Hands-on with the beta for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands

A closed beta for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands was held a few days ago and it gave us a generous preview for what is to come next month.  The Ghost Recon series has been around for a long time, but Wildlands takes things to another whole level. This time around, Wildlands takes place in a huge open-world environment giving players more freedom than ever before.  The beta only took place in one area which was huge in itself. Players are now able to tackle missions in a non-linear fashion. The most recent game similar to Wildlands is probably Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain.  Unlike the Phantom Pain though, Wildlands is a tactical team-based shooter where you and up to three friends can play missions together. If you are playing online, communication with other players are key to being successful.  Thankfully during the beta, I didn't encounter any technical issues and it was quite easy finding players to co-operate with. It's best to play the game with a microphone though so you can try and tell your teammates where to go and when to shoot. Things can get chaotic if you don't co-operate properly... If you don't like playing with other people online, you can still play the game by yourself. Your partners will be controlled by the A.I. instead and you can give them commands. You can tell them to regroup or attack enemies at will. The A.I. is really helpful, although their brains still need work. Hopefully they're a bit smarter in the full game.  The best part about Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is the amount of freedom you have. The game does not hold your hand at all times and you have complete control on how you want to accomplish missions. You can either go all guns blazing like Rambo or use a more silent stealth approach.  There are many helpful gadgets that allow you to take out targets in a quiet manner. You have access to a drone that flies in the air and this allows you to see where enemies are lurking. You also have both night vision and thermal goggles and you can tell your mates when to attack too.  The beta only included six missions, but I was impressed with what the game offers so far. It's not a mindless shooting game as a lot of planning and communication is required from players in order to be successful in missions,. The full game is not out until March 7th, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.