Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

Overview

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars is a tactical shooter game, where the player plays as the commander of a squad of six called the Ghosts, a special operations force. The object of the game in all game modes is to complete on-screen objectives given during and before a mission, ranging from killing all enemies to protecting civilians. The game is set in Eastern Europe, with gameplay in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Siberia. The action is turn-based and plays out like a board game, with the player moving his characters to attack and the enemy doing so likewise. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars features multiple missions in the Campaign Mode as well as a Multiplayer Mode that uses one 3DS passed around.

Gameplay

Unlike in previous games in the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series, Shadow Wars features deep tactical gameplay. Each mission has the player commanding a squad of up to six soldiers or less in a mission who's objective can be ranging from getting from one place to another to wiping out all enemies on the map. As the action is turn-based, on a gridded map, each turn has the player moving one squad member to another square on the grid. Every one of the six squad members has unique attributes and weaknesses, so knowledge is needed of each member if the player wants to be successful in a mission. If an enemy is nearby and if the soldier has the gun, the soldier will automatically start shooting on the enemy. Enemies can fight back, and if any squad member dies during a mission, the player will fail.

Objects in the map play a heavy role in the game; some objects can be used as cover, others can hinder movement, and still others can obstruct either the soldier's or the soldier's enemy's line of sight, which is the area where the player can shoot at. In order to be successful, the player must manipulate the squad in such a way to use the in-game objects to the player's advantage.

There are three difficulties to choose from at the start of each mission: Rookie difficulty, Veteran difficulty, and Elite difficulty. As the player progresses through more missions the difficulty of each mission starts to ramp up.

Controls

In Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars, each button can be used to perform a multitude of commands. The D-Pad or Circle Pad is used to move the cursor on different grid squares. A grid square can be selected using the A button, and from there, different commands can be selected and switched through the D-Pad or Circle Pad. If the player wants to revert to selecting different grid squares, the player will need to press the B button. The start button can be used to select special powerups, such as a satellite beacon powering a squad member. The touch screen shows all the vital information of the player's squad members as well as enemies, and also serves as a minimap to guide the player's squad through.

Game Modes

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars features three main game modes, amounting to a game that can last up to 40 hours or more when trying to complete all missions. Each mode is listed below:

Campaign Mode

The main game mode of the game, the campaign features the Ghosts, an elite team of six that takes on special missions. All of these missions will be set in various places across Eastern Europe. In the game, a Russian nationalist, Yuri Treskayev, is gaining power, and the Ghosts are tasked with stopping him and his henchmen. The Campaign features 37 missions; each one will need each Ghost's member's special abilities to be successful. Some missions will use the entire team of six, while others may use less members.

Skirmish Mode

When playing the Campaign, the player will unlock more missions to play. These missions do not correlate with the story, and instead focus on specific scenarios, such as defending a lighthouse and protecting civilians in evacuation. Instead of controlling the Ghosts, the player will control generic soldiers, but these soldiers will still each have unique abilities of their own. Twenty of these special scenarios will be unlocked through the Campaign.

Multiplayer Mode

Along with unlocking extra missions, the player can also unlock new maps to be used in the multiplayer mode through playing the Campaign. The Multiplayer mode will support up to two players, although no wireless features will be used. In Multiplayer mode, two teams of generic soldiers are pit against each other. The object of the game is to eliminate all enemy soldiers before the player's soldiers are eliminated. The action is turn-based, so the player will make a move, and then the player will pass it on to his competitor once the turn has finished. This goes on until an eventual winner is determined,

Characters

The player will have six different squad mates in the game that will progress through each mission:

• Duke- He is the leader of the squad, and is good in all fields of combat, but does not specialize in any skills.

• Haze- Called a Sharpshooter, Haze specializes in long-range combat; with his super shot, Haze can take out enemies without giving the enemies a chance to fight back.

• Saffron- A Medic, Saffron, as well as having a gun to defend herself, can heal any of her squad mates at the brink of death without using any of the few medical kits available on the map.

• Richter- A Gunner, Richter carries a heavy gun around that can take out enemies easily, but it hinders his movement. Unlike the other squad members, Richter can provide support fire if one of his comrades is being shot at by enemies, provided that he gets a good line of sight at the enemy.

• Mint- The Engineer of the squad, he has the special ability of constructing drones during comment that can attack the enemy as well as distract the enemy, while other squad members can pass through unharmed.

• Banshee- She is the Recon member of the team. She has the special ability of cloaking herself, becoming invisible to enemies until she comes within close proximity from them. This allows her to shoot enemies from afar without fear of being shot back, as well as the ability to sneak past enemies unnoticed.

When progressing through the story, the player can level up squad members, which can give them new abilities as well as boost the power of old abilities. For example, when leveled up enough, Banshee develops a melee attack that can kill with one hit. As the story progresses, the player can also "purchase" high-tech assistance that some squad members can call upon to assist them, such as a regeneration beam from a satellite in outer space.

When not playing the campaign, the player will use generic soldiers to carry out missions and objectives.

Reception

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars received a score of 80% from Official Nintendo Magazine, describing the game as "easy to pick up". IGN has given the game a score of 7 out of 10, praising the game for its lasting appeal while knocking it for its low resolution graphics. Gamespot has given the game a score of 8 out of 10, praising the game for its lasting appeal, also, as well as its integral use of in-game objects on the field, but knocking it for a weak storyline to tie the Campaign together. Metacritic, a review compiler, has given the game an aggregate score of 77/100, with most reviews being "positive".

Release

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars has launched alongside the 3DS launch for North America and Europe, releasing on March 27th and March 25th, 2011, respectively.