Ubisoft breaks cover and reveals its variety show of a stealth

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Red Storm
Format: Xbox 360. PS3
Origin: France, US
Release: May

According to Ubisoft Paris level designer Florent Guillaume, the process of making Ghost Recon: Future Soldier “was an interesting way to work. There was lots of prototyping, with levels like gameplay blocks we could rearrange.” The truth of his words becomes evident in our hands-on session with the singleplayer campaign: no two missions feel the same, and the most polarised, and gripping, of those we dip into are opposites in both pace and structure.

The first is a manic shootout through the streets of Peshawar, Pakistan. With traffic at a standstill, you and your three fellow Ghosts need to push through a miniature army of enemy soldiers and panicked oncoming civilians to reach the other end of the main street. Vehicles can be used for cover, but the aggressive enemies, many wielding shotguns and hellbent on close-range kills, mean that you have to keep your blind spots under careful observation. The best strategy, then, is to make use of your gadgetry. Throw a drone up into the air (selected with the D-pad and launched like a grenade with a tap of the left bumper) and you can scan the area ahead for hostiles. Its elevation needs to be controlled via triggers to avoid detection, but once you have the enemy in your sights a press of the right bumper can tag up to four units for your squadmates to prioritise or eliminate simultaneously on your command.
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