboy-ish praise for the game directed at Ubisoft included in my review below. My apologies beforehand.
Preface
I just want to thank Ubisoft for continuing to create realism-based tactical shooters like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in a day-and-age when the typical mindless, twitch-based shooter is the flavor of the day, and thoughtful, tactical gameplay is often passed over for larger explosions and 360-degree spinning headshots.
GRFS is a fantastic and greatly underrated game that I feel deserves more attention and respect in the gaming community. I'm writing this now, not only to encourage others to try the game if they haven't already, but to praise Ubisoft on a job well done and encourage them never to give up on the tactical shooter genre, no matter how tempted they are to cater to the Call of Duty crowd by dumbing down the game and removing all the things that make the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series great.
I have been playing first-person shooters since the late 90's, with my first great love being Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear for the PC. I remember being fascinated by the sheer depth and level of detail in the game, from the realistic AI, to the way that a wounded character would limp as he walked after being shot in the leg. In many ways I see a similar attention to detail in GRFS. What follows is a detailed overview of the console version of the game which includes many of the reasons I love the game and would encourage others to give it a try.
Let's begin with the simple stuff.
Graphics
The game graphics are excellent as far as console games go, and I personally love the style of the game, with it's realistic environments with a slightly futuristic twist. The player's HUD design itself is excellent and very innovative, somehow managing to be both highly informative and minimalistic at the same time. On top of having a unique visual style, the HUD never feels like it lacks for information and never seems to get in the way. You can't really ask more from a HUD in a game than this, IMHO.
Controls
GRFS has one of the best cover-system implementations in recent memory, on par with Gears of War in it's implementation and ease of use. Once you get used to the controls, it becomes effortless to move in and out of cover, lean, blind fire, go prone, roll, perform a strafing role into prone position, sprint-to-prone, swap weapons or perform any of the other useful actions in the game. If I had to point out a rough spot, it would be that it's not always easy to tell which weapon you currently have drawn due to the third-person nature of the game and the weapon not being largely visible on your character as it would be in a first-person shoother, but I can't really fault GRFS for this.
I admit that it make take a little more time to acclimate yourself to the controls compared to a simpler shooter such as Call of Duty or Battlefield, but I think this is understandable given the inclusion of a cover system and a much larger number of actions that can be performed overall.
Classes and Factions
In the game there are three classes, "Scout", "Enginner" and "Rifleman". Each class has it's own unique selection of primary weapons, secondary weapons, grenades and equipment, with only some minor overlap between the classes.
Each class has two variations, one for the "Ghost" faction and one for the "Bodark" faction. Which team you are on determines which faction you are assigned to, and each faction changes the primary and secondary weapons that you can choose from. For every weapon that one side has, there is usually a similarly-handling weapon for the alternative side, so if there's a particular play-style you like to adhere to, you shouldn't have any difficulty in finding a weapon on both sides that caters to your needs. That said, all of the weapons still have a unique feel to how they handle, which keeps things interesting, particularly when you factor in the various ways you can modify your weapons using attachments.
Each class automatically has it's own unique ability which sets it part from the others. The Scout class will enter into a "cloaked" state when standing still, a transparent camoflage that doesn't completely conceal him but provided enough concealment to cause most players to do a double-take upon seeing a well-concealled figure. Engineers have the ability to see line-of-sight indicators whenever an enemy player is iron-sighted and scoped in on their position. And Riflemen have thicker armor, giving them the ability to take a few more shots from low-caliber weapons than the other classes. None of these ability are overpowering, but they add a nice touch of uniqueness to each class without making them game-changing features that could potentially break the game.
Primary Weapons
For each class, regardless of the faction you choose, there are two distinct types of primary weapons available to that class. The Scout has access to sniper rifles, slow rate-of-fire, high-damage rifles that are good for longer ranges, and submachine guns, fast-shooting, low-recoil guns that are great on-the-move. The Engineer has access to shotguns, high-power, close-range weapons that are good for a variety of close-mid range situations, and carbines, small automatic weapons that crosses the higher-damage of assault rifles with a more maneuverable, smaller-body of SMGs. Finally, the Rifleman has access to light machine guns which are able to carry a massive number of rounds in a single box or belt-fed magazine and lay down suppressive fire upon opponents, and assault rifles, versatile weapons that range from fast shooting, lighter-caliber weapons to semi-automatic, high-damage rifles that can compete with sniper rifles at most ranges. Each of these weapons types feels well-balanced and unique (with the possible exception of the submachine guns which, see my comments in the critiques section below), each serving a unique and useful purpose in the game, and catering to a multitude of personal preference and playstyles.
Even within each weapon type mentioned above, each individual weapon feels unique in it's purpose and the way it handles. Take for example, the shotguns. Each faction has three shotguns to choose from. There is a slow rate-of-fire but high-damage pump shotgun which can demolish opponents at close ranges but suffers at mid-long ranges. There is a faster-shooting, semi-automatic shotgun with a tighter spread that can do well at mid and sometimes even long ranges but requires a more precise aim and has a smaller magazine size than it's short-range brethren. And then there's the short-range, high rate-of-fire, automatic variation which can do extremely well against multiple close range targets but is quite challenging to control due to the massive recoil. These are just a few examples, the result being that each weapon in the game feels unique in handling and purpose from all the others. Add to this the simply massive number of weapon attachments and customizations, and many people will have fun just tweaking their gun and playing around with all the different types of guns throughout the course of the game.
Speaking of weapon attachments, you can customize almost every aspect of your primary weapon in the game, including the weapon stock, barrel length, grips, optics, muzzle, etc. Each attachment can be unlocked using points that you earn each time you level up a particular class by completing missions, assisting your team, and of course scoring kills. As you level up you automatically unlock weapons and gear, and earn the points that go to unlocking new attachments. As you're playing around on the weapon customization screen there's even an easy to use in-game "Firing Range" feature for you to test out weapons and attachments before you unlock them to help you figure out which path you want to take beforehand. Some of the attachments can be game-changers, and at various steps in your level progression you'll be given a choice between two different attachments or new pieces of equipment that can significantly affect your classes capabilities. Luckily these decisions can be redone by earning respec tokens that lets you essentially keep all your earned points and re-choose the equipment and attachments you want to keep. This is a relief for those who make a mistake and want to go back and redo thier selections. Once you reach level 50 you are given the option to choose a single weapon from both factions that you can use no matter what faction you are playing as. This lets you do things like use an AK-200, a Bodark weapon, as a Ghost, and visa-versa.
Secondary Weapons
In addition to primary weapons, there are also secondary weapons, different types of grenades and equipment to choose from.
For the secondary weapon slot there is a selection of semi-automatic and fully-automatic pistols to choose from, both of which give you a much greater degree of mobility than most standard guns but which lack the "punch" that a primary weapon usually has. These are ideal for emergency reload situations or when you are carrying a high-specialized primary weapon such as a sniper rifle as your primary and you need a smaller, more mobile weapon to use on the move. While disadvantaged in most head-on conflicts against primary weapons, when used correctly they can be quite effective and deadly.
Along side the pistols, there is a super-short-range stun gun that the player can choose for their secondary slot, which introduces some interesting tactical aspects to the game. While the stun gun only fires a single shot and has an extremely limited range (basically 5-6 feet, max), it has the unique ability to causing your opponent to fall to the ground in a stunned state. Once your opponent is stunned, you have the option to either finish him off with your primary weapon or proceed to "hack" your opponent which, if successful, automatically outlines the entire opposing team in red (i.e. temporary walhack) and gives your team a massive advantage. Risky, but the payoff is definitely worthwhile.
In addition to pistols and the stun gun, the Scout and Engineer classes also have the option of choosing a stand-alone smoke, EMP or explosive grenade launcher as their secondary once they've completed the single player game. Beating the single player game on easy unlocks the smoke launcher, medium unlocks the EMP launcher, and hard unlocks the grenade launcher. Never fear though, none of these launchers are particularly overpowered, so while they're handy, they're not effective enough to give you a significant disadvantage if you don't feel like completing the single player game. The Rifleman class can unlock these launchers as underbarrel attachments to the assault rifles without requiring you to play through the single-player game first.
Oh, and I almost forgot the flash bulb gun, which basically a flashbang-pistol which you can fire and it blinds anyone in front of you. I haven't used it much, but it may have some potential if used correctly.
Grenades
Each class has a slightly different selection of grenades. Scouts get flashbang, smoke and EMP grenades. Engineers get sensor, decoy, smoke and EMP grenades. And Riflemen get frag, incendiary, smoke and EMP grenades.
Flashbangs cause a bright flash and blind the opponent temporarily if they are looking directly at it. Smoke grenades create a useful smoke cloud that blocks player's vision. EMP grenades destroy all types of devices and equipment used by the enemy and remove the enemy player's HUD for a short time. Sensor grenades "scan" the nearby area and reveal the outline of all players within the zone. Decoy grenades create fake gunshots and mini-map indicators on the enemy's screen for a short time, useful for psyching them out. Frag grenades kill players at close range to the explosive and temporarily knock down those too far from the explosive to be killed. Incendiary grenades cause a small area to "burn" for a short time, preventing players from moving through that zone.
Equipment
Your equipment is potentially one of the biggest game-changers for each class, and can significantly affect your playstyle with each class.
The Scout class has access to both real and stun claymores which gives you the ability to guard entrances and pathways without requirng your presence, an augmented "cloak" which lets the player cloak when moving slowly, an OTR Scanner which "spots" enemy players for a second or two (somewhat similar to Battlefield 3's spot mechanic), and a specialized ammunition which increased your weapon's accuracy at the loss of stopping power.
The Engineer has access to a UAV which lets him fly around and spot opposing players, along with a more advanced version later on that trades the spotting ability for the ability to launch miniature missiles, a stationary turret that can shot at ground-based and aerial targets, a special kit that allows him to capture objectives faster, and special "Dragon's Breath" ammunition that burns targets.
The Rifleman has access to a masterkey (shotgun), stungun, smoke, EMP or grenade launcher underbarrel attachment for his assault rifles, a backscatter scope which lets him see through walls at very close ranges, and an ammunition box used to refill ammo for his team.
All the classes also have access to a medkit which lets wounded players revive themselves without a teammates assistance, and a camera which can be planted and alerts you if any enemies walk nearby.
When I first got the game I was most skeptical about the equipment in the game, namely that it would greatly imbalance the gameplay and remove the emphasis on gunfights; however, my fears were (mostly) disuaded by the excellent job that Ubisoft did balancing each of these gameplay elements. In the end, nothing (with the possible exception of the C-UAV) feels imbalanced or overpowered. As I'll explain in further detail later, there is very little in this game that can't easily be countered by using a little bit of caution and common sense on the battlefield.
Single Player
While, the bulk of my interest in the game is centered around the multiplayer portions of the game, I'm happy to say that GRFS also includes a fun and entertaining single player mode for people to enjoy.
For starters the entire single player campaign is built with 2-4 player co-op in mind. That is to say, game is perfectly enjoyable as a single player experience, and that's how I completed the game myself the first time, but with each additional player the action just becomes more fun and interesting. While much more linear than past Ghost Recon games, the single player campaign does throw in enough variety in situations and available tactical decisions to keep things interesting. As you play you'll slowly be introduced to new tools and tricks of the trade for you to use. This includes synchronizing shots between you and your other three team members for simultaneous takedowns, performing breaches, and learning how to manage the "detection meter" to maneuver through enemy areas stealthily. I won't give away any spoilers but suffice it to say that I found the environments and situations varied and interesting enough to keep me hooked throughout the campaign, and the small bonus of completing single player challenges throughout the campaign to unlock new weapons as you progress kept me replaying missions until I'd unlocked all the goodies for each map.
Some may definitely complain about the linear nature of the missions compared to previous Ghost Recon games, but as for myself I found it enjoyable. For those that prefer less linear missions, I believe there is a DLC that has been released with old-style GR missions to play through, although I haven't played through any of these myself.
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla Warfare mode is a 1-4 player co-op "horde mode" game style where you progress through hordes of enemies and perform stealth takedowns to earn "killstreaks" and other support items to help you in proceeding even further. While I haven't played this mode more than a few minutes myself, it looks quite fun given you have a few friends to join you in the chaos. There are approximately eight maps by default and one of the recent DLC included an additional new map for this mode, which should give you more than enough horde mode-style content for you to enjoy.
Multiplayer Modes
Needless to say, I spend 90% of my time in the game playing multiplayer. To me, multiplayer is where the true depth and challenge of any game presents itself. There are several different multiplayer game modes to choose from in GRFS:
In addition to those listed above, there are two additional modes that were introduced with the latest DLC, but I haven't had the opportunity to spend much time with them myself so there's not much I can tell you about them. All of the game modes are fun and interesting, but my personal preference is for Siege, which has some of the most intense moments in recent gaming memory.
Multiplayer Maps
Almost all of the multiplayer maps in GRFS are fun and interesting, with only one or two that I personally don't LOVE, but even those are fun to play in comparison to many other games. There have been some complaints (as I mention later) that some of the maps and game modes aren't properly balanced for true competitive play, and while this may be true, I myself have never encountered any balance issues in casual or casual-professional play. All-in-all, GRFS has some of the best default multiplayer maps that I've seen in a FPS/TPS.
Multiplayer Gameplay & Balance
In the end, all that really matters is the gameplay. It isn't until you've spent some time with a game that the cracks begin to show in a game's balance. Over time, players discover what works and what doesn't work, and they begin to exploit the advantages, small and large, that are inherit in the game's design. That said, I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised at how balanced this game is. Even after five months, all of the classes, maps, weapons and other aspects remain fairly balanced, and the game escapes the rut that most games fall into forcing you to play a certain way in order to be competitive.
To begin with, virtually everything in the game is possible to counter with a little caution and common sense. Here are some examples:
These are just a few examples of the exemplary job that Ubisoft did balancing the multiplayer gameplay while still including many new elements that, at first glance, look horribly overpowered and imbalanced. I personally have yet to find anything in the game that doesn't have an effective counter, which ultimately means the game still focuses largely on gunplay, map knowledge and tactical savvy to win matches, the way it should be.
Miscellaneous Features and Interesting Details
I thought I'd list some of the interesting details and features about the game that just make it shine, at least for me:
Critiques / Suggestions
This wouldn't be an honest review if I didn't mention some of the issues with the game:
Summary
So that ends my review/commentary on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Again, I just want to thank Ubisoft for creating such a high-quality and innovative game in a genre that doesn't get much love these days. I hope you never lose your commitment to games like Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, and never succumb to the mainstream, dumbed-down shooter trends of the day. GRFS hasn't had the community recognition or respect I believe it deserves and I just wanted to make sure you, Ubisoft, knew you were appreciated.
Thank you.
(cross-post from the Ubisoft forums)
WARNING: Several weeks ago I wrote this review and posted it to the Ubisoft forums. All-in-all, I'm a big fan of GRFS, so I included a lot of thanks and encouragement for Ubisoft in my comments. Expect a certain level of fanboy-ish praise for the game directed at Ubisoft included in my review below. My apologies beforehand.
Preface
I just want to thank Ubisoft for continuing to create realism-based tactical shooters like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in a day-and-age when the typical mindless, twitch-based shooter is the flavor of the day, and thoughtful, tactical gameplay is often passed over for larger explosions and 360-degree spinning headshots.
GRFS is a fantastic and greatly underrated game that I feel deserves more attention and respect in the gaming community. I'm writing this now, not only to encourage others to try the game if they haven't already, but to praise Ubisoft on a job well done and encourage them never to give up on the tactical shooter genre, no matter how tempted they are to cater to the Call of Duty crowd by dumbing down the game and removing all the things that make the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series great.
I have been playing first-person shooters since the late 90's, with my first great love being Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear for the PC. I remember being fascinated by the sheer depth and level of detail in the game, from the realistic AI, to the way that a wounded character would limp as he walked after being shot in the leg. In many ways I see a similar attention to detail in GRFS. What follows is a detailed overview of the console version of the game which includes many of the reasons I love the game and would encourage others to give it a try.
Let's begin with the simple stuff.
Graphics
The game graphics are excellent as far as console games go, and I personally love the style of the game, with it's realistic environments with a slightly futuristic twist. The player's HUD design itself is excellent and very innovative, somehow managing to be both highly informative and minimalistic at the same time. On top of having a unique visual style, the HUD never feels like it lacks for information and never seems to get in the way. You can't really ask more from a HUD in a game than this, IMHO.
Controls
GRFS has one of the best cover-system implementations in recent memory, on par with Gears of War in it's implementation and ease of use. Once you get used to the controls, it becomes effortless to move in and out of cover, lean, blind fire, go prone, roll, perform a strafing role into prone position, sprint-to-prone, swap weapons or perform any of the other useful actions in the game. If I had to point out a rough spot, it would be that it's not always easy to tell which weapon you currently have drawn due to the third-person nature of the game and the weapon not being largely visible on your character as it would be in a first-person shoother, but I can't really fault GRFS for this.
I admit that it make take a little more time to acclimate yourself to the controls compared to a simpler shooter such as Call of Duty or Battlefield, but I think this is understandable given the inclusion of a cover system and a much larger number of actions that can be performed overall.
Classes and Factions
In the game there are three classes, "Scout", "Enginner" and "Rifleman". Each class has it's own unique selection of primary weapons, secondary weapons, grenades and equipment, with only some minor overlap between the classes.
Each class has two variations, one for the "Ghost" faction and one for the "Bodark" faction. Which team you are on determines which faction you are assigned to, and each faction changes the primary and secondary weapons that you can choose from. For every weapon that one side has, there is usually a similarly-handling weapon for the alternative side, so if there's a particular play-style you like to adhere to, you shouldn't have any difficulty in finding a weapon on both sides that caters to your needs. That said, all of the weapons still have a unique feel to how they handle, which keeps things interesting, particularly when you factor in the various ways you can modify your weapons using attachments.
Each class automatically has it's own unique ability which sets it part from the others. The Scout class will enter into a "cloaked" state when standing still, a transparent camoflage that doesn't completely conceal him but provided enough concealment to cause most players to do a double-take upon seeing a well-concealled figure. Engineers have the ability to see line-of-sight indicators whenever an enemy player is iron-sighted and scoped in on their position. And Riflemen have thicker armor, giving them the ability to take a few more shots from low-caliber weapons than the other classes. None of these ability are overpowering, but they add a nice touch of uniqueness to each class without making them game-changing features that could potentially break the game.
Primary Weapons
For each class, regardless of the faction you choose, there are two distinct types of primary weapons available to that class. The Scout has access to sniper rifles, slow rate-of-fire, high-damage rifles that are good for longer ranges, and submachine guns, fast-shooting, low-recoil guns that are great on-the-move. The Engineer has access to shotguns, high-power, close-range weapons that are good for a variety of close-mid range situations, and carbines, small automatic weapons that crosses the higher-damage of assault rifles with a more maneuverable, smaller-body of SMGs. Finally, the Rifleman has access to light machine guns which are able to carry a massive number of rounds in a single box or belt-fed magazine and lay down suppressive fire upon opponents, and assault rifles, versatile weapons that range from fast shooting, lighter-caliber weapons to semi-automatic, high-damage rifles that can compete with sniper rifles at most ranges. Each of these weapons types feels well-balanced and unique (with the possible exception of the submachine guns which, see my comments in the critiques section below), each serving a unique and useful purpose in the game, and catering to a multitude of personal preference and playstyles.
Even within each weapon type mentioned above, each individual weapon feels unique in it's purpose and the way it handles. Take for example, the shotguns. Each faction has three shotguns to choose from. There is a slow rate-of-fire but high-damage pump shotgun which can demolish opponents at close ranges but suffers at mid-long ranges. There is a faster-shooting, semi-automatic shotgun with a tighter spread that can do well at mid and sometimes even long ranges but requires a more precise aim and has a smaller magazine size than it's short-range brethren. And then there's the short-range, high rate-of-fire, automatic variation which can do extremely well against multiple close range targets but is quite challenging to control due to the massive recoil. These are just a few examples, the result being that each weapon in the game feels unique in handling and purpose from all the others. Add to this the simply massive number of weapon attachments and customizations, and many people will have fun just tweaking their gun and playing around with all the different types of guns throughout the course of the game.
Speaking of weapon attachments, you can customize almost every aspect of your primary weapon in the game, including the weapon stock, barrel length, grips, optics, muzzle, etc. Each attachment can be unlocked using points that you earn each time you level up a particular class by completing missions, assisting your team, and of course scoring kills. As you level up you automatically unlock weapons and gear, and earn the points that go to unlocking new attachments. As you're playing around on the weapon customization screen there's even an easy to use in-game "Firing Range" feature for you to test out weapons and attachments before you unlock them to help you figure out which path you want to take beforehand. Some of the attachments can be game-changers, and at various steps in your level progression you'll be given a choice between two different attachments or new pieces of equipment that can significantly affect your classes capabilities. Luckily these decisions can be redone by earning respec tokens that lets you essentially keep all your earned points and re-choose the equipment and attachments you want to keep. This is a relief for those who make a mistake and want to go back and redo thier selections. Once you reach level 50 you are given the option to choose a single weapon from both factions that you can use no matter what faction you are playing as. This lets you do things like use an AK-200, a Bodark weapon, as a Ghost, and visa-versa.
Secondary Weapons
In addition to primary weapons, there are also secondary weapons, different types of grenades and equipment to choose from.
For the secondary weapon slot there is a selection of semi-automatic and fully-automatic pistols to choose from, both of which give you a much greater degree of mobility than most standard guns but which lack the "punch" that a primary weapon usually has. These are ideal for emergency reload situations or when you are carrying a high-specialized primary weapon such as a sniper rifle as your primary and you need a smaller, more mobile weapon to use on the move. While disadvantaged in most head-on conflicts against primary weapons, when used correctly they can be quite effective and deadly.
Along side the pistols, there is a super-short-range stun gun that the player can choose for their secondary slot, which introduces some interesting tactical aspects to the game. While the stun gun only fires a single shot and has an extremely limited range (basically 5-6 feet, max), it has the unique ability to causing your opponent to fall to the ground in a stunned state. Once your opponent is stunned, you have the option to either finish him off with your primary weapon or proceed to "hack" your opponent which, if successful, automatically outlines the entire opposing team in red (i.e. temporary walhack) and gives your team a massive advantage. Risky, but the payoff is definitely worthwhile.
In addition to pistols and the stun gun, the Scout and Engineer classes also have the option of choosing a stand-alone smoke, EMP or explosive grenade launcher as their secondary once they've completed the single player game. Beating the single player game on easy unlocks the smoke launcher, medium unlocks the EMP launcher, and hard unlocks the grenade launcher. Never fear though, none of these launchers are particularly overpowered, so while they're handy, they're not effective enough to give you a significant disadvantage if you don't feel like completing the single player game. The Rifleman class can unlock these launchers as underbarrel attachments to the assault rifles without requiring you to play through the single-player game first.
Oh, and I almost forgot the flash bulb gun, which basically a flashbang-pistol which you can fire and it blinds anyone in front of you. I haven't used it much, but it may have some potential if used correctly.
Grenades
Each class has a slightly different selection of grenades. Scouts get flashbang, smoke and EMP grenades. Engineers get sensor, decoy, smoke and EMP grenades. And Riflemen get frag, incendiary, smoke and EMP grenades.
Flashbangs cause a bright flash and blind the opponent temporarily if they are looking directly at it. Smoke grenades create a useful smoke cloud that blocks player's vision. EMP grenades destroy all types of devices and equipment used by the enemy and remove the enemy player's HUD for a short time. Sensor grenades "scan" the nearby area and reveal the outline of all players within the zone. Decoy grenades create fake gunshots and mini-map indicators on the enemy's screen for a short time, useful for psyching them out. Frag grenades kill players at close range to the explosive and temporarily knock down those too far from the explosive to be killed. Incendiary grenades cause a small area to "burn" for a short time, preventing players from moving through that zone.
Equipment
Your equipment is potentially one of the biggest game-changers for each class, and can significantly affect your playstyle with each class.
The Scout class has access to both real and stun claymores which gives you the ability to guard entrances and pathways without requirng your presence, an augmented "cloak" which lets the player cloak when moving slowly, an OTR Scanner which "spots" enemy players for a second or two (somewhat similar to Battlefield 3's spot mechanic), and a specialized ammunition which increased your weapon's accuracy at the loss of stopping power.
The Engineer has access to a UAV which lets him fly around and spot opposing players, along with a more advanced version later on that trades the spotting ability for the ability to launch miniature missiles, a stationary turret that can shot at ground-based and aerial targets, a special kit that allows him to capture objectives faster, and special "Dragon's Breath" ammunition that burns targets.
The Rifleman has access to a masterkey (shotgun), stungun, smoke, EMP or grenade launcher underbarrel attachment for his assault rifles, a backscatter scope which lets him see through walls at very close ranges, and an ammunition box used to refill ammo for his team.
All the classes also have access to a medkit which lets wounded players revive themselves without a teammates assistance, and a camera which can be planted and alerts you if any enemies walk nearby.
When I first got the game I was most skeptical about the equipment in the game, namely that it would greatly imbalance the gameplay and remove the emphasis on gunfights; however, my fears were (mostly) disuaded by the excellent job that Ubisoft did balancing each of these gameplay elements. In the end, nothing (with the possible exception of the C-UAV) feels imbalanced or overpowered. As I'll explain in further detail later, there is very little in this game that can't easily be countered by using a little bit of caution and common sense on the battlefield.
Single Player
While, the bulk of my interest in the game is centered around the multiplayer portions of the game, I'm happy to say that GRFS also includes a fun and entertaining single player mode for people to enjoy.
For starters the entire single player campaign is built with 2-4 player co-op in mind. That is to say, game is perfectly enjoyable as a single player experience, and that's how I completed the game myself the first time, but with each additional player the action just becomes more fun and interesting. While much more linear than past Ghost Recon games, the single player campaign does throw in enough variety in situations and available tactical decisions to keep things interesting. As you play you'll slowly be introduced to new tools and tricks of the trade for you to use. This includes synchronizing shots between you and your other three team members for simultaneous takedowns, performing breaches, and learning how to manage the "detection meter" to maneuver through enemy areas stealthily. I won't give away any spoilers but suffice it to say that I found the environments and situations varied and interesting enough to keep me hooked throughout the campaign, and the small bonus of completing single player challenges throughout the campaign to unlock new weapons as you progress kept me replaying missions until I'd unlocked all the goodies for each map.
Some may definitely complain about the linear nature of the missions compared to previous Ghost Recon games, but as for myself I found it enjoyable. For those that prefer less linear missions, I believe there is a DLC that has been released with old-style GR missions to play through, although I haven't played through any of these myself.
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla Warfare mode is a 1-4 player co-op "horde mode" game style where you progress through hordes of enemies and perform stealth takedowns to earn "killstreaks" and other support items to help you in proceeding even further. While I haven't played this mode more than a few minutes myself, it looks quite fun given you have a few friends to join you in the chaos. There are approximately eight maps by default and one of the recent DLC included an additional new map for this mode, which should give you more than enough horde mode-style content for you to enjoy.
Multiplayer Modes
Needless to say, I spend 90% of my time in the game playing multiplayer. To me, multiplayer is where the true depth and challenge of any game presents itself. There are several different multiplayer game modes to choose from in GRFS:
- Conflict - Two teams are placed on opposite sides of the map and are presented with randomized objectives placed in random locations on the map, with one team struggling to defend the objective while the other attempts to capture/destroy/escort as required. After each death, each player respawns in his/her base. After one team succeeds or fails, the objective disappears and a new objective is placed in another location and the cycle repeats. Completing the objectives rewards points to each team and the team with the largest number of points at the end of the time limit wins the game.
- Decoy - One team is the defenders and one team is the attackers. There are three objectives to defend/attack. Only one of the objectives is the "real" objective, with the other two being decoys, but the identity of the real objective is hidden from both teams. Once the real objective is captured by the attacking team, a single, final objective is revealed which the defenders are forced to protect. If the attackers can capture this second objective, the match ends and the attackers win. Both sides take turns being the attackers and best out of three wins.
- Saboteur - Similar to the "Sabotage" game mode in Call of Duty, there is a single "package" in the middle of the map and each team must struggle to pick up the package and escort it to a drop point on the other side of the map. The first team to drop the package at the drop point wins. Very fast-paced and intense.
- Siege - The only no-respawn game mode. One team is the defenders and one team is the attackers. The attackers try to capture a single objective being protected by the defenders elsewhere on the map. The defenders have 10 seconds to setup before the attackers start, but the attackers spawn point varies to keep the defenders guessing. Once a player dies he/she can spectate his teammates and talk to them over the mics, but can't respawn until the round ends. Both teams play to the best of five rounds.
In addition to those listed above, there are two additional modes that were introduced with the latest DLC, but I haven't had the opportunity to spend much time with them myself so there's not much I can tell you about them. All of the game modes are fun and interesting, but my personal preference is for Siege, which has some of the most intense moments in recent gaming memory.
Multiplayer Maps
Almost all of the multiplayer maps in GRFS are fun and interesting, with only one or two that I personally don't LOVE, but even those are fun to play in comparison to many other games. There have been some complaints (as I mention later) that some of the maps and game modes aren't properly balanced for true competitive play, and while this may be true, I myself have never encountered any balance issues in casual or casual-professional play. All-in-all, GRFS has some of the best default multiplayer maps that I've seen in a FPS/TPS.
Multiplayer Gameplay & Balance
In the end, all that really matters is the gameplay. It isn't until you've spent some time with a game that the cracks begin to show in a game's balance. Over time, players discover what works and what doesn't work, and they begin to exploit the advantages, small and large, that are inherit in the game's design. That said, I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised at how balanced this game is. Even after five months, all of the classes, maps, weapons and other aspects remain fairly balanced, and the game escapes the rut that most games fall into forcing you to play a certain way in order to be competitive.
To begin with, virtually everything in the game is possible to counter with a little caution and common sense. Here are some examples:
- Sensor grenades, which can outline players in real-time through walls, essentially a wallhack grenade, can be easily countered with EMP grenades. When the game began many players complained about sensor grenades due to how "overpowered" they were, but at this point players have learned how to counter them so much that they're much less common and must be used tactically to be useful.
- Claymores and sentry guns, which essentially allow you to guard areas of the map can be quite deadly, but all it takes to avoid them is to use the built-in cover system to check around the corner before you step out, or toss an EMP grenade in the area to destroy them permanently.
- UAV or C-UAV, which is essentially a UAV with a grenade launcher, can be easily destroyed with an EMP launcher or a steady stream of gun fire. Yes, I will be the first to admit that the C-UAV should have no place in the game due to it's potential to be overpowered, but all it takes is a single individual with an EMP launcher or light machine gun to completely shut them down.
- Hacking, which at first caused many complaints as being unfair, has become much rarer as of late. The reason for this is that whenever you try to hack someone, an alert is sent out to the opposing team warning them that someone is being hacked, and your position is highlighted in red for the entire hacking duration, giving them an easy way to counter the hacker. Players have learned since release that all it takes is a little effort and it's easy to stop the hacking and earn themselves a free kill. This made is so that hacking is much more rare and must be used tactically and intelligently by players, essentially balancing it out as it should be.
These are just a few examples of the exemplary job that Ubisoft did balancing the multiplayer gameplay while still including many new elements that, at first glance, look horribly overpowered and imbalanced. I personally have yet to find anything in the game that doesn't have an effective counter, which ultimately means the game still focuses largely on gunplay, map knowledge and tactical savvy to win matches, the way it should be.
Miscellaneous Features and Interesting Details
I thought I'd list some of the interesting details and features about the game that just make it shine, at least for me:
- Post-patch, when behind cover, there's no way to pre-align your signs without peaking out and showing yourself. What this does is it allows you to keep the "I can see you but you can't see me" advantage that a third-person shooter gives you, but it prevents that player from also having offensive superiority over the players he is observing without first exposing himself. This may seem like a small thing but what this essentially does is it prevents the overwhelming tactical loitering advantage and gives a greater advantage to players on the move, something that keeps the game lively and interesting, IMHO.
- The sheer number of actions you can perform the game is amazing. When moving about normally, you can walk, sprint, crouch, sneak, climb, leap over obstacles, go prone, crawl, roll right and left, sprint to prone, and perform a leaping roll. From behind cover you can peak (no gun), blind fire (no peak), peak and fire, peak and sight your weapon, peak and deploy (for bipods), and quick sprint-and-reposition behind another piece of cover.
- Your weapon recoil and bullet spread is significantly impacted by your firing position. Firing while prone gives you a major advantage, firing from a crouched position less-so, and firing from a standing position even less, and firing while moving least of all. This allows the developers to give weapons like pistols and SMGs large advantages while on the move (they already have low recoil, low spread, and good movement accuraccy) while giving heavier weapons significantly greater advantages from more stable positions, allowing more variety in styles of play.
- If an opponent manages to shoot you multiple times without scoring a direct body or headshot, often instead of dying you will go into a "down" state where teammates have an opportunity to revive you for a short time. This take away the unfair feeling of being killed by being repeatedly shot in the foot, and also leads to some interesting situations where teammates are forced to fight their way to you in order to rescue you.
- Grenades and grenade launchers must score an almost-direct hit to kill and are limited to one grenade each. They're definitely not overpowered and are more useful for knocking your opponent out from behind cover, which keeps the explosives balanced and less disruptive.
- Almost any gadget, device or special ability in the game can be neutralized with an EMP grenade. Also, the EMP launcher is your best friend against UAVs and C-UAVs.
- Pretty much any weapon or gadget in the game is useful when used correctly.
- Despite being a tactical third-person shooter, run-and-gun is certainly viable and extremely effective as long as you play intelligently. That said, so is playing defensively if you know what you are doing.
Critiques / Suggestions
This wouldn't be an honest review if I didn't mention some of the issues with the game:
- While my friends and myself haven't experienced any issues with lag, I have heard many others who have. If you have a decent internet connection and you're still frequently having problems with laggy games, there may be something wrong with the netcode that needs to be resolved. Lag and poor hit detection (often due to lag) can be potentially game-breaking for players, and developers should always do their best to ensure optimum netcode and quickly resolve any lag related issues as quickly as possible.
- SMGs are slightly overpowered in the game, primarily because they are equally effective at close and long range due to their minimal recoil and high rate of fire. With an SMG you can just spray-and-pray players to death at long range without much of an issue. Add this to the fact that they're one of the best weapons to use on the move, and that using a silencer doesn't significantly impact their long-range damage, and you end up with a weapon with very few weaknesses, if any. I don't want to make it sound like SMGs will walk all over the other weapons in the game, which isn't true (each weapon does very well in it's own niche and average or sub-average in every other), but the SMG's superb versatility make it the only weapon type in the game that can do very well in almost every situation. This is something that should be avoided if at all possible. At the very least the SMG's long-range effectiveness should be significantly diminished, which is also more realistic.
- The C-UAV is just a terrible idea and shouldn't exist in the game. I appreciate the fact that it's not massively overpowered, but it's disruptive enough to warrant rethinking or removing entirely.
- I've heard lot of talk in the competitive/esports community that the maps aren't balanced well enough for the Seige game mode to be competitively viable. You may want to consider adding several new maps in the vein of the classic Rainbow Six "Kill House" and "Kill House Double" style, where both teams are placed on mirrored sides of the map, which makes for excellent competitive play. Also, you may want to consider altering the Seige game mode to remove the 10 second advantage that the defending team has for competitive play at least (you could make this an option for private games at least). Both of these suggestions taken together would make GRFS much more viable for competitive play and help keep the esports commmunity active and happy.
- Matchmaking for multiplayer games is relatively easy and provides a lot of good options for private matches, but sometimes it returns a lot of "No sessions found" errors before it actually puts me in a game. This can get irritating at times. It would be nice to have a server list like Battlefield 3 and most of the PC FPS games do, which would probably resolve this. The issue I run into mostly is a lack of players in some of the newer, DLC game modes, at least on PS3. It would be nice if I could see a list of active sessions for each of these game modes and be placed in a queue to join them when other players leave or there are enough players to start a new session.
Summary
So that ends my review/commentary on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Again, I just want to thank Ubisoft for creating such a high-quality and innovative game in a genre that doesn't get much love these days. I hope you never lose your commitment to games like Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, and never succumb to the mainstream, dumbed-down shooter trends of the day. GRFS hasn't had the community recognition or respect I believe it deserves and I just wanted to make sure you, Ubisoft, knew you were appreciated.
Thank you.