GHOST RECON FUTURE SOLDIER [2012] STEAM PC REVIEW

 🏆🏆   MASTERPIECE   🏆🏆

Tom Clancy GRFS was released in 2012 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Despite future soldier being the most action-oriented game in the series, it still focuses on tactical gameplay with a good mix of modern and futuristic sci-fi equipment delivering an engaging badass stealth/action hybrid. 

When Future Soldier was released on consoles, I decided to wait for the PC version, both xbox 360 and PS3 could not even pull 30FPS 720p with stable performance. When the PC version came out, it was awesome! Got that 1080p 60 FPS with advanced graphic settings, no sweat! I was already set on using this review to recommend everyone to stay away from console versions of the GRFS

I remember the early Ghost Recon series games were so hard for me to play because I was just a kid and these games had complex gameplay mechanics for me to understand. The planning was a nightmare, it was easier to do my homework than plan a proper assault in Ghost Recon. Nevertheless, I grew up playing these games given my fascination with police action-oriented movies. 

Ubisoft did a good job at marketing Future soldier, There were a lot of youtube videos coming out every now and then showing details about the game, GRFS was a big thing for me when it was released back in 2012. I was hooked by the mission structure design, situation & combat dialog, amazing gunplay, and tight mechanics with an engaging combat loop. Love the way the gameplay transitions from stealth to intense firefights when you make a mistake and get detected.

After completing Wildlands and Breakpoint I went back to Future Soldier to experience that campaign and realized that I enjoy the scripted-driven linear missions over the open world structure. The new entries gave us the freedom to approach and complete missions the way we want to, with tons of weapons and character customizations, they make Ghost Recon Bigger and better, that's for sure. But the open world and open mission engagement is a tradeoff: freedom for immersion. In Future Soldier, your AI teammates are always commenting on everything that's happening around you, mission status, chit-chat about the situation, and there's always radio chatter with op comms to relay intel and status over mission progression, makes me feel like I'm part of a badass special forces squad. That's something that was lost on the next GR games, with freedom comes less scripted AI that has to react to thousands of different situations with the same 3 lines, so they end up always saying the same lines "we have bad guys around" "opening fire" and some more that cycle between encounters. In future soldiers the combat dialog is always based on that given situation, I understand that most people feel comfortable with that freedom immersion tradeoff, they probably feel new entries are more immersive because of this freedom and world customization, at least that's the main design focus now.

RAVEN STRIKE DLC

Really enjoyed the raven strike DLC gave more of what I loved, Three new scripted missions with heavy radio chatter about situational awareness that equals full immersion and tons of fun for me. Secure Dawn, Cold Walker, and Argent Thunder were great new missions. This DLC is by no means something new, it is more of the same, you can only appreciate it if you loved the campaign as I did. 

GHOST RECON BREAKPOINT DLC

 After completing Breakpoint I paid for the season pass, so I could play the Episodes 2 & 3 of the main story, those are built differently from the rest of breakpoint. I was hooked!  It was a nice throwback to future soldier missions with constant radio chatter about situational awareness and objectives changes.