There are a few things that are certain in life: death, taxes, and the fact that Ubisoft will continue to release more Tom Clancy titles than we can keep track of.
The latest addition to the Aliens series is Breakpoint, an open world tactical shooter.
We've had a bit of time since the breakpoint, 4v4 ghost war mode at Gamescom 2019 and found that while it certainly adds intrigue to the usual team death match formula, it doesn't do much to drastically shake up the genre.
Communication is the key
The premise of Ghost War is quite simple, lending objects from several of the popular Battle Royals. You go head-to-head in a four-man squad against another four-man team, with the goal of taking down all the other team's opponents/getting the most kills on the team. Meanwhile, there's a blue circle moving in which forces get closer to you over time - sound familiar?
While there are some obvious traits copied from the title, like the pinnacle of legends and now Fortnite, the interesting aspect of spirit warfare that there are only two teams facing off essentially means hiding and waiting for the gunfight to end is not exactly a legal option. .
Plus, it's more important than ever to strategize and communicate with your team, even if you're not a communication freak. For example, when we started playing matches, my team didn't communicate verbally, but that often meant that multiple people on the team were picking the same class or being surrounded by enemies.
If you don't feel like talking, don't worry, there's a handy ping system on hand for you to take on enemies (even when you're dead and just watching).
Speaking of classes, there are four available in Ghost of War: Assault, Sniper, Panther, and Field Medic. As you'd probably expect, the Assault runtime is a mill shooter while the sniper focuses on the sniper and medic healer on the battlefield. None that will take your fancy, then you could make the most of guerrilla warfare and choose the Panther, a stealth-oriented class for those who prefer to take out the enemy team quickly and quietly.
Nobody likes clumsy soldiers
Smaller brigade and closer add an extra layer of tension that can often be lacking in a game. Typically, this is a pure chaos mode in medium FPS, but in War of the Spirit, it will take a little more patience - and it should.
While this is of course a great strength of the spirit of war, the mode also contributes to the smooth movement of the character. As a sniper, I could easily climb to higher elevations for an ideal vantage point, and seamlessly switch between sitting and prone as I crawled through the tall grass to take my shot. This is a small detail, but important in removing any potential clunkiness that can often keep FPS titles back.
Dynamic weather and day/night cycles have gone a long way in keeping matches fresh and creating new obstacles to overcome. Difficult Snipe on a dark, rainy night.
However, even with these things in mind, it's not really enough to make a breakpoint in PvP mode anything special. We played a few Ghost War matches, but things got stale after a while. It's possible it's because we've only gone through a few maps, which has grown tedious, there will be more at launch - but we don't expect any super changes.
Don't expect a shake
Stopping more ghost war Ghost Recon doesn't do anything that shakes PVP in particular.
If you're someone who's happy with a basic FPS experience with some extra suspense and fluidity, then this is probably for you, but don't expect any drastic features.
- At Gamescom 2019: schedule, dates, predictions, news and rumors