XC Review: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Okay, so I just bought Future Soldier and beat it in three short days—whatever. I know I'm a little behind with today's games, but I don't really care either way. This game was released in 2012 and it didn't even live up to its predecessors, GRAW 2 and 3. Why? Well, let's see, I can't think of a better way to describe it, but here goes nothing: It's like looking at quartz. It looks pretty, but then you realize it isn't worth squat.

I have to admit that I'm upset with Ubisoft. They've got Far Cry 3 and Assassin's 3 both released the same year as GRFS. To me, this is like a grocery store strategy: The customers buy the main products, but when they get to the register they spend a little more on a semi-satisfying snack. Think of FC3 and AC3 as the main products, and then Ubisoft releases GRFS for a little extra cash.

Now, I'm not saying it was a totally horrible game. It just didn't live up to the shooters of today, such as the CODs and Battlefields. This is probably why it wasn't as big a hit as Ubisoft's other games. But what's really sad is the Call of Duty franchise, now that I've mentioned it. We saw how Activision had run out of brilliant ideas with Black Ops 2, and that's why they set it in the future. But now they're sucking Advanced Warfighter aspects and even new things from GRFS out to put into they're new...wait for it...it'll be totally original... COD: Ghosts! How sad is that? Ubisoft and Activision are now like two annoying kids fighting over a cookie that we all know Ubisoft had first.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Was it good? Yes. Overall. I have to say that, besides the Assassin's Creed games or the more recent CODs, this is the most cinematic game I've played, and that's not such a bad thing. Yes, it would've been a much greater game (and probably would've brought in a boat load more cash) if it was an FPS instead of a 3PS, but that would have dishonored the classic predecessors. The way it makes a good game is with its movie-like effects. For example, if you're being suppressed by an enemy turret or you're taking too much heat, the camera will focus on you and shake and blur the background until the havoc ceases. Another example is during the rainy missions and when your hurt: Your screen begins to collect water (or blood, if you're not paying attention) and these animations are really impressive.

XboxCritic Rating for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier



For up-to-date graphics, story and adaptive controls, however poor facial animations and practically bulletproof enemies, XboxCritic gives Tom Clancy's latest Ghost Recon a 3.5 out of 5.