Ubisoft currently has two major shooter franchises under the Tom Clancy name:The DivisionandGhost Recon.The Divisionis a new property that recently releaseda popular sequel, andGhost Reconhas evolved into a massive open-world affair. With familiar additions to theupcomingGhost Recon Breakpoint, the differences between the two are becoming even more slim. When asked about the striking similarities, Eric Couzian, creative director ofBreakpoint, told us in an interview why he thinksthey’ll never be the same.
“[Ghost Recon Breakpoint] is a tactical game. So, when we say its a tactical game, that means one bullet kills. It’s a big, big game-changer,” he said.
“We really want players to feel like you are Spec Ops,” he later added.
While he’s right in a general sense,Ghost Recon Breakpointdoes add an element that counters that obvious difference fromThe Division —Drones. While human bullet sponges do not exist inBreakpoint, the new drone enemies present players with an additional obstacle that takes a lot more time to take down.
Duringour preview, we found that you definitely feel like a Spec Ops operative when you’re taking on human enemies, either in a run-and-gun style or stealthily, dropping them quickly with well-placed shots. Drones, however, typically feature layers of armor.
As seen inBreakpointgameplay trailers, drones feature layers of armor and function more like tougher obstacles that you should avoid as much as possible. The full variety of drones featured inBreakpointhaven’t been revealed yet, but these conflicts are more similar toThe Division‘s firefights than they are to the swifter and more realistic shootouts with human enemies.
Unless there are some planned modes that utilize drones, the Ghost War PvP will maintain this sense of realism, which is mentioned in ourhands-on with the mode.
So, what’s the reasoning behind the additions toGhost Recon Breakpointthat make it more similar to The Division? The developers have promoted endgame content that includes4-player raids, a stark departure fromGhost Recon’s typical formula.
“When we releasedWildlands, we were not aware that the game would have such a long life after [launch],” Couzian said. “So we learned a lot fromWildlandsand, forBreakpoint, we wanted [that] to be part of the strategy. When I say strategy, I mean to plan everything for post-launch. Even the story was written with that in mind.”
