Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands

[cdj]

This was the final item (reveal) from the Ubisoft press conference. I think the idea and trailer look good, but definitely want to see more.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP9LlfoaJko

[JBHuskers]

The estate of Tom Clancy is going to get a nice kickback the next few years :D

[AustinWolv]

Certainly looks pretty

[GatorfanStovy]

looks interesting to say the least.

[cdj]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmzo4KvRmsM

[marcotte14]

This looks pretty sweet.

[Rudy]

Canadian Amazon and Walmart have it for $50 today on preorder.

[cdj]

The open world shooter from Ubisoft, Ghost Recon Wildlands, will be running its closed beta from February 3 to 6. Pre-loading begins on February 1.

The closed beta will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

To register, you can head here to the game's official website (https://ghost-recon.ubisoft.com/wildlands/en-US/beta-registration/index.aspx). You will be emailed by Ubisoft if you're chosen as a participant. If selected, you can invite up to three friends to join the beta on the same platform.

[SmoothPancakes]

Just got the email that I'm in the beta. Looking forward to spending a LOT of time on this this weekend.

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[Rudy]

Seems like a majority of people haven't gotten a beta key. Maybe they are still rolling out.

[Rudy]

It seems like they only allowed a small number into this beta. Tons have registered and not many have beta keys. Hopefully they expand it more over the course of the weekend.

[SmoothPancakes]

I've got 2 beta codes I can give out to those who are interested in this.

I've actually got 3, but I'm holding onto one for the moment until I hear back from a friend on whether or not he's gonna be online this weekend and if he'd be interested. If not, then I'll give away that third code on here as well.

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[Rudy]

I'd like a PS4 one if you have it. I would like to try it but it is mainly for my son. I've got this preordered and want to make sure he likes it.

[cdj]

If PS4, I'd like one as well, please.

[SmoothPancakes]

Alright Rudy and cdj, you both have invites.

From what I can tell, it'll be like past invites Rudy has sent, it goes through your Ubisoft account (thankfully you both are already added as friends on my Ubisoft account) and you'll be receiving an email with the invite and details.

I'm assuming they'll be PS4 invites, unless it lets you choose which system on your own. It never gave me an option to select console for the invites, but I'm registered for the beta through PS4, just got done downloading it on PS4 an hour or two ago in fact, so it should be PS4 for you guys.

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[SmoothPancakes]

Alright, just heard back from my friend, he's gonna be around and online very little, if at all, this entitr weekend, so he isn't able to use the code, so I have one last code I can give away to someone on here.

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[Rudy]

Thanks!

I accepted the invite and I've read I now have to wait for a second email with a key. I guess it's not instantaneous. Hopefully it comes soon.

[Rudy]

Got the code! Downloading! Thanks again!

[cdj]

Alright Rudy and cdj, you both have invites.

From what I can tell, it'll be like past invites Rudy has sent, it goes through your Ubisoft account (thankfully you both are already added as friends on my Ubisoft account) and you'll be receiving an email with the invite and details.

I'm assuming they'll be PS4 invites, unless it lets you choose which system on your own. It never gave me an option to select console for the invites, but I'm registered for the beta through PS4, just got done downloading it on PS4 an hour or two ago in fact, so it should be PS4 for you guys.

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Thanks, man but mine didn't show up (yet). :dunno: Hopefully soon....

[SmoothPancakes]

Thanks, man but mine didn't show up (yet). :dunno: Hopefully soon....
Damn, hopefully it'll show. Just to double check, your Ubisoft name js cdjacobs?

Make sure I was sending it to the right one. You, Rudy and my friend were the only three it was letting me send a code to since you three were on my friends list.

If you have a different name/account now, let me know, I'll get you added as a friend real quick and a new invite fired off.

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[cdj]

SP - That username is correct; just found my code.

It never arrived in e-mail, but I logged into my main Ubisoft account and you can see what betas you are in and it lists the PS4 code there. Starting the yuuuge download today. :/

[SmoothPancakes]

Whew, I was worried there when it didn't show up yet.

Yeah, it's a big download! If that's the size for just the demo, I hate to think of what the full game will be, if that number hasn't been released yet.

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[Rudy]

How do you like it Smooth?

My son likes it but he doesn't love it. He's much better at these games than I am. I couldn't play it earlier this morning since the servers were down. Finally got a chance to play for a bit and I was a bit frustrated. These games are not up my alley. When I finally jump into the actual game I didn't realize I was supposed to use those cars right away lol. So my kids tell me to run back and I do but I'm not sure exactly why. I think I can run as fast as the vehicles in this game! It's ridiculous! Why can I not drive more than 10 mph? It takes forever to drive somewhere. The game is open world and I'm just starting to figure out what the icons mean.

I know many complain about Ubisoft cluttering the HUD (and I'm one of them sometimes) but when I"m in a certain mode I'd like a little more help in this game. Like what button do I press to get out of the car (square)? What button do I press to escape the drone mode I accidentally triggered (L1 I think)? I still don't know how to switch my shoulder view when I enter third person (R3) when aiming? Probably more frustrating to me since I don't normally play these types of games. I died a couple times but my AI teammates just revived me. I think I'll play on the easiest mode later.

But right now this is probably not a game for me. Maybe my son but he has so many games I think I am going to probably cancel the pre-order despite the good deal I got on it. Thanks for the code and we'll play it more this weekend. I wonder how old this beta is?

[SmoothPancakes]

I haven't gotten to play a ton of it due to work, just the first mission where you interrogate the Lieutenant and then go rescue a guy, but I'll be digging into it more tonight and tomorrow, but as someone who has played a lot of Ubisoft games, it's about what I'm used to from them. The shooting mechanics, driving, cover systems, etc are all about their usual, similar to what I've experienced in The Division, Watch_Dogs, Watch_Dogs 2, the various Tom Clancy games and Far Cry series.

The driving could be better, it's got that trademark Ubisoft loose as hell controls. The speed didn't seem too bad to me. Initial acceleration may be a bit slow, but I was able to get up to speed in vehicles where I was having trouble controlling the vehicle and staying straight on the road it was going so fast, much less actually keep control trying to speed through turns and curves.

At least the good thing, about how long it takes to get places, the map has fast travel from what I could tell, so as you play the game, you'll discover more areas, discover more fast travel sites and be able to quickly get around as needed.

The controls I'm still learning, but I've always had a sharp learning curve in each new game for controls, so for me it'd just be a matter of time before I'm able to memorize the controls. Plus playing a lot of Ubisoft games has me at least familiar with some of their more main cross-series control layouts. I'm playing on normal difficulty for now and haven't experienced too many issues, though I have gotten close to dying a couple times due to getting used to the gunplay difference from other shooters.

I still haven't decided if I'm gonna get this day one, especially with 4 or 5 other games I am planning to buy between February 14th and April 7th, but I haven't seen anything that would cause me to take this off my Plan to Purchase list entirely. Whether or not I decide to get it day one will depend on what else I see as I dig deeper into this beta and if I like what I see enough to make it worth the purchase right away or wait.

[SmoothPancakes]

Played a couple more hours just now. It definitely has that Ghost Recon feel to it.

I will also give Ubisoft credit, the map is huge! It takes a good bit to get around the small section of map we have access to in the beta. Then I zoom out the map and there are like 12 or however many more entire regions that will be in the full game. So it's gonna be a big game in full. And lots going on in each region with a bunch of areas to explore and discover, enemies to take out, intelligence to learn.

I still haven't made up my mind about whether or not I'm gonna buy it on day one or later down the road, but so far I've seen nothing that I haven't already experienced in past Ghost Recon and Ubisoft games, so I'm pretty certain I'll enjoy it.

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[Rudy]

I think there are 21 regions! It is huge! My brother came over and likes it. The sniper rifle is fun and so is a helicopter. My brother had a helicopter that could shoot. I don't think mine could do that. If I ever played this online I would be the weakest link for sure.

[SmoothPancakes]

I think there are 21 regions! It is huge! My brother came over and likes it. The sniper rifle is fun and so is a helicopter. My brother had a helicopter that could shoot. I don't think mine could do that. If I ever played this online I would be the weakest link for sure.
21!? Damn! I didn't realize it was that many. I was just going off memory, and knew there were easily 12 or 15, but for some reason wasn't thinking 21. But, I'm not gonna complain, just that much more to do in the game and that much more time and fun I can get for my money's worth.

Now I'm actually interested in seeing a map comparison. How people always compare map sizes between games like GTA IV and V, Watch Dogs, Red Dead Redemption, etc, I want to see how this map compares to those games in terms of map size.

I do like the sniper rifle, I've been having fun with that today. Also met the Unidad (I think that was their name), who was also responsible for giving me my first death.

Like I said, ultimately I like it. I've played the Ghost Recon series and multiple Ubisoft games over the years, so I'm well familiar with the good and the bad of the controls, driving, gunplay, etc. I'm definitely going to be getting it, when is the decision I've got to think about over this next month before release.

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[SmoothPancakes]

If you weren't able to get into the private beta, or you are still on the fence, it was confirmed today during Ubisoft earnings calls that there will be a public beta coming up in the next couple weeks.

No dates were given, but if it's similar to how the betas for The Division were handled last winter (private beta at end of January, public beta mid to late February and then release in March), I'm guessing that the beta will be either the weekend of the 18th-19th or the 25th-26th.

No details were given either, as far as I know, unless new details were released later on today after I saw the story, on what the difference would be between the private beta and public beta, if new regions would be granted access to, what builds the two betas would be, etc.

[cdj]

832281028232228866

[SmoothPancakes]

Nice! Looking forward to visiting the wild again next weekend.

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[cdj]

If you were in the closed beta, the update for this weekend's open beta is now available on PS4....it comes in at 19.6 GB.

[Rudy]

For Canadians EB Games is doing the same thing they did with For Honor. Trade two games and get this free. It's a great deal. This isn't quite my game but here is the offer. Click on the list (https://www.ebgames.ca/Views/Locale/Content/PDF/tradeoffers/12-dollar-trade-value-en.pdf) of eligible games to see what qualifies. https://www.ebgames.ca/Recycled%20Offers

[cdj]

834210919173349376

[gschwendt]

Trying to play but getting a Ribera-1000B error message. Looks like lots of folks are and the site they redirect you to, http://www.ghostrecon.com/betaportal, is not loading at the moment either.

Betas are fun.

[cdj]

835148900617060356

[SmoothPancakes]

So I haven't been able to put a ton of time into this since I've been swamped with hours at work, but what time I have managed to put in, I'm really enjoying this.

Yes, there are some bugs that pop up now and then, some controls can be a bit wonky, and the driving and handling of vehicles definitely won't win any awards.

So far though, I've been able to completely clear and defeat the bosses in the Itacua, Ocoro and PN de Agua Verde provinces, as well as clear the entire La Cruz province (I'm assuming there will be a higher level organizational boss making that home later in the game), so only 17 more provinces to go! :D

You can definitely tell a difference between the 1 and 2 star difficulty provinces and the 4 and 5 star difficulty provinces. Tougher enemies, many more enemies numerically, tougher bases with stuff like mortars, drone jammers, SAM launchers, alarms, mini guns, light panels, etc.

So while the occasional bug and the messy driving (though it doesn't bother me as bad as it does others reading opinions online) take away a bit from the score, this is still easily a 7/10 game for me. It wasn't hard for me to like this though.

You take the Gunsmith weapon and clothing customizations like in The Division and past Ghost Recon games, plus the ability to go full stealth with a four man team co-op and play like a poor man's SOCOM: US Navy Seals with multiple ways to approach targets, clear enemies and achieve objectives as well as being able to be very tactically methodical like SOCOM was, and this game is a blast, especially with such a massive map.

Your tactics can do a complete 180 when you go from fighting on a forest covered mountain side to going house to house in the middle of a sprawling town to trying to approach a base in the middle of the wide open desert with absolutely nothing to use for cover. Add in Unidad helicopters repeatedly flying overhead every so often that you have to hide from, and it can be a busy game with completely different environments from one province to the next.

Needless to say, I'm entirely happy with my purchase. If I had to score it, as I said above, I'd rate it about a 7 to 7.5, really only getting dinged by the bugs that pop up now and then, and the driving. And actually, now that I think about it, my biggest complaint is the flying. God the flying sucks. What idiot thought it was smart to not put rudder controls on the damn planes and helos? There are zero rudder controls, all you have are throttle, brake, roll and pitch. I've gotten use to it now, but that doesn't mean it still doesn't suck.

So the flying alone drops the score to about an 8, with the driving and bugs dropping it between another one half to a full point dependant individually on whether one likes (or is at least indifferent to) or hates the driving.

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[SmoothPancakes]

I would just like to say again, damn this game is massive!

I started playing this thing on release day, and while there has been around two to two and a half weeks combined of stretches where I wasn't able to play, damn this game takes forever to get through. I still have 8 provinces to even visit, much less actually complete.

Unfortunately, I've always been a completionist with games like RPGs and Ubisoft shooters, so I am methodical as hell in this game. I visit a province and I stay exclusively in that province until I have completed every mission, found every skill point, bonus medal, weapon, weapon accessory, kingslayer file, completed every rebel side mission and delivered every side mission helicopter and plane for supplies. Only then, when I have completely cleared every location, collected every collectible and finished every mission, do I then move onto a new province.

I only just entered Koani today, so I'll be spending tonight after work and probably a good part of tomorrow on clearing out all of Koani, then after that, I still have yet to even visit Espiritu Santo, Inca Camina, Libertad, Media Luna, Monte Puncu, Tabacal and Villa Verde.

I really hoping I can manage to power my way through the remaining regions in this game over the next week or two. It's been basically the only game I have played since it released in early March and has been a time suck from playing other games. Now that I have Horizon Zero Dawn and Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection sitting on my shelf waiting to be touched, and probably in a month or two Mass Effect: Andromeda will be getting added to the backlog, I need to get this one completed so I can actually move onto my new games waiting to be played, as well as be able to actually go back and play some old games like Titanfall 2, Watch Dogs 2 and Metal Gear Solid 5.

[SmoothPancakes]

Well, it took two months, but I have finally beaten Wildlands. Just finished off the final mission against El Sueño. I finished with a Commando playstyle, with 100% tactical planning, 63% stealth kills and an average kill distance of 51 meters. According to my stats on the Ghost Recon website, it took me 100 hours, 17 minutes and 25 seconds to beat the game.

Granted, it took me longer than most probably, because I'm a completionist. I collected every single weapon, weapon accessory, Kingslayer file, did every rebel support side mission, delivered every plane and helicopter rebel side mission in the game, etc. I also am slow as fuck on missions. I played this game with a 100% tactical mindset. Whether it was a mission, attacking a province base, or just clearing out an outpost, I was slow and methodical, identifying every single enemy I could with the binoculars and drone and then setting up multikill shots of 2-4 people at a time between me and my partners.

The ending caught me by surprise, quite the twist thrown into it. And apparently there is an alternate ending that is unlocked by completing the game, so I'm about to replay the final mission so I can see the alternate ending.

I'm still not 100% done with Wildlands. I'm making a serious push to make Wildlands my first ever platinum trophy game. All I have left to get for trophies is killing 7 enemies with a single C4 blast, kill 7 enemies with a single mine, buy all upgrades for my character (which I think I only have 9 left overall to get) and then kill an enemy in close combat who was hurt by another player.

Because it took me so long, the first DLC has already been released, Narco Road, which apparently involves going under cover and trying infiltrate and work your way up the ranks of the gang led by El Invisible. 15 new missions, 3 new bosses, new vehicles and special vehicles which apparently have new handling specificities and require new driving skills. There's also apparently motorbike trials and races or something.

So I'm looking forward to diving into Narco Road, but after two months of playing literally nothing but Wildlands will trying to plow through the story and massive map, it's time for a break from Wildlands. Hope to move onto Horizon Zero Dawn either Sunday or later this week, and then maybe after I beat HZD, or at least put a bunch of hours into it, I'll come back and knock out Narco Road.

However, this game was easily worth the money. A, for me at least, 100 hour campaign, picking up 204 kingslayer files, 70 weapons, clearing 21 provinces (including 19 with bosses), completing 106 missions, as well as 8 secondary missions, I got more than my money's worth from this game.

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[SmoothPancakes]

Some crazy stats while looking through my Ghost Recon profile.

Over those 100 hours, I killed 2,470 Santa Blanca cartel members, killed 3,000 total enemy NPCs (I actually had 2,997 but I went back into the game and killed 3 enemies at an outpost just so I could reach 3,000).

I killed 44 enemies with C4, 14 grenade kills, 62 kills with mines, 211 close quarter combat kills. I killed 42 animals, destroyed 354 vehicles and I died 63 times.

Over the course of the game, I fired 26,186 bullets, my favorite vehicle was the helicopter, flying it for 3 hours, 18 minutes. My favorite item was C4, favorite drone was the stealth drone. My favorite weapon was the G36C assault rifle, second favorite weapon was the M4A1 sniper rifle. My longest shot was 587 meters. Both the G36C and M4A1 were used for a combined 1,301 kills and 15,612 bullets fired. My next most used gun was the ACR assault rifle, killing 427 enemies with 5,508 bullets fired.

Of my 100 hours playing, I spent 5 hours, 47 minutes driving on the road. I spent 11 hours, 40 minutes flying planes and helicopters. And I spent an absurd 27 hours, 25 minutes using my drone.

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[Rudy]

You certainly got your monies worth! Bit that is a lot of time controlling vehicles and drones. Wow.

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah, there was a lot of time spent in vehicles. But you are pretty much forced to heavily use vehicles, the map is just so goddamn big. When you're talking multiple kilometers of distance just in a single province, and then put 21 massive provinces on the map, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it'd take literal real life days just to walk/run from one edge of the map to the other. Just to cut down on travel time and speed up completing the game, I tried to fly a helicopter or drive everywhere I could from location to location.

The amount of time using a drone is absurd, but, it all goes back to my playstyle. I am slow and methodical as hell. Whether it was a military base, an outpost, a bloody gas station or just some sicarios in a random town or on the side of the road, I'd slowly approach from behind rocks or a hill or something to stay hidden, and the sit there using the drone to identify every single enemy NPC, then stay in the drone view and set up sync shots of 2-4 enemies at a time, while I'm crouched down anywhere from 50 to 400 meters away, so that I could slowly whittle down the number of enemies at the location.

Now, unfortunately there were a lot of times that someone would discover a dead body before my sync shot timer would end and before I could eliminate that person who was walking toward a recently killed compadre, and then it would turn into a giant gunfight, often with helicopters and SUVs with mounted turrets called in for backup by the sicarios. And since I didn't feel like fighting helicopters, turret mounted SUVs and an additional 8-15 sicarios who showed up for backup, I tried to stay as slow and methodical in my killing as I could and silently take out every enemy at the location like a ghost.

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