Review by: Michael Barnes

Ubisoft’s promising Ghost Recon: Future Soldier lineup was intended to come out this November, but it was delayed to 2011 most likely to avoid going toe-to-toe with the Call of Duty Juggernaut. That didn’t stop the firm from moving forward with the release of a Ghost Recon game for the Wii minus the subtitle. Ubisoft should have waited at least until after the holidays because almost certainly some poor Wii owner is going to have their Christmas ruined by receiving this game as a gift from an unaware friend or loved one.

I’ve played a lot of really bad Wii games in my four years of owning the console, but Ghost Recon is one of the very worst. There is absolutely nothing remaining in this game of the great tactical shooter action of the franchise’s better titles. As far as branding it as a Tom Clancy game, he should probably seek damages.

Ghost Recon for the Wii is more or less a very crude imitation of Time Crisis although it really, sincerely wants to trick the player into thinking it’s one of those third-person cover-based shooters that are on the HD systems. Yes, that means we’re looking at yet another rail shooter where you point the Wiimote at the screen and press B until something blows up or dies.

It is a co-op affair so either you and a buddy or yourself and a barely present AI take control of the indistinct characters Booth and Hibbard as they crouch behind walls and shoot at hordes of those pesky Russian ultra-nationalists as they stand around and occasionally shoot a gun, fire or rocket, or send an exploding RC car your way. At least they’re nice enough to stand out in the open from time to time or meander around so that you can shoot them. That is, if the game registers that the targeting reticule is in contact with the model. No pun intended, but it’s hit or miss. I’ve blasted guys with two and three clips and they still don’t die or show any evidence of taking damage. To increase the irritation level while you’re pouring bullets into these guys, Booth and Hibbard let you know vocally every time they’ve spent their clip and that they’re “reloading” literally every five or six seconds.

Level design is completely linear and most of the time you’re simply targeting with that rascally reticle behind a wall or obstruction, but when chevrons appear on a piece of cover, pressing the A button advances the solider to that spot. You can even shake the Wiimote to slide into cover. But Vanquish this is not. It’s dreadfully slow and lacks any kind of tension or drive. Without the time pressure that gives Time Crisis a sense of urgency, Ghost Recon devolves into minutes on end where players are simply unloading clips and waiting for enemies to poke their heads out. The boredom level is stupefying until a baddie tosses a gas grenade and you’ve got to clear the area before you die. If, at that point, dying wouldn’t be a merciful release preferable to continuing to the next checkpoint.

There are a few silly diversions such as putting players in control of a drone (which eliminates the cover mechanic and makes the game even duller) and frustrating stealth missions. Yes, stealth missions in a rail shooter. No, it’s not a good idea and no, it doesn’t work. It’s all very clunky, clumsy, poorly executed, and almost completely bereft of any fun outside of heckling the game with a friend if you’re fortunate enough to be close enough to someone that is willing to suffer through the game with you.