The concept for Wildlands is a great idea for a video game, an elite special forces team sent into liberate a Narco ran country. There were so many interesting story opportunities, that should have been explored, but this game is really not about the story. No, this game is designed for cooperative play. You can play solo, and your A.I teammates are useful, they can revive you and hold their own, yet you really can not plan or give them detailed orders. Which means what was meant to be a tactical shooter, really turns into a more realistic/military version of the Just Cause franchise.
You are free to run, drive, sneak, fly planes or helicopters to explore one hella large island. There are bases and resources that must be gathered, and targets to be eliminated. Each resource you gather for the Rebels, such as food, gas, or tech supplies will give you resources to upgrade your Ghost. At the start of the game, you get to go into some rather fine detail personalizing your character, which I did enjoy. The options are slightly limited, but with the varied weapons, and clothing options no two players should be totally identical, at least after a few hours of game time. As you will find new weapons and attachments as you explore the huge, and I mean huge island.
Mechanically the game functions very well on foot, with the exception of the cover system. Which could work well in theory, but was poorly executed here. See there is no snap to cover option, you simply crouch behind an object, and use the aiming button to stand up from cover, this is not horrible, but there is no blind fire option, and it just lacks fluidity. It is by no means broken, and in some areas, it does work far better than I thought, yet it just seemed like it needed a bit more work.
However the shooting mechanics are superb, the weapons are well detailed and fully customizable to your play style, they also just look and sound kick ass while being used. Additionally, I liked the option to go into first person at any time, to use the sights on your weapon for more precise shots. There is also a plethora of weapons to choose from, which gives the player a nice slice of variety in their method of murder.
See this is my major issue with this game, it is fun, but before I get to the gameplay's shortcomings, let's discuss the rather off-kilter story line and atmosphere the game offers. There are hidden intel items that do discuss the more political aspects of the story line, but there is simply not enough of it. A few of the leaders you go after, have some interesting backstories, in fact, more interesting than the leader himself. The Cartel leader is well acted but ultimately looks like he stepped out of an 80's B action flick. Thankfully the dialog between your team, and your handler is very well done. The jokes, and way of speaking sounded very authentic, and some of the dark jokes had me laughing pretty hard. I also appreciate that one of your marks, turned to producing cocaine due to an unnecessary American raid. However, I feel this should have been a bigger element of the game's plot line.
The game does have one nearly broken feature however, while the stealth mechanics function well enough, and the gunplay and exploration is genuinely captivating. Driving a car however, is a nightmare from hell from which you can not escape. You slide and bounce all over the place, and precise driving during some of the game's car chase scenes can just be a pain in the ass. Some of the cars do handle well enough to be usable, but for a game world this big, driving mechanics being this rough is a big deal.
Thankfully you have access to boats, planes and helicopters as well, I have heard some say they are worse to handle than the cars. Yet I have found the Heli's to be not only the most useful vehicle, but also the most fun. There is nothing like flying above a compound, Black Hawk Down style and mowing down the bad guys, then landing and taking the rest out. While it feels more Rambo than Black Hawk Down, that does give the game a pretty fun atmosphere. Which is both a good and bad thing. For one the subject matter is realistic, this stuff does happen, and what we have in a Tom Clancy branded game, feels like it should have been an Expendables game. While the dialogue and lingo is well done, the entire game's plot is just go here and kill this Cartel member. Sure they mix it up with some stealth missions, and some defense style missions, but it just seems far more like a flashy action film, then a military sim, or even a hybrid.
But even if you put it on the hardest setting, the game still plays the same, you just die far more frequently. There are no tactical options to give your team, aside from sync shots, which work great with A.I team mates, and so/so with real players depending on skill level. The matchmaking system is well done, as it seems to find groups that you fit into. But it just is far more fun with friends, than strangers. You do also have a drone to mark enemies with, and scout ahead, which is useful once upgrade. But your options are still far too limited. If you want stealth you best get a good silenced weapon, and focus on slow smooth movement. There is just zero fluidity to the stealth mechanics, they work but not in the most enjoyable or effective manner.
This is an enjoyable game though brimming with cinematic action, and it is packed with content. There is a lot to see, but not a lot to do... Sadly the mission objectives are fairly repetitive, this is common in most games, but the poor driving mechanics, and lack of a truly compelling or realistic story line, does hurt the game quite a bit. When you're in the midst of a large scale firefight, the game is a ton of fun, and despite its flaws, the combat is bombastic enough that I keep coming back for more.
Seriously get four buddies find a Heli with mini guns and raid a compound, that is some of the most epic gameplay I have experienced. When WildLands hits the mark, man oh man does it hit it between the eyes. But when it misses, it ricochets right into your own nut sack with pure frustration. While that may seem like I did not love the game, I did truly did enjoy my time with it. But not all of my time, it was one of those games that sadly is quite fun, but also very easy to get bored of if you're playing alone, or with a bad group. The game also lacks any kind of distinct, memorable or thrilling score, to get the blood pumping during its major action moments. In the cars all you have access to is one radio station, that is funny, but only in small doses. Still, WildLands has a strange quality that pulls you back in, just to see if you can have one more badass moment.
Truth be told, as a fan of true military games, I was hoping this would have a nice balance of realism and a slight dose of bad ass action. What I got was a huge helping of mayhem and destruction, that would rival Rambo's kill count and over the top destruction. If you are looking for a game to play with friends, this is possibly one of the best cooperative shooters I have played, in a very long time. However, if you prefer to play with yourself, it well get tedious after a while without a willing partner to join in the fun. I also would add, that this is the closest we will ever get to Mercenaries 3.
No comments:
Post a Comment