WithGhost Recon: Breakpointthe team at Ubisoft was likely looking to take what they found was successful withGhost Recon: Wildlandsand build on that with a new entry a few years later. There are many things thatBreakpointdoes that are similar or identical toWildlands, but there’s also a handful of things it improves on from the South American adventure.
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Some could argue that it took fewer risks and isn’t different enough from its predecessor. Let’s now take a look at 5 waysGhost Recon: Breakpointimproves onWildlands, and 5 ways it stayed the same or worsened.
10Same: Bugs & Glitches
WhenWildlandsreleased in 2017 it came with a few bugs, but they weren’t prevalent to the point of breaking the game or harming the overall experience. InBreakpoint, it’s a completely different story and it’s heartbreaking to fans of the series.
The game is full of bugs that range from invisible weapons to incompletable missions, and so much more. Many fans feel these issues are likely due to the game being rushed to market to get ahead of the other major video game releases for Holiday 2019.
9Improves: Clear Antagonists
A big problem withWildlandsis that you were constantly on the hunt for drug dealers and criminals, but the main antagonists never really felt like a constant threat. Between Jace Skell and Cole Walker players inBreakpointknow who they must hunt down and focus on.
They’re the men who stand between you and saving the island of Auroa. Other characters may enter the fray but early on players can paint a clear target on who is responsible and who must be taken out when the time comes.
8Same: The Drone Is Key
If you were patient inWildlandsthen you knew the best way totake down outpostsfull of cartel members was to use your drone. By simply flying high above areas you could mark all of the enemies in an area and set a plan to strategically take them all out without being spotted.
It also helped you prioritize certain enemies that were prone to calling for backup.Breakpointworks in mostly the same way and doesn’t add anything major to the drones toolset, which is completely fine.
7Improves: Weather
For as fun and open asBreakpoint’s predecessor was,Wildlandshad a weather system that was good but wasn’t as prominent as the one in its successor. Since the island of Auroa features many different biomes it provides the game developers with a chance to make the most of a dynamic weather system.
Since the bivouac locations also allow you to skip forward in time you can also avoid it very easily if you’re simply looking to explore in bright and sunny conditions around the island.
6Same: Vehicles Feel Good
The driving has never been the focal point ofGhost Recongames, but in their last two entries, they’ve provided players with vehicles that feel good to drive.
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In many games that have a focus on the open-world or shooting mechanics, players trade those things for lackluster vehicles that mostly feel like late additions.Breakpointcontinues whatWildlandsprovided and gives players plenty of options to traverse the island of Auroa in. It’s up to you to do it from the land, the sea, or the skies.
5Improves: Constant Surveillance
Early on inWildlands,there came a point where most players realized they were already knee-deep into apower fantasy. Most of the time you could traverse Bolivia going mission to mission without any major threat getting in your way.
WithBreakpoint, you constantly have to be paying attention as helicopters and drones will occasionally fly overhead and you as the player must take cover and hide. This makes it so you never feel safe and must constantly be on high alert which keeps you engaged in what you’re doing.
4Same: Fun To Explore
Many times games likeWildlandsorBreakpointare referred to as podcast games. This isn’t a huge knock against them, but it means that they’re seen as games that are fun to explore the open-world in and shoot stuff, but the game’s story isn’t necessarily captivating or interesting.
For all of its numerous faults and shortcomingsBreakpointstill features a location that’s fun to explore. From the thick jungles to the snowy mountains, there’s plenty to navigate, explore, and uncover on the island of Auroa.
3Improves: New Setting
Bolivia is a beautiful country and was the backdrop for everything that took place inWildlands.The problem with that location is that for better or worse they captured the specific look and feel of a South American country.
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This means that the landscape didn’t offer a whole lot of environmental variety for players. The fictitious island of Auroa improves on this as it features numerous biomes and various forms of dynamic weather that mix up the experience enough to make it refreshing.
2Same: Story Is Lackluster
Most people who played and enjoyed their time withWildlandswouldn’t lean on the game’s story as a point of emphasis on why they enjoyed it. The game endeared players to it based on good shooting and a world that felt fun to explore.
Despite adding Jon Bernthal to the game as its main antagonistBreakpointalso falls short in its storytelling and overall narrative. Part of this is due to Auroa being a fictitious place and part of it is due to a team maybe not knowing how to deliver an engaging story.
1Improves: Central Hub
As great asWildlandswas, players constantly felt like they were on the move. There were little shacks you met up with your fellow operatives in, but it never felt like a grounded centralized location.Breakpointfixes this with Erewhon, which is a village that serves as a solid hideout and centralized location that doubles as the game’s social hub.
With the game having a bigger focus on multiplayer experiences it makes sense that along with creating a hub for the single-player narrative, they wanted to have a spot dedicated to teaming up with friends and/or random people.
