Enjoyed as a whole, this open-world tactical shooter comes off clumsily, with many technical issues overshadowing its otherwise fun-if-ordinary gameplay.

Like its previous iterations, the game’s best moments come from its key underlying concept — sniping a faraway enemy after calculating factors like elevation, wind velocity and distance.

That the player also has access to an effective drone makes the process even more exciting, adding the ability to scout far ahead and pinpoint enemy locations before deciding on what tactical approach suits each case best.

As always, going stealth is the most exciting (and professional) way, especially having to consider factors such as sound or weather, but players can always opt for a louder route — though that means you won’t be doing the “ghost warrior” tag in the title much justice.

The game is comparable to other tactical shooters, particularly Sniper Elite, in far more ways than any game from a major game developer should be.

It is clear that Ghost Warrior 3 holds no ambition. All the mechanics and gameplay are things you’ve seen before (and mostly done better) in other games. It doesn’t try to stand out in any noticeable way — offering no gimmick to distinguish itself. All these things — tagging enemies during scouting sessions, hacking, etc. — are the usual fare these days.

Fortunately, it matters little. Fans of the series would know not to expect more than the usual. When the game works, it does because of how it operates. The missions are relatively short, the objectives easy to follow and the checkpoints are generous.

In a way, Ghost Warrior 3 almost feels like an arcade game: a blast without the usual commitments of modern games. Players won’t have much trouble dropping in or out.

That extends to the story, which sees players take the role of Marine Captain Jonathan North, who, along with his partner and brother, Robert, gets involved in some bio-soldier affair involving Georgian separatists and super-soldier conspiracies. It’s serviceable, but has the intrigue of a 1990s TV action movie more than anything.

That matters little though. The game is smart enough to include just the right dose of variety in its straightforward missions to keep it from being too homogeneous.

There are moments when players must undertake infiltration missions (such as at a mafia wedding) or another when you must keep another soldier on the ground safe through your sniping skills. The easy-to-navigate map also makes the whole thing feel decidedly simple.

Players can take on some side missions, as is the wont of these games, with some being more compelling than others, but these missions are never mandatory to the overall mission progress.

The open world is far from utilized compellingly though, and its vastness is far too same-looking to lend much intrigue, let alone get players to run around the area. The snowy hills look pretty much the same throughout, for instance. The variable weapon choices is a good move (though to be honest, the many gadget options are redundant), but it will only make players wish that the same kind of care had been put into the environment.

The biggest issue comes with the game’s technical side, which includes a resoundingly long loading time that seems to really push your machine to its limits (that can’t be good).

The bugs and patch requirements are almost secondary to issues like players and things floating, AI being alerted of nonexistent threats and other persistent issues.

Still, Ghost Warrior 3 — out now on PS4, Xbox and PC — works best because of how basic it is. Want to feel like an action hero (in a buggy game)? Then this game is for you. The sniping remains its coolest element and its saving grace. Just don’t think too hard about it and you’ll be OK.

Popular

PDI-P will likely be part of opposition: Ganjar

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea

Bahlil leads task force to boost sugar, bioethanol production in Papua