Ghost Recon Frontline's Expedition Mode will be a variation on the standard Battle Royale formula. How does it work, and how is it different to Warzone?
You would think that a Tom Clancy game announcement would be an event, or at least somewhat notable, but it seems that all these new Ubisoft titles have been developed under the radar . It's not such a surprise, really, that no one is talking about The Division Heartland, Rainbow Six Extraction, XDefiant, or indeed, Ghost Recon Frontline. After all, that's a long list of recently-announced games, and all but perhaps The Division Heartland, are games we did not ask for.
Now, with the recent announcement of Ghost Recon Frontline, this utterly confused franchise is continuing its process of melting into a confused puddle of concepts, with no clear identity. On paper it sounds a logical fit: Battle Royale and Ghost Recon. In reality, though, you can't help but feel a bit baffled by everything.
Let's be honest: out of all of this year's non-Division announcements, this one screams the most reasonable. Rainbow Six Extraction seems to be ignoring everything that made Siege great, and XDefiant is just... bizarre. To take the tactical gameplay of a Ghost Recon game, all of those fabulous gadgets, and put it into a Battle Royale setting, though? That sounds pretty solid.
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The problem, though, is that this latest surprise Tom Clancy announcement is coming against some pretty stiff competition. I mean, honestly Ubisoft, do you really think that a Ghost Recon game could ever compete against the likes of Call of Duty: Warzone and Fortnite – or even PUBG, for that matter? It's perhaps even less likely than XDefiant's bid to take on the Arena Shooter space, and that's really saying something!
So how does Ghost Recon Frontline seek to stand out from the pack? How does it plan on making its entrance to the race? With a fresh take on the BR formula (apparently) in their new mode: Ghost Recon Frontline's Expedition Mode. Here's how it works!
Missed the world premiere? Check out the full presentation here https://t.co/MMIeSaOTSV
— GRFrontline (@GRFrontline) October 6, 2021
How Does Ghost Recon Frontline's Expedition Mode Work?
In Expedition, 100 players compete in teams of three, each attempting to find and extract intel from the big open-world map. Ghost Recon Frontline is set on a giant island map, called Drakemoor, which has recently suffered a monumental environmental disaster. The big thing that separates Frontline from other Battle Royale's like Warzone is that your goal is ultimately to leave the island successfully, rather than simply be the last-man-standing.
To extract, players must have collected three pieces of intel. Once this has been done, those same players need to call for an "extraction helicopter". The twist? Well, this now alerts other players to your whereabouts, and those other players can come and attempt to steal your intel and make the extraction instead. Neat, right?
Is Expedition the Only Mode in Ghost Recon Frontline?
Ghost Recon Frontline does not, however, exclusively feature Expedition Mode. There is also a simpler 9v9 Domination-style PVP game mode called Control. It looks pretty basic, and a whole lot less interesting than Expedition.
Now, this all looks pretty compelling (apart from the aforementioned Control Mode), but is it different enough to the likes of Warzone to really make a dent? Well, probably not in the long term. Let's be real, if Ghost Recon Frontline launches to relative success, with Expedition proving itself as a quality game mode, then it could have a bit of shelf life but it won't beat the market leader.
What's my reservation, though, you may ask? Well, in the case of Warzone, if Expedition proved to be successful, then Raven Software will just make their own Expedition-like mode. Honestly, the only real way that a new Battle Royale can be successful in the current market is if it fundamentally changes the game. This is not going to happen anytime soon, and it certainly won't happen with Ghost Recon Frontline's new Expedition Mode. It just won't, I'm sorry.
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