Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (Nintendo 3DS)

As Ubisoft did with the Wii, they’ve jumped on board with the 3DS with several titles, and no fewer than two of them are Tom Clancy franchises. One of those Tom Clancy games is Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, and it lands on the 3DS, in a sense, filling the launch-window vacancy of two very similar Nintendo franchises: Fire Emblem and Advance Wars. In that regard, Shadow Wars is played from an overhead perspective using a grid-style system to organize units in a turn-based strategy game.

Story

Shadow Wars involves a behind-the-scenes plot by “ultranationalist” conspirators to revert Russia back to the days of the Iron Curtain, Communism, and the Cold War. A large part of the plot involves the Russian conspirators meddling in the affairs of neighboring countries, wherein the Ghost Recon team is dispatched to clear things up. There are six characters acting as individual units similar to Nintendo’s own Fire Emblem series, each with special abilities. The six classes are Commando, Gunner, Sniper, Recon, Engineer, and Medic. Players must learn to use each strategically to survive missions. Missions also tend to have multiple objectives, and difficulties may be selected prior to engaging each stage.

Gameplay

The game is viewed from an overhead perspective (top screen, with 3-D depth), with limited camera adjustments available using the analog nub. The game is largely controlled with the d-pad and buttons. The bottom screen is used for stats and only a few segments of the game use it–mostly for players to reference detailed information in some elements in the game, such as weapon attributes. As in Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, lightly colored squares appear over the stages indicating available player movement, attack points, and other details. Characters have limited health and ammo, but each carries two weapons or items.

Other Features

Besides the regular campaign (story mode), there is a Skirmish mode, which features stand-alone missions against the computer. Like the regular game, players can choose from one of the three difficulty levels. Players also earn points (known as PEC points) and stars from accomplishing mission objectives, and at higher difficulty settings. The PEC points are used to increase the “rank” of the player (and track progress) and stars can be spent after missions to upgrade various attributes of the characters, such as health. There is also a multiplayer mode that can be played using a single 3DS system, possible as the game is turn-based strategy.