Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: The Ghost returns

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a trip down memory lane for many 20- to 30-year-olds. For this segment, the first Ghost Recon might just be the game that got them into tactical shooters, at least that’s what happened in my case. And though, we have had the brilliant Splinter Cell series, hardcore Ghost Recon fans were waiting with bated breath when Wildlands was announced, especially since Ubisoft claimed Wildlands is the biggest open-world game they have ever published.

This open-world tactical shooter game is set in Bolivia in the year 2019. A Mexican drug cartel, Santa Blanca, led by El Sueño is wreaking havoc in the South American country and has turned it into the largest producer of cocaine in the world. And to counter this, the fictional special unit of the United States Army, Ghosts, has been tasked to take Santa Blanca down. To reach El Sueño, the Ghosts first have to take down the underbosses. Once you take down enough underbosses, El Sueño will react and you can reach him. Wildlands also lets you take help from the rebels, led by Pac Katari, who also happens to give you your first mission.

You also need to be wary of Unidad, a Bolivian special forces unit, which has more advanced weaponry and gear than the cartel and whose reinforcements also arrive quicker.

Though an open-world game, Wildlands intersperses side missions and the main story quests in a way that they feel connected. You might be deactivating antennae or just shooting up cartel-manned checkpoints, and might feel that it’s not linked to the main story, but all of it does help you defeat El Sueño. And this connectedness is one of the aspects where the game outshines the rest.

The gameplay, on the other hand, has both pros and cons. At the outset, you know that Wildlands was supposed to be played in co-op mode. Ubisoft helps you in that area with a brilliant match-making algo but playing with your friends beats everything else. Since it's a tactical shooter, stealth is key. So you can decide whether you and the party will take the silent kill approach or the guns blazing one. But if you're playing solo, be warned that the three AI players assigned to you might be pretty “unintelligent” at times.  

Also, a piece of advice; if you want  the real Ghost experience, make sure to crank up the difficulty level and disable your HUD. This provides for a more immersive experience but is definitely not recommended for newcomers to the franchise.

Overall, with several side quests and dozens of different vehicles, Wildlands is a wonderful game that will keep you hooked for hours.