🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 10:07:01 +0000, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>
>It won't take me long to post my thoughts.
>
>Bleh
>
>That's it.
>
>It's Far Cry 2 with bits of Far Cry 4 thrown in and a (very) small
>amount of Ghost Recon added to the mix.
>
>It doesn't even come close to being as immersive and enjoyable as "The
>Division". 
>
>I suppose I can see it being fun in short spells with friends. But for
>an online game I would be looking for long gaming sessions and an
>experience that held me for months/years.
>
>I have just over two hours in the game and I am bored senseless with
>it. I don't even want to play it anymore.
>
>I uninstalled the beta and won't be buying the released product, which
>disappoints me. I expected to really like it a lot.

You made it further than me, I couldn't get inspired enough to try the
beta.

Any announcement of a Ghost Recon game that doesn't focus on
competitive multiplayer as the primary feature is an immediate red
flag.  Everything else was add-on functionality for the Ghost Recon
games that were successful.

Unfortunately Ghost Recon Phantoms (which was a great game) is no
longer, but that's because they went with a shitty free to play model,
which of course results in a short shelf-life for a game like this
(there's only so much crap people are willing to buy, and when the
game depends on ongoing infrastructure costs to play, it's only a
matter of time before it's gone).

Perhaps they want to divide the franchise up to focus on two separate
crowds -- hardcore PC fans and console kiddies.  Seems like Wildlands
is optimized for the latter.

Meanwhile Rainbow Six Siege proves that Ubi is far from a lost cause
when it comes to their tactical shooters.  A lot of people bought the
year 2 pass ($30) just to support the game and encourage more like it.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 10:07:01 +0000, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>
>It won't take me long to post my thoughts.
>
>Bleh
>
>That's it.
>
>It's Far Cry 2 with bits of Far Cry 4 thrown in and a (very) small
>amount of Ghost Recon added to the mix.
>
>It doesn't even come close to being as immersive and enjoyable as "The
>Division". 
>
>I suppose I can see it being fun in short spells with friends. But for
>an online game I would be looking for long gaming sessions and an
>experience that held me for months/years.
>
>I have just over two hours in the game and I am bored senseless with
>it. I don't even want to play it anymore.
>
>I uninstalled the beta and won't be buying the released product, which
>disappoints me. I expected to really like it a lot.

Disappointing, but not entirely surprising.

Ubisoft has "mastered" the open-world formula, and seems unwilling -
or unable - to break away from that formula. 

It creates giant, beautifully rendered open worlds. It then drops in a
bunch of "bases", scatters innumberable collectibles, and then mixes
in some smaller "random" encounters. If the game is supposed to have a
strong single-player component, it then tries to connect all these
points with a (badly written) narrative. Add a spice of variety
(hacking, parkour, driving, or  Ghost Recon) and, viola, you have a
FarCry, or an  Assassin's Creed, or a WatchDog, or even The Crew.

What the worlds lack is immersiveness, interactivity and spectacle.
They are, as you mentioned, fun for short bursts - wander the world,
run into a random encounter or two, or perhaps take out a "base" - but
fail to differentiate themselves enough to keep people playing in the
long term, especially if they've encountered a Ubisoft game before. 

Combat has also never been a strong point of Ubisoft games (with the
possible exception of FarCry 2) and nothing I've seen in the
GR-Wildlands previews indicates that they have significantly improved
in this area. The very fact that the game is intended primarily as a
multiplayer experience - which means "fairness and "balance" are
pre-eminent over fun and spectacle - only makes it less likely the
combat will stand out. 

Vehicle controls are apparently another area of concern, with early
reviews indicating the cars handle very poorly (The Crew, Ubisoft's
open-world racing game, didn't have great car handling either). 

All in all, the Ghost Recon: Wildlands seems another cookie-cutter
Ubisoft title, based on earlier previews and your own report.
Unfortunate, but sadly expected.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 09:17:03 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallsh...@gmail.com> wrote:


>All in all, the Ghost Recon: Wildlands seems another cookie-cutter
>Ubisoft title, based on earlier previews and your own report.
>Unfortunate, but sadly expected.


That sums it up perfectly.

I don't whether Ubisoft has been oblivious to the fact that people
have grown weary of the same game reskinned over and over again or
not.

I have a feeling the message will be rammed home this time though. 

Wildlands beta is not getting great reviews for the most part
-- 
Rob

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 08:59:06 -0500, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:

>You made it further than me, I couldn't get inspired enough to try the
>beta.

I was actually quite excited about trying it out.

I wanted to play yesterday but just couldn't get the time. I got up a
bit earlier than usual this morning just so that I could get on my PC
and play the beta.

It looks pretty much like a Far Cry game, and plays pretty much like a
Far Cry game. Which is not what I was expecting.

I was expecting a deeper game. A more challenging game. I wasn't
expecting a game that has a mini-map ripped straight out of Far Cry
3/4 and 'encounters' ripped straight out of Far Cry 2/3/4.

Even the squad 'tactics' seem tacked on. Use binoculars, mark targets,
tap Q, targets die. Look on map for nearest car, drive car to next
encounter guided by the Far Cry 3/4 mini-map. Get out of car, rinse
repeat. Fall asleep.

It is so familiar and so utterly old and dull now.


>Meanwhile Rainbow Six Siege proves that Ubi is far from a lost cause
>when it comes to their tactical shooters.  A lot of people bought the
>year 2 pass ($30) just to support the game and encourage more like it.


The Division has redeemed itself somewhat too. I think I was hoping
for a similar type of game experience from Wildlands as well.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

I don't think that I can ever stomach another single Far Cry game
again.
-- 
Rob