The moment for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (Ghost Recon Wildlands, if you prefer) has finally arrived and here it is our first impressions. The day of the official game launch is expected for the 4 October. All those who have purchased the edition with early access will already be able to taste the title in preview. Proud and proud of this privilege, we took off our suit and tie and put on our camouflage, ready to embark on a new adventure. Comparisons are inevitable when it comes to sequels, but be warned: considering it as such is a mistake.
Ubisoft itself, since the official launch of the game, immediately wanted to reiterate that there is only one common thread with Wildlands speaking of historical and temporal continuity. This is the villain on duty, Cole D. Walker (played by actor Jon Bernthal), already appeared in Ghost Recon Wildlands in one of the latest post launch content, Operation Oracle.
This involved two missions in which the goal was to recover a secret technology called "Skell Tech". None of the players in the Ghost Recon community would have thought that in those last hours of Wildlands content she would be hiding the key to the new chapter of the series.
The announcement of the game was unexpected. Many thought it was a new Splinter Cell. Instead Ubisoft amazed everyone by announcing Ghost Recon Breakpoint. The historical fans of the series, after seeing the new features and improvements of the series, have a little wrinkled their noses: with the introduction of loot mechanisms related to the grinding of the character, the announcement of a possible raid and the presence of hub, they immediately saw themselves “contaminating” a series that made realism its key to success.
Forgive us for a long digression, but it was right to summarize the context in which the first impressions of Ghost Recon Breakpoint will be told. The hunt has just begun!
From hunters to prey
Before describing the first hours of Ghost Recon Breakpoint we specify that the game is fully localized in Spanish. Just remember to download the language pack from the store (just over 1 GB large)
The context of the events brings us off the island of Auroa where, according to intelligence sources, an American merchant ship appears to have sunk in ocean waters. The Ghosts, the special forces of the US army, are sent to investigate the matter, with the task of clarifying the incident. The soldiers aboard helicopters, just arrived near the coast of Auroa, are attacked by microdrones. Few are saved and we are among the lucky ones.
Before the tragic event, we are lucky enough to choose the appearance of our character: the bed of choices is similar to that in Wildlands and is enough to satiate our imagination.
We find ourselves upside down, with bad wounds and enemy soldiers on our heels. The latter have the task of going to the crash sites and killing any survivors in cold blood. This alone is enough to understand Ghost Recon Breakpoint's theater of events. This time we don't have to free the oppressed and overthrow a government led by drug traffickers. This time we have to take the skin home. The hunters have become prey.
Injuries sustained prevent proper movement, completely subverting the almost arcade logic of Wildlands. Obviously the situation is temporary: by pressing the Heal button (L1 on PS4) we apply bandages on the injured areas. This takes time so we do it away from prying and dangerous eyes. After restoring physical normality, we begin our first mission in Wildlands.
The importance of details
Our first mission is to go to the crash sites and groped to save someone, provided there are survivors. The feeling of being hunted is tangible, both emotionally and gameplay. The minimap, always visible on the right side of the HUD, is dense with red areas. Empathy is an important factor in a video game and perhaps this is one of the big improvements we notice over Wildlands.
But this is not only the only positive aspect of the game, which can be appreciated already in the early stages of the game: also details are of decisive importance. It rains and there is mud. Our camouflage gets dirty, the sound of our footsteps changes depending on where we put our feet, the rain does not create a shuttering effect or a drop in framerate (which was often the case in Wildlands), the equipment and weapons get wet and, depending on where we are, we can blend in with the environment. In our case we had a great time rolling around in the mud and testing the quality and effectiveness of camouflage. Really remarkable.
Hoping to find some companions still alive, we mainly traveled through wooded areas with a small interlude of a pseudo-industrial area, until we reached our last helicopter.
A volte ritornano
Proud and happy to hope for the unexpected, we rejoice to see that in the burning wreck of the last aircraft downed there are some surviving Ghosts. Our joy, unfortunately, does not last long: a group of soldiers surrounds our comrades, killing them in cold blood. The last survivor (we do not reveal his identity to avoid spoilers) is finished by Cole D. Walker, an old acquaintance of Wildlands: the traitor is back.
Not being able to do anything given the number and firepower of the enemies, we witness the tragic ending of our companions. The wind and the storm are pressing around us. The graphic detail of these atmospheric events is remarkable. Fronds of trees and bushes bend to the force of the wind, the rain is lashed by the currents and the splinters of fire, coming from the wreck of the burning helicopter, spread around us.
Continuing aimlessly we are attracted by an interference noise, similar to that of a radio. Once located we come into contact with a female voice that informs us that there are surviving ghosts, and here hope is rekindled in us.
Dangerous contamination
Our unknown interlocutor, after having communicated the good news, indicates the location of the base. We have to travel more than 1km and a half on foot and, as soon as we see a motorbike, we jump on it. Actually we also had another choice (an off-road vehicle) but the dirt bike always has its charm. We have fun running around in mud and stones, drifting on the dirt roads of Auroa.
We stop, long before arriving at the allied base, because attracted by cash symbols marked on the map. These represent gods secret hiding places in which to find files, information, ammunition and, of course, a chest. Once opened, the loot received is a weapon, an MP7 submachine gun, with an indication of a number and a green arrow in the lower left part.
In Ghost Recon Breakpoint was included, in an absolutely risky way, the level of the weapon. The risk is to ruin the beauty that this series has always represented: the same level and equipment. In this way everything was decided by the skill of the single in PVE, and by the skill of the group in PVP. It is possible that this "contamination" comes from the other great videogame work of Ubisoft, The Division 2, which is instead based on a build logic.
UOnce we arrive at the shelter we realize that this is nothing more than a lobby room, where there are many activities to do. Among others, in addition to get acquainted with new players, We can log into Ghost War, Breakpoint's PVP mode, we can check game progress and we can purchase weapons and equipment. This last aspect represents another and dangerous point of contact with The Division 2, bombarded by all kinds of microtransactions.
Waiting for the review
We stop here with the story of our first impressions of Ghost Recon Breakpoint, with the promise of one detailed and accurate review of the new Ubisoft title. There are many aspects to see as well as the insights that derive from it. These first hours of play have certainly served to understand that this is absolutely not an upgrade of Wildlands, but an evolution of it.
The developers listened to the numerous feedbacks that the large gaming community has provided over the past two years. It is now necessary to understand what the game will be like as a whole, also in light of these dangerous commercial contaminations. We'll see. Meanwhile, keep your eyes open: in Auroa, the hunt is on.
► Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is a Shooter type game developed and published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 04/10/2019
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is a beautiful game that cannot be missing from your collection: we have decided to evaluate it with a 90%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint review
