Ghost Recon Online
Ghost Recon Online is only available for the PC, so those with an Xbox 360 and/or PS3 will be missing out on this free to play title. Ghost Recon Online’s PC requirements are not so bad. The minimum amount of RAM you need is 1GB and the game only takes 5GB off of your hard drive. Ghost Recon Online may not look as pretty as full priced video games, but it’s one of the better looking free to play video games out there.
As with most other free to play video games, you start off by customizing the appearance and equipment for your chosen character. The three class types you get to choose include: Assault, Recon and a Specialist. Much like other games, more skills will become available for each class when you level up. The more skills you attain, the more cool stuff you’ll be able to do in the battlefield.
Much like other Ghost Recon games, you can customize the gun as part of your load out too. You can add a scope to better your aim, and also different type of handles for the rifles. There are a ton of real life rifles and other guns you can get in this game. As you progress further into the game, you can earn currency so you’ll be able to afford all of the new rifles and upgrades. Rifles aren’t the only guns available either. You can also purchase a ton of different shotguns and also pistols too.
Guns aren’t the only thing you can purchase. You can also customize the armor that your soldier wears too. It’s realistic because some body armor affects your speed in the game too. It’s best to choose a type of armor that protects you, but also allows you run at a decent speed too. You can also choose from a variety of headgear too.
The character customization mode is heavy and there are a lot of things you can add to your character. I would say that you are able to customize your character more in Ghost Recon Online than in most free to play MMORPG games I’ve played in the past. This is to be expected from a Ghost Recon title since Ubisoft always loves to keep their games to be as realistic as possible.
When you start to play, the game is generous because it gives you an overview of the map of the level. This is a helpful tool to look at because it gives you the position of your teammates. It also helps you visualize how large a specific map is so you know where to hide if enemies are coming for you.
Unlike most other free to play shooting games, Ghost Recon Online is played via a third-person perspective. Control wise, the game plays much like any other shooting game does on the PC. You will aim using the mouse while using the WASD keys to move your character around. Thankfully, there is a cover system that you can use too. This is helpful as most FPS games don’t have a cover system.
The use of the cover system makes the game more realistic in my opinion because FPS games are usually chaotic. While playing this game, you will rarely see players running around like a monkey shooting at anything in their path. Ghost Recon Online is a more civilized atmosphere as players will work together and will only shoot if they have a good position to hide in.
From my experience with the game, I really liked how Ghost Recon Online plays like a modern shooting game should. I was actually surprised how close the controls are to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. The game is more about finding your enemy first and working as a team to smoke them out. Ghost Recon Online is not like any Call of Duty game where everyone is out in the open for easy target practice. Ghost Recon Online is more for the patient type of gamer that lets the action come to them first. You could say the action in this game is slightly slow-paced, but this make the game more unique and stand out from the rest of the shooting games out there.
Graphically, Ghost Recon Online looks real good for a modern free to play title. It may not look as pretty as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, but it looks far better than most free games on the internet. If you have a powerful computer, you might be disappointed by the game’s visuals, but anyone else with a moderate PC won’t mind the visuals. The character models look very detailed and the frame rate is pretty smooth throughout. I didn’t suffer too much lag while playing the game so that’s a bonus too.
The only downside to the game is the lack of maps and the level design isn’t all that creative. The levels are all brown in color and are set in urban areas. Gamers looking to see more natural environments will not find it here in Ghost Recon Online. Another unfortunate thing about the game is that it’s only available for the PC right now. The promised Wii U version of the game has been put on hold and no more information has been revealed about its progress…
All in all, Ghost Recon Online is a highly enjoyable free to play shooting title. The production values are really high and the game itself is of a very high quality overall. If you enjoy playing third-person style shooters, there’s a lot to love about this game.
