Ghost Recon Wildlands trailer shows AI teamwork
Far Cry and MGSV in equal parts
My favourite part of Far Cry 4, a game I liked very much, was its co-operative mode in which you and a friend could take on the outposts and forts of the open world. I am therefore excited for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands [official site], which seems to be entirely about tackling larger fort-like compounds in Bolivia in up to four-player co-op. There's a new walkthrough video below of the game being played solo, with AI teammates you can order about like I do with Adam.
This is the first Ghost Recon game to take place in a fully open world, which conjures fears in some people about the tactical series becoming just another example of the UbiGame. There are no capturable towers here though. Instead Ubisoft are talking more about creating a reactive world, where assaulting one village might prompt enemies to strike back somewhere else, and where you can change the relationships enemy factions happen with each other and you through which actions you decide to take.
That's all pretty vague, and exactly the kind of claims which turn out to be flimsy when seen in action, but I like what's present in the trailer above. Far Cry is an obvious point of comparison, but open world stealth also puts me in mind of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. There's plenty of stealthing, as the player works those glutes by crouch-walking around town, tagging enemies with binoculars and a pilotable drone, and shooting a few of them through floorboards. I'm even interested in the briefly-shown weapon customisation, just for the seemingly absurd number of options. The potential for UbiGame conjures fear in some people, but not me; the idea of sinking into some new, meaty sandbox sounds appealing right now.
Wildlands is due for release about six weeks from now, on March 7, 2017.