2D screenshots of 3D-capable game: Due to technical limitations, the screenshot shown in this review is a 2D image of a game that can display its graphics in 3D. The game is fully playable in either form, but only the 2D method can be shown here.
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is an unlikely launch title for the 3DS. Playing most similarly to tactical RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics or ’squad combat’ games like the X-Com series, it’s the sort of game that could have been on the regular DS (or any other system) and worked perfectly fine; it doesn’t need 3D effects. Yet being unnecessary doesn’t mean it’s unwelcome, since Shadow Wars has so much content to offer and most of it is fantastic. If you’re willing to put up with a weak story in order to enjoy a great tactical RPG, Shadow Wars has much to recommend.
Set in the near future, Shadow Wars gives you control over a small squad of ’Ghosts’; American special operations agents sent to deal with certain ’problems’ abroad. Each character has access to a few weapons based on real-world firearms, and you guide them in battle against a numerically larger but usually less skilled group of enemies. Like most games in this genre, Shadow Wars has you and the computer taking turns maneuvering your squads while trying to complete various objectives. This can be as simple as a battle until one side has been defeated, though later stages have more complex objectives such as defending a building from assault or destroying a vehicle convoy before it can leave the area.
Despite controlling a very small force of usually four to eight (most often six) characters, combat in Shadow Wars has good depth to it. It’s true that the most basic attacks involve moving your troops around and shooting at enemies, but special weapons are often required to deal with certain foes; a sniper rifle is rarely the best choice for dealing with vehicles, and a grenade usually beats an assault rifle for clearing out a pack of enemies. Terrain and cover play a factor as well, and characters on both sides will often provide supporting fire for one another; it’s in your best interest to position your troops so that if one of them comes under fire, a few others will shoot back to protect them. Most characters have their own specialty as well, ranging from obvious roles like the medic who heals your troops or an engineer that can deploy gun turrets, to a recon agent who can sneak around and dispatch enemies with her knife.
In addition to playing well, Shadow Wars has enough content to last players a very long time. There are a few dozen normal ’story mode’ stages that each last from several minutes to the better part of an hour, and these are joined by several more ’skirmish missions’ where you must complete stages with special themes such as having only a team of snipers, or using just a few engineers to set up a defensive position against a horde of enemies. There are even a few same-system multiplayer stages where players take turns by passing the 3DS between one another, which is a nice addition and not one that is normally expected in this genre.
While the game has many things it does well, Shadow Wars does have some flaws. The most significant of these is its plot, which portrays the Ghosts working to prevent members of Russia’s old regime from reviving the militaristic ways of their past. This could be the basis of an interesting ’political war’ story, but the Russian antagonists are completely one-dimensional, untrustworthy monsters that are hard to believe in a ’realistic’ plot, and the Ghosts themselves show little character development. The story really is just a thin justification to play through each stage, but that isn’t too terrible when you realize Shadow Wars is indeed a fun game. The only other issue is that your small squad size makes it hard to have truly varied fights since there are only so many weapons to use. That said, these flaws are what demote Shadow Wars from a timeless classic to instead being ’merely’ excellent.
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is the opposite of how RPGs (or tactical RPGs in this case) typically work. Rather than having weak to average game mechanics bolstered by a great plot, this game hardly even bothers with a story and instead focuses on giving you some excellent fights. The actual gameplay is actually good enough for this to work, and the sheer number of levels will keep you busy for a long time. Shadow Wars will definitely entertain fans of tactical RPGs or squad combat games, and is one of the best launch titles for the 3DS.
