Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

Here's my problem:

I've only played solo.

So I'm not experiencing the whole game, but I haven't really felt the need to team up, I'm enjoying dismantling each base at my own pace...

My problem is really a matter of patience I guess. Lol. I'm a sniper and I prefer sniping, but snipers are a support class. So I'm just sitting up on my perch minding my own business... and they are cowering from me like the dogs they are. I could really use a teammate or two to go down and flush em out. Sadly that requires comms which the rando I was playing with once didn't believe in those...

On the flip side maybe going through these missions fast is a bad idea considering I'm waiting for the AI teamates and tiered loot fixes so I can start over.

Load em up!

dazk correctamundo

So here we are at the end, my thoughts on Breakpoint. My review.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint: A delightful mess

The Good:

The Gunplay: Lets start with an easy one: Much like its predecessor Breakpoint has some tight shooting and its clear tat Ubisoft really knows how to beef up combat in their games. Everything felt smooth, crisp, and well thought out. Whether you were running and gunning in the middle of a compound or picking your shots for hundred of meters away, combat is fun and rewarding pretty much no matter what you are doing. Only thing that held it back was the seemingly 650 meter hard limit on sniper shots where you the enemy wasn't even there. Also the bullet drop for snipers just takes into accunt gravity...and somehow it is easier to keep everything in mind then in Wildlands.

The Story: I was initially very reluctant when it was clear from the marketing and the background information on the game that it was clear that there was going to be *more* story content in this game then Wildlands. Wildlands was virtually storyless...and surprisingly it worked for the game. The joy didn't come in playing through an intense story but in working through the interesting and varied tactical scenarios the game presented. The only real story in Wildlands was a 'backstory' involving DEA Agent Ricky Sandoval's dissillusionment with the United States and his overall mission.

So Breakpoint went in the direction to include a story...and despite perhaps a rough start it really delivered in the end of the day. It was a story of technology gone awry, of regret, of how people deal with a modern and ever changing world, and it really, really, really worked. Perhaps not the most inspired story in the world.

As an aside I do wonder if games lie this and Ace Combat 7, which also told a story of drone warfare gone awry...but drones have been with us for a very long time now in terms of modern military warfare. I mean sure, tech gone awry is a huge part of science fiction in general, but...it just seems a little late. Though on the flip side technology is so central to this narrative that it was nice hearing about concepts like 3D printers and the like. Also some of the story revelations towards the end of the game was quite...monumental.

Characters: Much like the story took me a while to get into this aspect of the game, but it was worth it in the end. There is a definite Bioshockian bent to a lot of the characterization and what is going on. Jace Skell is defintley a lot more of a stable version of Andrew Ryan. Paula Madera is definitley a treat and probably one of the best characters in the game. All these characters though seem to have a lot of regreat going on in there day to day life. A lot of failutre that just coats over most of the interactions in the game. Huruhi and the Outcasts, Skell, Paula, Walker, all these people have failed and are just trying to pick up the pieces of that failure to make something of themselves.

The Variety: One of my biggest complaints in Wildlands was how a lot of the game's story missions felt very samey. There was great variety in what you could do in the actual missions...but most of them involved some sort of going to an area simply to extract an HVT. Few were the missions where you got to do something truly unique.

In Breakpoint however no two story missions ever truly feel the same. It goes from everyting fro rescuing HVts (namely Skell in the first mission arc in the game), to sabotage, conducting air raid missions in a helicopter, etc, etc, etc.

But this goes far beyond simple missions to everything has more variety to it.

Enemy types: In addition to the drones there are a lot more human enemy types in the game. Heavies (though not as annoying as the ones from Fallen Ghosts) Com guys, drone deployers, and shutgunners.

Equipment: Breach torches, sensort launchers, synchshot drones, EMP grenades, and lots more to craft.

Each of these things combined with an impressive variety of base maps and locations (you often can't just sit outside and snipe) and side mission types makes sure this game rarely feels old.

Faction Missions: I liked them, though I wish there could be more with the actual rewards side of it. But they were an interesting twist that actually tell their own story and have their own theme.

The bad:

The 'side' missions: While the Faction Missions were a bit of a delight at times the side missions were a mess. What is mind boggling is this isthe same company that gave you ACOD, so I was expecting more...but they were largely episodic and isolated from anything else going on. Granted there were a few gems here like the cold war nuke hunting and the mission with the crazy drones. There were some good ones, but they could be a lot bette rin the future.

What's maddening here is that they could've done better. With the investigations could've actually given you leads to new side missions which could've knitted everything together.

Lack of AI squad: Maybe a bit bizarre given some of the things I have been saying and for most of the game it is *fine*. But given a few of the missions hey really could've used other teamates...for those of us who don't have friends aparently.

the final boss battle: I hated this, some of the worst boss fihgting I have ever been apart of.

the tiered loot: thinking about it I think I have given my thoughts on these...though it was really a downer.

the bugs: ditto.

Conclusion: On the lower tier 2 scale. Yes Wildlands had its own issues...but it just felt like the better more complete game. Though I feel like this is a game that might need a second review when they get rid of the tiered loot.

PC?

I enjoyed Breakpoint but I packed it in several months ago.

With an AI crew it'll go back onto my play list.

With an AI squad I'm looking forward to jumping back in.