Genre: Action
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Publisher: Ubisoft

Dewey verdure, red wet tractor next to bales of hay, makes way to mist-capped tree-filled ridgelines; then mid-day, bright sunlight, airplanes overhead. Evening's helicopter ride to the next map destination gives way to a raging tempest, slashing rain, sky filled with lightning. There isn't a lot of variety throughout the first couple dozen of hours-- eventually, deserts and salt flats reward the patient-- but what is there is totally dynamic, fully-realized, and a stunning backdrop to the game's action.

Chilean composer Alain Johannes provides the music, but it feels like he was hand-tied by the game's designers-- "give it some latino flavor, but don't step too far outside of the dudebro comfort zone!" The music is a missed opportunity, for sure. The game's sound effects are another story; wind and rain-lashed microphone effects, rounds exploding from gun chambers, and the whirling razer dance of helicopter blades, all play a prominent role.

As an enormous fan of the "Advanced Warfighters" games, this reviewer went into the title with the hopes that this would be "GRAW-meets-Mad Max"-- and he was not disappointed! The core movement, "scouting with a UAV", and gunplay mechanics are lifted straight from the aforementioned Xbox 360 classics. There are a wealth of vehicles to drive, and the ability to mark other soldiers for teammate-induced death is an exemplary way of making the game feel tactical, but not fussy.

As a sandbox, the game is sort of middling; it's a shame that the RPG-like skills system doesn't contain more game-breaking elements, like the best examples of this style. Still, the title equally supports-- and often flexes between-- stealth that Solid Snake would be proud of, and unstoppable force Rambo-like moments, often with rebel-cartel fights spontaneously erupting, in the middle of a sudden thunderstorm, with Sam Fisher-style night vision, at midnight. All told then, matching these emergent aspects with Ghost Recon-style gameplay proves to be somewhat revelatory!