Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

Good and complicated question.  

First off Breakpoint is not anything like your typical BioWare fare...at least not yet.  No companion characters and limited RP opprotunities (which were just introduced in Breakpoint) and what seems like so far a pretty basic story...which then seems more complicated then Wildlands.  This is not an RPG, in short, but then I hope that Breakpoint could be an indication that we could get a *proper* modern day Spec Ops RPG shooter....which is something I have always wanted ever since I first started playing RPGs...there is a lot of interesting morally gray situations that anyone working Special Operations or Counter Terrorism would have to deal with.  

As far as what itches Ghost Recon has that other games don't within the genre?  Well mainly two fold, but it also has a few things that set it apart from its compeition (namely BF and COD).  It is much larger and actually seems to have a pretty hearty campaign (bang for your buck) and its third person compared to first person...which I always prefer.  Aside from that though Wildlands was just fun and it seems Breakpoint continues on with that.  There is something just addictive about its gameplay and it scratches a very different itch then Bioware...but still.  Even when you are doing, at least in Wildlands, a lot of the same types of missions over and over again it still never looses that fun factor.  Its hard to quantify exactly how they achieve it, but it does.  And Breakpoint, from my brief experience with the game, is even more varied the Wildlands in what you can do.  Different tactical puzzles and a lot more to think about when completing your missions coupled with a more varied mission structure (more to do) coupled with an actual story this time.  The second thing is the co op.  I often claim that nothing quite ruins a game then haivng to play it with other people, but Wildlands was an exception for that brief moment I had a PSPlus I could play it with friends and share in that experience and it was fun.  Most video games these days seem to advocate and push for PVP or have very vaccous co op play...but again Wildlands just did it right.  Maybe it was its lack of story that helped it along here and maybe it helped that I had a dedicated group of friends that I only played with a couple of times, but still no randos...but it really helped.  

Now if this game is for you?  I can't say.  I don't know enough about you to make an honest recommendation but since I have always been a fan of and interested in spy stuff, American Military, Special Operations Stories, Counter Terrorism, and shooters in general...these games are a lot more up my alley.  But that is the experience that Ghost Recon seems to cater to...the 'itch that it scratches.'   I can't say enough about the quality of the writing in it yet and nor can I say how it will handle entirely as a SP experience since the co op for this game is being so heavily emphasized...its probbaly possible to play it and enjoy yourself with just you and your AI squad (when they add them) but the idea here does seem to get a squad together and enjoy it with other people.  

So...I broke down and bought it. I was weak.

what?! Nomad is AWR? It didn't sound like her! Now I kinda regret my choice for Male Nomad for MP purposes.

You are trying to make me get the game, don't you?

I'm curious as to whether the game can be completed without MTX aka ACOD.

So that escelated rather quickly. No sooner were the words out of my mouth 'I am glad that I got this game' that things went very FUBAR. First to steal a truck...after about an hour of trying to get in there and fight with convoys and guards and reinforcements... and bugs! I stole the thing...only to get it stuck on a rock. I got it off the rock, then got ambushed by a passing drone swarm. Which took out the truck and then killed me. I didn't try it again...and then on the next mission after an hour or so I had to steal a boat and on the way there...I got it stuck on a rock and had to start over. So infuriating! Like really. On the bright side I did get the blueprint for the Barret. On the not so bright side I still don't have my damn Boonie hat. And I found out what happened to Midas.

On the other negative side given how much time actually does pass in this game, with the bivouac's I might not be able to RP as much as I thought I could.

Oh and I did get up to where the Open Beta ended off. So the game has now been 'open' for me. There is a lot of verdict still open on this game. I am enjoying myself and I am actually a bit surprised just how many dialogue options there are...but I think this would be going so much quicker and smoother if I actually had other people to play with. Maybe even an AI squad...Oh well.

I looked in the MTX store, the only thing remotely appealing was a good looking T-shirt, and I can earn a similar one by completing some battle tiers.




She's doing 'American'.... 

Eww

So yeah. Continuing on with the side missions and there is just so much to do in this game. Though on the flip side it's a lot different then what I am used to. A lot of modern game design focus on quests and activities that are short, but contribute to the greater whole. I could get a lot done in Assassin's Creed Odyssey for instance. But now it takes me an hour to just clear out a single base. Most of this is probably my fault though since I also get lost in buildings or waste time with buildings that have no way in.

Plus I just can't do the Elite Missions by myself at present yet. Just way too much stuff in there and it just takes awhile only for me to get into a death loop. Which stinks because they look good. Oh and I haven't gotten my boonie yet.

Other than that I am still enjoying the game...lol. I mean I expect to enjoy it more I just have to know my limits. On the bright side I did also pick up the perk where I get better weapons at Maria's shop which is quite a boon because I now have a purple Barret, which is awesome...and a purple Scorpion EVO and a purple pistol. The only issue is it seems weird that the 'rarity' is different from the mks. So my purple rated Barret has different passives associated with it then upgrading its mk. I wish they gave me a list of passives we can use like the signatures in Odyssey.

Do I want the 'beardy baseball cap' Nomad look?

Nope, I found me a stetson...