Ghost Recon Wildlands gameplay: five things we learned from the open world, missions, and more

The Tom Clancy game series is giving players more choice than ever
Ben Travis2 February 2017

If you’ve been facing the nightmarish mansion of Resident Evil VII recently, you’ll probably be wanting your next game to be less of a you-against-the-horrors-of-the-world frightfest.

Ubisoft may have the answer in the latest Ghost Recon game – with Wildlands taking the Tom Clancy franchise into a new direction that’s best played with a group of mates.

This time you're the leader of a covert group of operatives venturing into the heart of a huge Bolivia map to take down big bad drug lord El Sueno and his Santa Blanca cartels. Think The Division meets Narcos and you're nearly there.

We got hands-on with the game at the developers’ Paris studio tackling single player and co-op missions - and here are five things we learned in that time.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands - in pictures

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1) It’s massively open-world

We all know Ubisoft is keen on open-world maps – and now the approach has been applied to Ghost Recon for the first time.

It worked for The Division, but does it gel with Ghost Recon’s stealth-based gameplay? It’s hard to tell from initial impressions, but the game’s version of Bolivia certainly looked stunning. The draw distance is particularly impressive when you're on higher ground.

The huge map encompasses various terrains, from mud-tracked jungles to rocky mountains and giant lakes.

After an initial set-up, the game gives players free reign over how they want to tackle the array of missions. They can be played in any order, and there are 26 bosses across the map that you need to take down.

As well as taking on specific assignments, players will have to watch out for cartel members dotted around – if they spot you, they might attack and you’ll be forced into a gun battle out of nowhere.

Ubisoft

2) Mark your enemies

Once you reach a cartel settlement, it’s up to you how you approach the situation.

The best way to be stealthy is to use your binoculars and flying drone to scout out the area and get a marker on any enemies standing nearby.

Then it’s up to you how you choose to go about picking them off – and seeing how long you can go without being spotted.

On normal settings, the game seemed relatively forgiving if you get spied out – meaning you won’t die straight away if you’re caught wandering around by a stray Santa Blanca member.

Ubisoft

3) Travel in style

If you want to traverse Wildlands’ huge world, it would take you forever to do so on foot.

Luckily all the vehicles in the game are there for you to hop in – you can nab a car in true GTA style, hope out and grab a bike if that takes your fancy, or go big in a helicopter (though they’re tricky to control).

There are even tractors you can drive – maybe not the stealthiest option though.

Ubisoft

4) Don’t touch the animals

There are animals everywhere, including chickens galore – but sadly, you can’t ride the alpacas, even if you walk up to them really, really slowly. Will it ruin the game for you? No. But we just wanted you to know.

5) It’s all available in co-op multiplayer

Even if you’re playing Wildlands alone, you’ve always got some back-up with you in the form of three extra squad members who follow you and around and take your commands.

To be honest, the AI on these wasn't the most polished – so if you can find three like-minded mates, you may prefer playing through Wildlands’ campaign in co-op mode with them instead.

You do need to work together though – if a lone wolf messes up your mission you’ll be attempting it over and over.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands launches on PS4 and Xbox One on March 7

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