Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

Release Date: March 27, 2011

Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars 3DS Review

The Ghosts go turn-based.

Like the special agents the game draws its name from, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is deceptive. It's not a shooter, and it's not about any sort of Ghosts that you might have come to know from the other games in the franchise. No, Shadow Wars is an entertaining turn-based strategy title, one that's fun enough to make it worth playing through despite a forgettable story and an ultra-clichéd, G.I. Joe wannabe cast.

Familiarity with the Ghost Recon franchise is totally unnecessary in Shadow Wars. Its visual aesthetic is that of a cartoon, with characters every bit as silly as you'd expect from that description. Sadly, though, they're not well animated or voiced to sell this idea. Instead, the characters are one-note stereotypes, throwing out eye roll-inducing one liners. It's like instead of trying to write interesting characters, they just knew they needed to have "the cool sniper" or "heavy weapons guy," and just cashed the idea in without too much thought after slapping a Ghost Recon name on the box for some brand recognition. Next time, let's just call it G.I. Joe.

Like Final Fantasy Tactics or Advanced Wars, the battlefield in Shadow Wars is a grid. You guide each Ghost through it, positioning them based on the stats that dictate how far they can move and shoot. Tactical positioning matters, too, as you have to think about using terrain to block the enemy's line of sight, putting your ghosts in cover, and getting the higher ground. As if that isn't enough, you also have to consider supporting fire, since most troops can return fire on enemies if they're close to someone who's shot at – regardless of whether it's their turn. This all comes together to create situations reminiscent of chess, where every move is often weighty and challenges you to think a few turns ahead rather than just in the moment. If that isn't your thing then you'll likely be bored with Shadow Wars, but I love a quality turn-based strategy game like this.

Additional tactical depth is infused into Shadow Wars with the varying classes at your disposal. Each Ghost, along with having a uniquely annoying and predictable personality, also has special abilities and roles. After a few short tutorial levels you have a sniper, rifleman, heavy machine gunner, medic, engineer, and assassin at your disposal. Multiple stages also force you to pick and choose from your soldiers, makingyou consider tactical choices when figuring out the right squad for the task at hand.

The turn-based combat is done really well in Shadow Wars, but the campaign is a little too long considering how repetitious the levels are. While the occasional stage will task your Ghosts with a unique objective like killing a specific enemy Officer or collecting some Intel, the vast majority of the stages boil down to "show up, kill everyone, repeat." Don't get me wrong, every level is fun to a degree because the core strategy mechanics of the game are well thought out, but it would have been nice to have a greater variety of objectives to keep it from feeling like a grind at times.

This Ghost is cloaked, making it so the enemy can't return fire.

The grind does have its benefits, though. Shadow Wars allows you to level up your soldiers after each mission, giving you the potential to further tweak your favorite fighting force. The leveling system is pretty barebones -- basically just a single tree that you put points into to unlock new armor, weapons, and increased health – but it provides just enough incentive to make finishing a level a little more exciting.

THE 3D Effect
3D without the glasses is pretty incredible technology, but Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is made no better with it. The 3D does make things in the foreground stand out from those in the background, but this offers no tactical benefit, nor does it serve to change the way you play. Most of the time I simply turned it off, because with it on the battery life suffered considerably. It's a nifty distraction for a few moments, but at the end of the day Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is not the game to showcase what the 3D tech can do.

Completing the campaign is only…err...half the battle, though. Finishing campaign stages unlocks a number of challenge levels. The funny thing is that these often have much more engaging objectives and intense tactical situations than the campaign. For instance, in one you're given a squad and forced to hold a town against a hoard of zombies. In another you're given only engineers and forced to try and hold a position with a few turrets to your name. Basically, these are all the tactical fun of the campaign with none of the cheesy characters, and limited amounts of the "kill 'em all" objectives. They're fun, and are a great way to spend even more time with Shadow Wars after you exhaust the lengthy campaign.

Shadow Wars also has multiplayer, but it feels hamstringed since it only allows for two players to share one system. Once you pick a map and decide upon the battle conditions (kill them all, defend a control point, etc.), you take turns issuing commands to your soldiers and passing the 3DS to the next person. The modes are pretty much nothing out of the usual (except, perhaps, the zombies vs. humans level), and passing a 3DS between a friend is a totally lame excuse for multiplayer in 2011. The systems have wireless functionality, so why not at least have local play with players using their own copies of the game?

The Verdict

Despite the disappointing multiplayer options, the clichéd characters, and the sometimes repetitious nature of the campaign, the strategy gameplay of Shadow Wars is fun enough to make it a worthy recommendation for any turn-based enthusiast. Hell, it’s good enough to recommend to anyone looking for a entertaining launch game to pick up with their 3DS. Just don’t let the name fool you.

IGN Ratings for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS)
I don’t have a problem with the way the menus or interface looks, but I really wish they’d voiced the Ghosts rather than just given them text boxes.
It looks like a slightly higher resolution DS title, and does little to showcase the improved technology.
The music is decent, but the sounds of the guns and characters are repetitious.
This is turn-based strategy combat done right. The campaign gets a little too repetitive with the mission objectives, but it’s still a lot of fun.
Lasting Appeal
If you dig the gameplay there’s a long, 20+ hour campaign, as well as a good amount of challenge levels. You definitely get your money’s worth.
(out of 10, not an average)
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Game Details

Published by: Ubisoft
Developed by: Ubisoft Sofia
Genre: Action
Release Date:
United States: March 27, 2011
Australia: March 31, 2011
UK: March 25, 2012
Japan: May 19, 2011
MSRP: 24.99 USD
T for Teen : Mild Violence
Also Available On:
Also known as: Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars