Just one contextual button snaps you in and out. Up to a squad of four are then tethered within a certain radius (a couple of feet by our estimation), and can all move through a 360 degree range of motion, making for fast, fresh, dynamic gunplay. To counteract your new versatility, linear maps are out and enemies will now rush you from all angles on the battlefield, utilising a vast range of flanking and pincer attacks.
Another advantage of Link-Up is that it also grants you access to an ally’s unique class abilities and weapons, opening up entirely fresh tactical avenues, while also incrementally increasing your firepower depending upon the size of the cell. (You’ll also gain access to class skills, including mortar shots, EMP bombs and even air strikes.) Every class is able to heal one another, and you’ll also have access to tech like acoustic monitors and heart rate detectors to help identify and track the enemy. Link-up also spells an end to squad commands; there’s no more move to point A or B, no more being spoon-fed field orders by superiors. It’s a drastic departure, but an exciting one.
Ubisoft are billing Link-Up as a multiplayer revolution, at once both a teaching/accessibility tool for newbies and a point of pride for veterans. When we raised concerns over online piggybacking, Ubi couldn’t disagree more. “When you’re a good player you’ll take pride in people tethering to you, in being the ‘leader’ as you show them around levels and sweet spots,” reckons Lacey. There’s another good reason for sticking together – there’s less chance of being captured. “Go lone wolf and get knocked out by the enemy, and you’ll give away precious team info,” warns Dauba.
While Ubi controversially hasn’t yet deigned to implement any new multiplayer modes along the lines of Bad Company 2’s brilliant Squad Rush (expect stalwarts like Capture the Flag, Team Domination, Deathmatch instead), they’re banking on the Link-Up mechanic to provide fresh online impetus. “Eight versus eight at 60fps guarantees exciting, fast-paced matches,” promises Lacey. Once again though: Red Storm are not directly involved in coding the multiplayer. Also: there is weapon unlocking, but no actual vehicle action.
Ghost Recon games have traditionally been bombastic affairs, but Future Soldier is also promising sonic revelations – conveying the illusion you’re in the heart of battle like no other shooter. The new 360 degree battlefield means, armed with the proper surround setup, bullets really will be whistling past your ears from all angles, while GRAW’s shock effects have been pumped up to new heights. And if you’re able to remember rounding that corner in the original Advanced Warfighter only to be flattened by the embassy blowing into a billion pieces, you’ll understand how exciting this is.
With time running out, we pulled Ubisoft up on the press release for Future Soldier and its promise of the Ghosts ‘using a perfect combination of diplomacy and force’. Was that just PR guff? “Um, yeah,” admits Lacey with a grin. Doesn’t he reckon that with Ghost Recon’s potentially epic body count that the devs have some sort of obligation to deal with moral issues on the battlefield, though? “There will now be civilians in certain missions running about so you’re not able to simply blast away. You’re not necessarily punished for killing them, but you will get a ticking-off.” Nevertheless, the team remains interested in the addition of role-playing elements to the shooty-shooty stuff, in the Mass Effect 2 vein.
“I think the Clancy universe lends itself to that, more than any other series I can think of. But Ghost Recon specifically? I’m not sure it’d be something we’d ever do. Interconnectivity is interesting though.” One final question: are those legendary helicopter chaingun sections making a comeback? “There will be certain rides,” teases Lacey. “Plus, obviously fixed machine guns and the like. But we’ve tried to put extended focus on drones and UAVs this time around – they’re our ‘vehicles’ now.” Like we said, GRAW, but not as you know it. We can’t wait to play more.
Mar 25, 2010
