Ghost Recon: Breakpoint - Review

When Ghost Recon Breakpoint was announced it wasn’t on my radar of games that I wanted to play, there was something about it that didn’t appeal to me, I don’t know if it was the way in which Ubisoft has portrayed and showed the game, I’m not sure, I just knew that it didn’t appeal to me.




Then when the game launched, I still didn’t see the appeal of it, people were also complaining about a magnitude of glitches and problems with the game, most of which were reported from the Alphas and Betas, which to be honest was slightly disappointing to hear.

The game came up for sale on the Xbox store for £26, so I thought I would check out a couple of videos of gameplay to see how it played and would it be something that I could get into, which from the videos I saw, they did sway me to get the game, and I have to admit, for the size of the world and the amount of things for you to do, it’s definitely worth it.

Technically, the game plays very well, movement is smooth, there are a few issues, but nothing that’s game-breaking, especially on the level of what it was like launch and pre-launch. I’ve seen in the game where the trunks of trees have been swaying the same as the branches are meant to, and there have been a few frame rate drops, but these have only occurred within cut scenes, so it hasn’t been too bad. Another thing that I noticed was that there are times when the AI is a bit out of sync or goes a little rogue. One instance being I loaded the game up and it put me at one of the fast travel points, nowhere near enemies or in their sightlines, suddenly a base in the distance went into full lockdown with people suddenly charging towards my position… Bit weird as 1) I had only just loaded the game, and 2) I wasn’t in their line of sight. Reinforcements were also called in, to which I just used floor camo to hide from the helicopters.

Reinforcements have been another thing which seems to be a bit hit and miss, especially since the latest update. Before if anyone who could call reinforcements went into red status, so basically where you had been spotted, they would call straight away and you had a certain amount of time to try and pick them off to have the call aborted, but now, I’ve noticed that even when in red status, they don’t. I always send my drone in first to scope the lay of the land and see what’s what, how many people, any artillery, etc, so when I see someone can call in reinforcements, I tend to go a bit more carefully until I can get them.

One thing I do really like with Breakpoint is the tactical side of things, having to scope out the area first and see what is going on, where is the objective and are there any other things to get first such as crates, information, and collectibles. What I particularly like is that the information you collect off people relates to the world and the bigger picture of the game, so makes it more worthwhile collecting, especially when it relates to blueprints for weapons or attachments.

 The world is massive, when you see a mission that is 10+km away your best bet is to find a helicopter and fly there, otherwise, it’s going to take a fair amount of time to get to where you need to be. Which sometimes isn’t a bad idea as you get to explore more of the island, but one of my thoughts with this was that even after finishing the main story there is going to be plenty of time to see more of the island and what it offers.

There are also plenty of varying areas to explore, from boggy woodlands, to little villages or factories/plants, to high snow-topped mountains, there is a little bit of everything to explore and there is loads of random buildings and little areas to pick up new gear and intel. I think this is one of the reasons that it has me hooked on this game, each area brings its own little identity to the game and it's nice walking around and looking into the distance and thinking that you’re able to get there to explore.

The general style of the levelling up and gear stats is pretty similar to other RPG games, especially games such as Wildlands, The Division series etc. You have white, green, blue, purple and gold gear. White being basic and Gold being legendary. I felt that Breakpoint does a very good job of keeping your gear fresh, while also helping you along the way. There aren’t many times in which I’ve been given a weapon or gear that has stats lower than what I already have, even if it's just 1 point better off, ill check the perks that each has, and which one suits me better.

Also, speaking of perks, there is quite an extensive skill tree to unlock, some of which are perks, in which you get to select up to 3. When you first start Breakpoint you can only have 1 selected, then for 4 skill points each you can unlock the other 2 and have 3 perks set at once. The rest can be bonuses added to your character or something that improves your drone, such as adding night vision or automatic tracking.

Another thing that I really like about Breakpoint is the fact that with the gear you’re wearing you can change the look and have your own skin on the gear, so when sets come up, like the current terminator event that’s going on, you can collect the full set from this and then set it as your look. Which is what I’ve done, changed my ghost to look like the original terminator when he wants your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle….

I really enjoyed this event and must admit I’m looking forward to seeing what’s going to be next, it’s nice to see something like this, regardless of how random it is, especially as the terminator films… (1/2 and the Latest film) are my favourite of the franchises.

Overall, I must admit that Breakpoint has been a very enjoyable experience and it continues to be, I don’t think I’ve even explored 20% of the island yet so that will give you an idea of how big it is, but for me, seeing is believing. I am glad I took the plunge and bought the game, it’s given me many hours of joy since buying it and there are many more to be had… a lot more looking at all the side quests and faction quests that are available.

In this writers opinion is definitely worth the purchase, especially for the £26 I got it for.