Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is a video game where players control characters from a side view and focus on strategy. It was created by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan and published by Ubisoft. The game was released worldwide on March 7, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the tenth part of the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series and the first game in the series to include a large, open world where players can explore freely.
This game changes from the futuristic setting of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter to a setting similar to the original Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. Ubisoft described it as one of the largest open world games they have published. The game world includes many different environments, such as mountains, forests, deserts, and salt flats.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands received mixed to positive reviews from critics. By March 2020, the game had sold over 10 million copies. A follow-up game, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, was released on October 4, 2019.
Gameplay
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is a tactical cover-based shooter game set in an open world. It is played from a third-person perspective, with an optional first-person view for aiming. Players control members of the Delta Company, First Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, also called "Ghosts," a fictional elite unit in the United States Army. The game uses a modern-day setting, not a futuristic one, and features weapons and gear similar to those used by real military forces. Some original equipment, like drones that mark enemies and show objectives, is included. These drones have limited abilities until upgraded.
The game is the first in the series to include an open world with nine types of terrain, such as mountains, forests, deserts, and salt flats. It also has a dynamic weather system and a day-night cycle. Completing missions during the day makes it easier to spot enemies, while nighttime missions offer better concealment and stealth advantages, as some guards are asleep. Players must observe the environment before starting missions. The game includes vehicles like dirt bikes, helicopters, and dune buggies. Unlike earlier games, Wildlands has side-missions.
Players can reach mission locations by parachuting from a helicopter, walking, or driving. Objectives can be completed using stealth, melee combat, or weapons. The game includes outposts that players can capture. Players can grab enemies for defense and shoot with the other hand. Experience points are earned to level up. Characters can be customized, and loot from enemies can be collected and used. Weapons and gear can be upgraded. The game's AI is unscripted, with characters having their own goals and actions.
The map has 21 areas controlled by leaders called "buchons," who are part of four cartel divisions: Influence, Security, Production, and Smuggling. Clearing missions and collecting intel allows players to target buchons, then underbosses, and eventually division heads. Capturing division heads weakens the cartel. The game includes a cooperative multiplayer mode where up to three players can join to complete missions. Players can also play solo with three AI teammates, or disable them for a "lone wolf" style. A competitive multiplayer mode was added in 2017, featuring 4v4 elimination matches with revives. Players can level up in multiplayer to improve character classes.
Plot
The story takes place in Bolivia in July 2019. The country has become more unstable as a Mexican drug group called the Santa Blanca Cartel takes control of parts of the nation. Led by a harsh and religious leader named El Sueño, the cartel grows stronger and turns Bolivia into the world's largest cocaine producer. To fight the cartel, the Bolivian government creates La Unidad, a special forces group. After months of fighting, both sides agree to a truce, though some members of La Unidad secretly work for the cartel. A DEA agent named Ricardo "Ricky" Sandoval goes undercover with the CIA to gather information about the cartel. He eventually works for El Sueño himself. The United States acts when a bomb attacks the American embassy in La Paz, and Sandoval is killed by the cartel after his secret mission is discovered.
A Ghost Recon team is sent to Bolivia as part of Operation Kingslayer, a joint mission involving the CIA, DEA, and JSOC. The team includes Nomad, the leader and gunner; Midas, an expert with vehicles and weapons; Holt, a hacker and engineer; and Weaver, a sniper. The team works with Karen Bowman, a CIA contact and friend of Sandoval. They meet Pac Katari, leader of the Kataris 26, a group opposing the cartel. Pac Katari asks the team to rescue Amaru, whose ideas inspired the Kataris 26. With help from Bowman and the Kataris 26, the Ghosts can now fight the cartel directly.
The Ghosts weaken the cartel by attacking drug production sites, stopping smuggling, making politicians and supporters doubt the cartel, and causing conflicts among its leaders. They capture or kill El Sueño's top helpers to reduce the cartel's power. El Sueño invites the team to a meeting, but they do not find him there. Instead, he calls them and offers money to work for him, which they refuse. During their mission, the team finds audio tapes from Sandoval's undercover work. The tapes show Sandoval was troubled by his actions and his superiors' lack of action. Later, El Sueño gives the team a tape in which Sandoval admits he caused the embassy bombing to force the U.S. to help Bolivia. Though upset, the team continues their mission because the cartel is still a threat.
After weakening the cartel, the team finds Amaru's body instead of El Sueño. They cannot contact Bowman and discover she has been captured by the Kataris 26. Pac Katari breaks his alliance with the team, saying the rebels must kill El Sueño themselves to avoid looking like U.S. puppets. The Ghosts rescue Bowman and race to El Sueño's mausoleum to stop him before Pac Katari kills him. After fighting through rebels and cartel members, the team corners El Sueño, who has killed Pac Katari. El Sueño agrees to surrender, but Bowman receives a call from her superiors saying El Sueño made a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to provide information about other drug cartels in exchange for protection.
The story's ending depends on whether the team fully destroys the cartel. If parts of the cartel remain, Bowman will kill El Sueño, leading to her dismissal from the CIA and arrest. She does not regret her actions, fearing El Sueño could become a dictator with U.S. support. In the official ending, the team fully dismantles the cartel, and Bowman takes El Sueño into custody. El Sueño gives information about other drug cartels, terrorist groups, and arms smugglers. Bowman predicts that when the information runs out, El Sueño will either be sent to Mexico for trial or start a new cartel, restarting the cycle. The team prepares for the next challenge.
After the game's release, Ubisoft announced plans to release two downloadable content episodes set in Bolivia. In the first episode, the player controls an unnamed Ghost sent by the CIA to find "El Invisible," the leader of Santa Blanca's smuggling network. The Ghost works as a mercenary, gathers clues from gang leaders, and eventually joins the cartel before escaping and stealing a device used to control the smuggling network. The device releases a virus that attacks the CIA. The Ghost discovers the local fisherman, Señor Sonrisa, is actually El Invisible. The CIA tracks him down in Arizona, and the Ghost kills him.
The second episode follows the Ghost Recon team returning to Bolivia after the cartel's collapse. The Kataris 26 are now fighting among themselves, and the Bolivian government has rebuilt La Unidad with foreign special forces, now called "Los Extranjeros." These forces take control of the cocaine trade. A CIA data breach reveals the identities of agents in Bolivia, so the Ghosts return to rescue them. Their mission fails when their helicopter is shot down. They rescue a CIA officer named Socrates, who suggests targeting Los Extranjeros' leaders and rebuilding the Kataris 26. After Los Extranjeros' commander is killed, the group falls apart, and evidence of their crimes causes a political crisis in Bolivia.
Development
The game Wildlands was first developed in 2012 and was announced at the end of Ubisoft's E3 2015 press conference. Ubisoft stated that Wildlands would have the biggest open world environment the company had ever created. To make the game's Bolivian setting realistic, the developers traveled to Bolivia for two weeks and sought help from people living there. A changed version of the AnvilNext engine was used to support the game's large open world. Ubisoft released a 30-minute prequel short film called Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel on February 16, 2017, on their Twitch channel and later on Amazon Prime. The film stars Tip "T.I." Harris and was executive produced by Roberto Orci, Jay Williams, Noam Dromi, and Orlando Jones through the production company Legion of Creatives. Avi Youabian directed the short.
Reception
At E3 2015, some critics called the game's announcement one of the most surprising moments of the event. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands was nominated for several awards, including IGN's E3 2015 Game of the Show, Best PlayStation 4 Game, Best Xbox One Game, and Best PC Game. It also received one of GameSpot's Best of E3 2015 awards. The game was named the best co-operative and best shooter by Game Informer in their Best of E3 2015 Awards. A beta version of the game was released on Steam from February 23 to February 27, 2017. On March 1, 2017, Ubisoft announced that the beta had attracted over 6.8 million players, making it the most successful beta in the company's history.
The Xbox One version of the game received "generally favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation 4 and PC versions received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic. The game sold four million copies in its first six months. The Guardian praised the size of the open world but noted that civilians in the game did not react to the presence of armed soldiers. The reviewer also said the villains were written as "at least two-dimensional characters." The Guardian appreciated the multiplayer mode but wrote that solo play felt "a little soulless." Game Informer praised the large and varied open world and the diversity of missions, though the reviewer noted that many missions involved clearing or infiltrating enemy bases.
Both The Guardian and Game Informer reviewers mentioned that enemy patrols could disrupt carefully made plans. The Guardian wrote that the shooting in the game was not in the style of Tom Clancy's other games. Game Informer said the unpredictable patrols made the game challenging but also frustrating. The Guardian gave the game a 3 out of 5 star rating, while Game Informer gave it 8.25 out of 10.
EGM criticized the game's controls, saying aiming felt "stiff and imprecise" and vehicle controls were "too loose." However, EGM praised the variety of gadgets, like drones and explosives, and support options like mortar strikes. Push Square described the gadgets as "uninteresting" and said the game did not feel like a Ghost Recon game, despite having "a nice mix of stealth and action." GameStar praised the game's scenery and shooting but criticized the story, dialogue, and characters. They gave the game 85 out of 100.
Destructoid and USgamer reviewers found the missions frustrating and repetitive. Destructoid said the game's open world felt like "a cheap movie set" and gave it 2.5 out of 10. USgamer gave the game 4 out of 5, praising its graphics and variety of weapons.
In March 2017, Bolivia's government expressed dissatisfaction with the game's portrayal of their country as a violent narco-state and filed a formal complaint with the French embassy in La Paz. Bolivia's Interior Minister said the country could take legal action. Ubisoft responded by stating the game was a work of fiction inspired by real locations and that Bolivia was chosen for its landscapes and culture.
Wildlands was the best-selling retail game in the UK and the US in March 2017, outselling games like Horizon Zero Dawn and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It was one of the biggest video game launches in 2017 and the fastest-selling title in the Tom Clancy's franchise. By 2020, the game had sold over 10 million units.
The game was nominated for "Best Co-op Game" at PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards. It won awards for "Best Cooperative Multiplayer," "Best Setting" (Bolivia), "Best Comeback" in multiplayer, and "Best Cooperative Multiplayer" in Game Informer's 2017 Shooter of the Year Awards. EGMNow ranked the game 23rd on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017.
Sequel
In early May 2019, the video game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint was introduced during a live online event. It is a follow-up game to Wildlands, which was released in 2017.