Has Ubisoft finally cracked the code and created a gamer's game on Facebook?
April 3, 2012 
Level 5
by
Justin Davis
Despite its core gaming foundation,
Ubisoft is no stranger to the social game scene. The company has produced several hit Facebook games, perhaps most notably CSI: Crime City. With
Ghost Recon Commander, Ubisoft seems determined to combine both casual and core development disciplines, as evidenced by the game's tagline: "Finally, a gamer's game on Facebook."
The game has been developed in conjunction with Loot Drop, the social game studio founded by Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, & Quake creator John Romero. In recent years Romero has proven his social game design chops as well, as the creative force behind hit Facebook games like Ravenwood Fair.
At its core, Ghost Recon Commander is a turn-based tactical combat title, drawing inspiration from classic games like X-Com and Jagged Alliance. The key social hook is that a gamer's three-person squad is made up of soldiers created by their real-world Facebook friends. When a player logs into Commander they will receive XP and other bonuses for any missions friends took their soldier on while they were offline.
In the hands-off demo given to IGN, a high-powered squad was taken through one of the earlier missions, essentially obliterating all enemies in sight. It was still apparent that on a more balanced difficulty, true tactical consideration will be necessary. Players can place soldiers behind cover to lower enemy shot accuracy. Likewise, clear line-of-sight is essential to accurately dispatch enemies. Players have a variety of gadgets at their disposal including intel-gathering options like drones, as well as more blunt instruments like grenades.
Ubisoft hasn't backed away from violent content.
Although Commander is turn-based, these turns are "hidden" from the player. So if a gamer rapidly clicks to moves their soldiers or target an enemy, the game almost plays out like a realtime strategy title. But any time a player stops to think, the enemy also pauses, patiently waiting for the player to take their turn. Essentially, as long as you keep clicking the AI keeps acting.
Ghost Recon Commander eliminates the "energy" system that has become so prevalent in social games. Instead, player progress is metered by their soldier's health bar. As players take damage from enemies they must wait in realtime for their health to replenish. This means that cautious or skilled players will be able to get through much more of Commander's content in each gameplay session. Wreckless players that lose too much HP will have to leave the game for several hours (or perhaps overnight) to recover their health and proceed.
Like almost all social games, Commander is monetized via a premium currency, only available for purchase with real-world money. Users can spend this currency to speed up their health recovery, or on special equipment and items for their base camp.
This base camp is how gamers personalize and customize their space – a must for almost any social game worth its salt. Ubisoft acknowledges that hardcore gamers don't have much interest in "dollhousing," and implemented a clever compromise within Commander. The buildings and decorations players purchase for their base camp construe stat bonuses onto their soldier, essentially acting as a visual representation of their soldier's "build." If your camp contains lots of medical tents and cots, your character is an HP-heavy tank. If it contains lots of target ranges, it is clear you're building a high-accuracy sniper.
Always consider line-of-sight.
Ghost Recon Commander is slated to launch with ten unique missions, all playable across multiple difficulty levels. The game's original storyline is intended to compliment the plot of the upcoming console & PC release Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Familiar faces like Scott Mitchell will make an appearance, but for now the game's specific "crossover points" are being kept under wraps.
A lengthier hands-on session with Ghost Recon Commander will be necessary to truly determine whether Ubisoft has succeeded in creating a "gamer's game" on Facebook, but for now I'm cautiously optimistic. Concepts like friendly fire, line-of-sight, and a true decision-making AI aren't often seen in social games. But on the flipside, if a players makes a mistake and takes heavy damage, they can simply log off and come back the next day, fully healed up - a fact almost sure to exasperate the hardcore crowd.
Tactical combat fans will be able to try out Ghost Recon Commander for themselves later this spring – the game's open beta is slated to begin around May 22, the same date that Future Soldier hits store shelves.
Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. He is unashamed of his social game addiction. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
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