Ghost Recon Commander on Facebook: Target not acquired

Sadly, in this case that target is "fun". Ubisoft and Loot Drop's brand new Facebook game is also a classic case of living up to the hype. When the duo first revealed Ghost Recon Commander, it was pegged as "a Facebook game for gamers." In fact, even a recent web advertisement said as much. What does a claim like that even mean?

There's a common classification in the video games scene created by the folks who grew up with Atari and old school Nintendo in their living rooms: There are those who enjoy passing time with Facebook or casual games like FarmVille and Bejeweled--casual gamers--and those that get their kicks picking up head shots in Call of Duty and scoring touchdowns in Madden--hardcore gamers, or simply put, "real gamers."

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Of course, these "real gamers" tend to look down on Facebook as a gaming destination for countless reasons. Naturally, many an ambitious game designer has seen this condemnation as a challenge, a way to prove that, yes, even a place like Facebook can live up to "real gamers'" expectations of what video games should be. Loot Drop is the next to attempt to deliver on that promise, and unfortunately it's the next to fall short.

Regardless of whether you care about the distinctions--I certainly don't give a hoot--the fact of the matter is that Ghost Recon bills itself as a such a game and simply doesn't deliver. Being a child of the era, it's clear what this type of gamer wants: She wants action. He wants a challenge. Frankly, he wants to feel like a badass.

Ghost Recon Commander, with its isometric view, mathematically generated head shots and misses and almost a snail's pace, sadly offers none of this. Not to mention the shooter's ammo system, a take on the popular energy model that limits how many shots--or ultimately how much progress--you can make at a time before either waiting or paying up in Skulls, the game's currency attached to Facebook Credits.

There is one thing that, in terms of social games, Ghost Recon Commander does right. For one, players can take their friends along for the ride in various missions asynchronously. And every player must choose from one of three roles--Assault, Recon and Specialist--which have special attributes that come in handy for his or her friends when hired as a mercenary. When a player recruits a friend, that friend's avatar then follows the player's around and helps from time to time.

It's features like these that allow time-strapped players to feel like they're playing with their friends without having to put time aside for a multiplayer session. But when a game that promises to deliver an experience on Facebook that even "real gamers" would appreciate amounts to clicking on targets until they're a pool of blood, that illusion dies quickly.

The charade is killed even faster when you run out of ammo in the middle of a mission, close the game to do something else while waiting for it to return, and come back to your character "killed in action." Perhaps Ghost Recon Commander is a victim of marketing and advertising. Maybe, but ultimately this is a Facebook game that focuses more on statistics, features and achievements rather than what shooters are all about: the action.

Click here to play Ghost Recon Commander on Facebook Now >

Are you still interested in trying Ghost Recon Commander? How will it do with the "real gamers?" Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.