but turns out to be in the martial
grip of Sentinel, a private security
company Skell hired, which ended up
launching a coup. Nomad hooks up
with a bunch of ex-Skell employees
and native Auroan inhabitants, and
sets about assembling the personnel
and technology required to disrupt
Sentinel’s defences sufficiently to get
a boat off the archipelago and return
with a military force.
That premise allows the storyline
to branch cleverly – in conjunction
with a vast array of often excellent
side-missions, which feel varied and
memorable. The main storyline also
makes good use of flashbacks – Skell
turns out to have served in the USthat Nomad’s arsenal of gadgetry
doesn’t include a grappling hook.
Eventually, you grudgingly learn to
work around those problems, putting
yourself in a position to investigate
Breakpoint’s good points. One of
which ends up being the story – albeit
after a cumbersome, exposition-
heavy start. Nomad is a US military
Ghost, helicoptered into the fictional
archipelago of Auroa to investigate
why a cargo ship sank in its waters.
Ghost story
The Ghosts’ fleet of choppers is
downed by a drone system as it
reaches Auroa, though. The area is
owned by entrepreneur Jace Skell,
military with various protagonists
turned into baddies.
Other nice touches include the
way in which Breakpoint lets Nomad
automatically pick up ammo, loot and
crafting materials by just walking over
them, and the network of bivouacs
that stud the islands. Nomad can fast
travel to bivouacs and, when in one,
can apply temporary buffs, craft, shop
and spawn a helicopter.
The Ghost War 4v4 multiplayer
mode is pretty decent, too. It’s heavily
influenced by battle royale games,
with timed rounds in which the play
area contracts, except that Ghost
Recon’s signature technology gets a
look-in, with each team earning the
chance to spawn a drone after a while.
A clever equipment-balancing system
means that players at different stages
of the game can still compete on a
level basis in Ghost War.
The gear and loot system is one of
the reasons why Ghost War Breakpoint
starts so slowly, though. It’s more or
less a carbon copy of Destiny’s, with
each item of clothing and the vast
amount of guns you acquire given
an overall gear rating. The trouble is
that, until you realise otherwise, your
tendency is to find a gun with handy-
looking stats and stick with it. But the
guns with low power ratings barely
make a dent in any of the enemies.
Once you realise that the best planshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
A near-future,
open-world co-op
military shooter with
4v4 multiplayer.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Huge and meaty,
but terminally
saddled with
fundamental flaws.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Diehard Ghost Recon
fans, and those who
seek quantity but
aren’t so bothered
about quality.LEFT You can
change the time
of day,
rendering night
vision goggles
kinda useless.066 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE