Ubisoft's best open-world shooter is free on PlayStation Plus

While the latest drop of PlayStation Plus games was pretty disappointing, there’s one game in particular that I’d recommend to anyone, especially if they like shooters.

I won’t beat around the bush, it’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, a Tom Clancy game that I first played through free trial weekend on Xbox, and immediately bought straight after.

Take a look at the trailer for Ghost Recon Wildlands below

It’s an open-world game that’s as silly as it is tactical. Ideally you’d play it with three friends but it’s perfectly fine to play alone as well. In the game you’re a Ghost, a special forces operative who’s tasked with tearing apart a drug cartel operating in Bolivia.

With your teammates by your side you’ll be crossing an enormous map filled with objectives, and the best part is your squad are mere extensions of yourself so they’re actually helpful in a fight. Let’s say you’re positioned on some hills overlooking an enemy camp, there are exactly four soldiers stationed there. You can mark three soldiers, shoot the fourth, and your teammates will take out the three you’ve marked at the same time with no fuss.

Same goes tactics in battle, as you can either keep your squad close or have them spread out, but they’ll always be near enough to save you if you get knocked down. Obviously the goal here is to have other players instead of AI, as you can organise tactics far quicker with a microphone.

Like any good shooter there’s also a wide array of weapons and gadgets to try, even more when you have DLC. You’ll find weapons scattered across the map as well as supply crates with new attachments, which will obviously make your favourite weapons easier to use.

Ubisoft

Aside from an armoury you won’t blow through quickly, what Ghost Recon Wildlands has in spades is freedom. You’ve got the entire map of Bolivia to explore by land or air and each region has a cartel member in need of assassination.

You’re not just working your way through a hit list though, as most cartel members are skittish and need coaxing out of their hiding places to be taken down. To do this you need to dismantle the business peace by peace. Destroying products, finding intel, ramming convoy’s off the road are all activities that help the cause, and there are many, many more to get through. You don’t have to eliminate every cartel member to beat the game, as once the main members are taken out the final boss opens up, but I’d highly recommend eliminating everyone for a longer playthrough.

There’s obviously more to do aside from story missions as well, as there are plenty of collectables scattered around the country as well as skill points to upgrade your character/gear.

DLC is also an option, some of which was added to the game for free and others being locked behind season passes, and if you’re looking at the latter I’d recommend the Year 1 Pass only, as Year 2 is more for PvP. One of the best missions in my opinion is one where you can team-up with Sam Fisher from the Splinter Cell series, a bit bittersweet since he still hasn't been given a new game yet. There was also a great mission where you fight the Predator in the jungle, but it was unfortunately removed a few years ago.

Ubisoft

Ghost Recon Wildlands is a fantastic game, its sequel Ghost Recon Breakpoint was good but I found it lacked the charm of its predecessor. I’d highly recommend partying up with some friends and giving it a go through PlayStation Plus if you haven’t already, as having a full squad opens the door for some wacky hijinks. If you have a subscription to Ubisoft+ you can also play the game at no additional cost that way if you’d prefer.