Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms

 PC
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Release Date: Aug 15, 2012
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 276 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 144 out of 276
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 276
  3. Negative: 87 out of 276

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  1. 00000000001
    May 15, 2014
    6
    To start off with I have played over 30 hours of Phantoms, for an intelligent review. This game is rather puzzling to me as I can't tell what audience its for, Call of Duty fans? Battlefield fans? Ghost Recon fans? Maybe fans of Gears of War? It would be safe to say from my point of view, none of them. This game is a middle of the road experience on one hand it has some redeeming featuresTo start off with I have played over 30 hours of Phantoms, for an intelligent review. This game is rather puzzling to me as I can't tell what audience its for, Call of Duty fans? Battlefield fans? Ghost Recon fans? Maybe fans of Gears of War? It would be safe to say from my point of view, none of them. This game is a middle of the road experience on one hand it has some redeeming features (some, not many). The controls are fine, responsive and easy to grasp, the gun and character models are well detailed, audio seems perfect, ranking, connection and game balance all seems good. However, this may be where the good bits end and what is left is a game that provides a few good moments intertwined with a hell of a lot of frustrating, dodgy and rage inducing moments.

    Lets start with the maps. There are several maps for Ghost Recon Phantoms and yet all of them feel the same no matter what environment, this I believe may be because of the play-style the game requires; spending most of your time in cover means I rarely looked at anything else but my enemies and the next piece of cover I can hop to. Furthermore, Phantom's maps seem to have a lack of effort put into them, blocks of cover dotted everywhere, pillars making a frequent appearance and other interchangeable prop cover. Obviously there are some maps I liked, but not because they were different just because I was better on them than others.

    On the PvP aspect Phantom's is good, one on one fights are energetic and crazy in any one of the three classes; there does not seem to be any map exploits or spots that gave a heavy advantage to one person over others. Phantom's game modes are quite standard nothing that stands out from other titles in its genre, although all are objective so no death-match type games (a positive in this game as camping in rooms and cover would fast become an annoyance).

    Another negative of Ghost Recon Phantoms is the camera angles, constantly swapping sides at the slightest movement in cover and in circumstances enemies can see, and kill you before the camera angle adjusts enough for you to see them, (unfair to say the least).

    Even with the issues above none match this game's micro-transaction store, now i'm not a fan of paying real money in games, but it is a staple of most free-to-play games and so i live with it. However, Ubisoft have taken it way past the line set by other F2P games. There is the usual camo packs and outfits galore for you to spend your dosh on. From my point of view still not an issue, until you arrive at "weapons". Weapons costs anywhere from £3.99 to £7.99 each this is aggravating but this is not issue; its the cost of grinding for a gun in game, the good guns cost from 20000 credits to 100000 credits, for one gun. Well how much do you earn per game? You may ask, well in my best game I would earn over 400 (just over) and in most about 200. So from zero, with games lasting about 30 minutes upwards it would take you 200 games for a gun at 20,000(50 hours in game), For a gun at 100,000 it would take 500 games (250 hours) for a single gun. although this doesn't strike me as pay 2 win as everyone suggests; it is an obvious move by Ubisoft to make it more appealing to pay rather than grow into an old man/women grinding for that prize weapon you wanted.

    Final verdict:
    Ghost Recon Phantoms is in no way a bad game especially for a free to play game, but is lacks polish and it needs it desperately. Its maps are satisfactory, no real imbalance in matchmaking and the feel of being a future soldier with your riot shield(so futuristic) and microwave thingy (ready-meal some fools). Overall, Ghost Recon Phantoms seems half-cocked and unsure of what it wants to be and its micro store is a shrine of overpriced items literally forcing you to buy them with micro-transaction cash. Nonetheless, it had its fun moments and good games and isn't as bad as others in its category. Phantoms is worth a try if you are into the genre (or not), but hold back spending any real money on it as you might regret it.    … Expand
  2. Cristi12
    Jul 6, 2015
    3
    I think 3 is to much for this game.I started it when it was still in beta and since then,the game simply fell.At first it's fun.you get a 3rd person shooter,a game based on tactics and some cool features like the devices,but after a while,the looses all those things,the matchmaking goes on the idea "OP vs no OP" you might be lucky and get a team with no OP guns and skill against someI think 3 is to much for this game.I started it when it was still in beta and since then,the game simply fell.At first it's fun.you get a 3rd person shooter,a game based on tactics and some cool features like the devices,but after a while,the looses all those things,the matchmaking goes on the idea "OP vs no OP" you might be lucky and get a team with no OP guns and skill against some people who simply payed for this.you get no more strategic fight it's just hit and run.Camping it's also a pain in the a@$,if you are trying to storm a point then you can get killed by a sniper very easily(believe me,i know because i used to kill 4 guys in less then 20 sec,saving my team in the process).The devices are mostly a waste of time because there are **** who are using blackout,there for making you a target,if you are a skilled player,you can get out of this easy,if not,simply pray.And the most crazy thing is that the devs don't really give a f@#% about you,they just want your money,the greed of ubi.They promised new maps but in 3 years they barely got one out,you always play on the same maps over and over again,doing nothing but camping and screaming for a new map(i used to play the same map 6 times in row,knowing it's every point like the back of my hand).
    But this things are nothing,the most stupid thing of them all is that you can get banned for no reason,if you google it,you'll find articles about how people got banned for nothing,getting excuses like you've been banned because you're account was associated with the account of a permanently banned user,something that makes no sense,getting banned for multiple accounts is something else,you can delete your other accounts but the support won't care,telling you that there decision is final.
    In conclusion,you can try it because at first you'll find it fun,but in time you'll get to spend 30-40 euros/dollars a month just so you can get the latest gun(and about that.the guns are nothing but some modded guns that are made to be OP)and after you'll see that is not enough to win,you'll get so angry that you'll either destroy your platform,fight with strangers or friends on the streets,or you'll get to a sanatorium.I'm talking from experience and since i got banned from this game,my life became much more beautiful.    … Expand
  3. DeriveD
    May 18, 2014
    1
    So much potential, could be a so good game, and playing it for 5min is great. After this, here come the aimbot, wallhack, and hitbox bugs. Second problem: stuff. You don't kill with one head shot an ennemy with a T1 sniper, but it can kill you with a bullet in the knees if he spent money to buy the best tier pistol.

    Truth, this game is worst than eveything, don't play it, save time.
  4. mac671
    Jun 2, 2014
    10
    Very refreshing shooter, something that has been missing on the market. This is a game where you get severely punished for "run and gun", and need to outsmart your opponents. Some people said that there is a steep learning curve... to me playing this game felt more natural than any other shooter. This is a really good game!
    It is free to play you have so you don't have to take my word    Very refreshing shooter, something that has been missing on the market. This is a game where you get severely punished for "run and gun", and need to outsmart your opponents. Some people said that there is a steep learning curve... to me playing this game felt more natural than any other shooter. This is a really good game!
    It is free to play you have so you don't have to take my word for it, download it and make up your own mind.    … Expand
  5. Tomle1202
    Jul 12, 2016
    5
    It is quite understandable why Ghost Recon Phantoms relies so much on microtransactions, but a generic shooter requiring little thinking is still what it is.
  6. CautiOhm
    Jun 18, 2014
    9
    Best shooter already done, you do not play against the predictable machine but against people.
    With defined goal, and guerrilla tactics lead you to an addiction to not be able to stop playing.
    Beautiful graphics, good frame rate. a wonderful game

    Thanks ubisoft, you are the best.
  7. Khalkists
    Jul 9, 2014
    4
    In its beginnings, Ghost Recon Phantoms was a unique game with a focus on teamwork and tactical game-play. When the project changed hands, much of their focus seemed to change.

    This was proven again with the recent release of patch 1.2 which changes the game-play in its entirety. The devices [previously balanced well enough to make them useful, but not broken] are recovered in a    In its beginnings, Ghost Recon Phantoms was a unique game with a focus on teamwork and tactical game-play. When the project changed hands, much of their focus seemed to change.

    This was proven again with the recent release of patch 1.2 which changes the game-play in its entirety.

    The devices [previously balanced well enough to make them useful, but not broken] are recovered in a short two minutes. Their role has shifted from a method of turning the tides of the game into a constant barrage.
    The patch brought with it a large rebalance in weapons. Previously, each gun had a variable time to pick it up, depending on the attachments, barrel length, stock, etc. This allowed people to trim down smaller guns for use in close-quarters engagements. With the patch, all weapons have ready times at or below even the fastest SMGs.

    The learning curve was, previously, steep but rewarding. People learned how to move, and how to approach a situation when their weapons would take a second to be ready to shoot. Now, without concerns for ready-times; the game feels like a typical run-and-gun shooter with an extreme pace.

    All in all, it feels like the developers have disregarded concerns for balance or uniqueness; and instead are pushing to draw in the crowd of other, more popular shooters. This may be due to the niche nature of the previous game-play, the rapidly collapsing player base, or the difficult learning curve (which is not reduced with the inclusion of a functioning tutorial)

    Combined with the poor economic state, and the extremely slow progress (which has been further slowed down with patch 1.2), I cannot honestly suggest this game in its current state. If you prefer the quick, twitch game-play, you should consider other sources than Ghost Recon Phantoms.    … Expand
  8. gncnmn
    Feb 8, 2015
    4
    Conclusion : You must pay to win...

    I have spend many many hours to play this game spread to my friends watched pro videos (as a competitive player). Now I rank between "General 1Star - Colonel 5", one of my friend is a total noob he has no idea what strategy aiming or pre-aim camera angle minimap strategy or anything else he just pays and grabs top gear and he is General 4 Star killing    Conclusion : You must pay to win...

    I have spend many many hours to play this game spread to my friends watched pro videos (as a competitive player). Now I rank between "General 1Star - Colonel 5", one of my friend is a total noob he has no idea what strategy aiming or pre-aim camera angle minimap strategy or anything else he just pays and grabs top gear and he is General 4 Star killing people without thinking just rushing forward, it takes me to kill him 5 bullets he kill me with 2... with number crounching you need ~300K AC to get Highest Tier Weapon and 150K AC to get Top Tier armor+inserts 75K AC with your build Devices 150K AC for all devices (they needed for certain situations) "To Max 1 class is about 600K AC with 0 mistake pre-programmed buying..." first 100K AC is easy to earn you can make it in 1 week by playing 1-2 hours a day easyly by leveling 3 classes and spend nothing... then your AC earning / day is aproximateliy 1K/Day you need more AC to repair armor and If you don't count first 100K AC you need 500K AC to max out and it will take about 300-500days if you dont PAY, if you pay its instant...

    This game should be PAID from start. All would be ok and could become a legend like CounterStrike... but its absolutely no FreetoPlay its FreetoDie...    … Expand
  9. Wataru731
    Aug 5, 2014
    3
    I have been playing this game since it was in open beta and overall I think that it's a really good game. While there are some p2w aspects, generally, teamwork is necessary to win games and skill often times will trump OP weapons.

    I would have given this game a higher rating if not for the update they recently released. It completely revamped the leveling reward system to make it more    I have been playing this game since it was in open beta and overall I think that it's a really good game. While there are some p2w aspects, generally, teamwork is necessary to win games and skill often times will trump OP weapons.

    I would have given this game a higher rating if not for the update they recently released. It completely revamped the leveling reward system to make it more new player friendly. However, this update is unfair to players such as myself who have put hours and hours into the game. New players will now have 128,000 credits (which can buy several of the higher tier weapons and equipment) by the time they reach level 10. For reference, I have two level 30 characters and I only made 60,000 credits by leveling up. Unless Ubi$oft creates some sort of compensation system for their older players, I refuse to give it a higher score than this.

    Bottom line: This is a great game for brand new players. Old players, you may want to consider abandoning ship.    … Expand
  10. Xcell78
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    For starters I have been playing this game for say 3 months or so now and I have really enjoyed it thus far. It is one of the best tactical shooters I have ever played, but it is not without its flaws. First and foremost, it is a Pay 2 Win game. That is right!, to get the best gear, devices and weapons right from the rip you would almost certainly need to buy them to be at a fair advantageFor starters I have been playing this game for say 3 months or so now and I have really enjoyed it thus far. It is one of the best tactical shooters I have ever played, but it is not without its flaws. First and foremost, it is a Pay 2 Win game. That is right!, to get the best gear, devices and weapons right from the rip you would almost certainly need to buy them to be at a fair advantage with veterans. I myself first started and grinded out my first Tier 4 weapons, if you can not afford to buy the weapons then you can expect to play 20 hours or more grinding to Tier 4 on one character. That part is fine if you are a hardcore type of person, but it will take the average gamer forever and a day to do it.

    Once you reach Tier 4 and you have at least a Tier 3 Tac suit with upgrades you can now begin to compete somewhat that is. I rolled many decked out players with a Tier 4 weapon...it wasn't easy..but it is possible if you are a good player. The best way if you are not geared to deal with a person that is geared is to tag team it with a friend or teammate, they are anything but invincible but trust me it can be done with some coordination.

    Now with all that being said I did like the game enough to purchase all the top Tier weapons and gear (T9) and am now ranked amongst the top 1000 players on the Athena Leaderboards. I have spent around $300 to get all the gear and weapons for all 3 of the classes, so it ain't cheap, but if you enjoy this the way that I do and you are in a good financial position, then its worth supporting the developers or at least in my opinion. It really is a unique game and it does run rather smooth with nice graphics.

    Now there are 2 distinct things that really piss me off in this game and these are first off: The matchmaking straight up sucks. Yes it as bad as BF4 with stacking Vets against the gearless noobs. It is indeed awful ...expect to get steam rolled allot against better geared teams.

    2nd of all this game plays really smooth even when you don't have the best ping...I would say it has the best net code I ever seen....except for the fact if someone has a bad ping you almost certainly will loose to them nothing worse than a geared lagger...for whatever reason they have a lag shield.

    But all and all the game is for sure worth a shot if you have the patience to learn its mechanics and the money to gear up or the time to grind it out. It truly is the only Multiplayer FPS I have ever played with this type of combat system.    … Expand
  11. Jaysimps
    Jan 14, 2015
    1
    Ghost Recon Phantoms is a free to download, but generally pay to play game. Each time the game is "updated" is seems as though the game gets worse and worse. From is original launch, the game has gone in favor of those who purchase the game compared to those who don't. If you do not want to spend roughly $60 to play this game, then don't play it. Its a waste of time and should be taken offGhost Recon Phantoms is a free to download, but generally pay to play game. Each time the game is "updated" is seems as though the game gets worse and worse. From is original launch, the game has gone in favor of those who purchase the game compared to those who don't. If you do not want to spend roughly $60 to play this game, then don't play it. Its a waste of time and should be taken off the market as a free to play game.… Expand
  12. MiguelMazo
    Jan 27, 2015
    0
    wow i have never played a game that where non paying user vs paying users, this game is an aboulute big magestic piece of **** when you get tou capitan to prove your skill you play against people who pay for stuf in game and by the way yes it does make a difference i fired with my shotguntier 3 in the face of an enemy and it didn't died but guess what he shoot 2 **** bullets of his SMG,wow i have never played a game that where non paying user vs paying users, this game is an aboulute big magestic piece of **** when you get tou capitan to prove your skill you play against people who pay for stuf in game and by the way yes it does make a difference i fired with my shotguntier 3 in the face of an enemy and it didn't died but guess what he shoot 2 **** bullets of his SMG, no, not an LMG, but a mother **** SMG at me and killed me!!! game currency is so **** slow to earn, yea the first 5 level of class is not, just enought to grief for tier 3 gun that by the way you must play with a previous tier to unlock the next weapon, if you want to get mad and **** it out loud i recomend to get this game if you want to win every single match i recomend paying for stuff in this game, in personal **** this piece of ****… Expand
  13. bluered2
    Apr 22, 2015
    0
    Now they ban you cause you play with skill and dont buy their stuff. And they ban your PC, Notebook not IP or something basicly its verry verry huge pay to win. Cause you have to spend money Armor/Weapon packs + Brand new PC's and Notebook's
  14. yogisimba
    May 5, 2015
    0
    This game is absolute garbage, don't even think about wasting your time with it. Here are my main issues with this game:

    1) The matchmaking is atrocious. This game basically has two different queues for players, noobs (levels one through ten) and everyone else. I just hit level ten so I get to play in the big boy group, should be okay though, right? Wrong. My first four games I played    This game is absolute garbage, don't even think about wasting your time with it. Here are my main issues with this game:

    1) The matchmaking is atrocious. This game basically has two different queues for players, noobs (levels one through ten) and everyone else. I just hit level ten so I get to play in the big boy group, should be okay though, right? Wrong. My first four games I played again a group of three guys who are ranked 6th, 9th, and 14th in the WORLD (as I later found out by checking the world athena rank leaders). The best guy on my team is ranked Colonel 1, which is basically Gold is Starcraft or League of Legends. Obviously, the unbalanced teams leads to the game being super boring.

    2) This game is the very definition of pay to win. Sure, you can buy most of the equipment in the store with money you earn by playing the game, but expect to spend 10+ hours of game play for a simple upgrade or a new gun. On the other hand, you get to play again people who have invested money into the game, take 1/4 damage and deal 10x as much as you.

    3) The server connection is horrid. I have a beautiful internet connection, never had any trouble with it. I then get a message saying "Your connection to the server has been lost". Once I log back in, I notice that my ranking has dropped by two or three spaces. So to get this straight, I'm being penalized (as if I rage quit) because of your horrible servers?

    4) Lastly, the game encourages objectives, which is awesome, however, the community doesn't seem to grasp this concept. Most players will be recons (snipers) and camp all game long.

    Again, please don't waste your time with this game.    … Expand
  15. Videntify
    May 12, 2015
    3
    After playing for 20 hrs. I must admit that this is a good game but still Dev's greed ruins everything.

    for the Pros -really good concept game -well design classes and weapon system the Cons -Pay2Win. The weapon u can buy with 20-40 Euro overkill normal obtainable guns around 2 times vs low tier. -If you try to make it F2P U must spam 300hrs playing to reach top tier in every    After playing for 20 hrs. I must admit that this is a good game but still Dev's greed ruins everything.

    for the Pros
    -really good concept game
    -well design classes and weapon system

    the Cons
    -Pay2Win. The weapon u can buy with 20-40 Euro overkill normal obtainable guns around 2 times vs low tier.
    -If you try to make it F2P U must spam 300hrs playing to reach top tier in every classes and stilll be doomed by 20-40 Euro weapon.
    -the game's free currency is really hard to farm and the even if you pay real money for it u will easily bankrupt by the unbalance sell price and money sucking system.
    -sometime matchmaking takes really long and sometime it sends people into 5-6v8 match
    -very low in change not much update even after I look at it again after half a year    … Expand
  16. The_Ghost
    May 21, 2015
    9
    I play during the close beta and i can say that right now the game improve alot.

    Pros - tactical game is awesome - weapon customization - well balanced classes abilities Cons - need more maps and game mode - fix the matchmaking I've been playing since the age of disconnect with this game but now the server is much stable than the close beta. Not that I'm bragging or something    I play during the close beta and i can say that right now the game improve alot.

    Pros
    - tactical game is awesome
    - weapon customization
    - well balanced classes abilities

    Cons
    - need more maps and game mode
    - fix the matchmaking

    I've been playing since the age of disconnect with this game but now the server is much stable than the close beta. Not that I'm bragging or something but this game requires skills, and also you need to spend the game currency wisely to get the top tier weapons and stuffs. One more thing, before i got my tier IX sniper and tier V armor I'm playing with the big boys of the colonel's rank with just tier I sniper.

    Definitely Recommend it    … Expand
  17. GENERALANXIETY
    Jun 28, 2015
    6
    Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep learning curve. I've never been a fan of the "free to play" model. I'd much rather just spend the money on a well designed, game with kick @rse maps, and a variety of game play modes.

    The maps are mediocre, game play is choppy, matchmaking has been a nightmare. The weapons and tactical gear are interesting but not enough to beat out the COD's or Battlefield    Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep learning curve. I've never been a fan of the "free to play" model. I'd much rather just spend the money on a well designed, game with kick @rse maps, and a variety of game play modes.

    The maps are mediocre, game play is choppy, matchmaking has been a nightmare. The weapons and tactical gear are interesting but not enough to beat out the COD's or Battlefield franchises. Meh...It's a time killer.

    Could be so much better with a bit more effort on level design and more variety with game modes. Larger maps would be great to accommodate the snipers. Smaller maps for those that like faster pace.    … Expand
  18. SelimDemirci
    Apr 24, 2018
    0
    tavsiye etmiyorum.üye oldum oyuna girdim yarım saat her serverda bekledim ama oynayacak bölüm bulamadım.

    + bedava olması

    -karışık arayüz
    -bekleme süresi çok fazla
  19. PAOKAKIS
    Feb 9, 2018
    0
    We want Ghost Recon Phantoms Back.............. We PAYYY for this game......
  20. Marchelo1988
    Jan 3, 2021
    7
    Being a free to play (with microtransactions) game intended to be able to be run in many computers for friends to play it in different builts, the graphics are not the best but that can be absolutely forgiven. It developed into a pay-to-win, but surely delivered many hours of fun with friends (even If I suck at shooters) with its non-conventional gameplay tactics that allowed for differentBeing a free to play (with microtransactions) game intended to be able to be run in many computers for friends to play it in different builts, the graphics are not the best but that can be absolutely forgiven. It developed into a pay-to-win, but surely delivered many hours of fun with friends (even If I suck at shooters) with its non-conventional gameplay tactics that allowed for different playing styles and approeaches. And even if it's not a remarkable game, I believe that's a compliment for any shooter.… Expand
  21. alvir218
    Aug 8, 2021
    10
    it's a mixed first person shooter with third person shooter, with a realistic modern weapons and futuristic devices that asks for group work.
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Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
43
#43 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. SpazioGames
    May 19, 2014
    65
    It's basically the same game as Ghost Recon Online but with not so many more maps: a third person shooter that aims to be tactical without being able to provide fun for more than a few hours. It deserves to be tried only because it's free and nothing else.
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  2. Edge Magazine
    May 16, 2014
    70
    Classes and skills are well-balanced, and even though you’ll cycle through the small map selection quickly, they offer enough possibilities to stave off fatigue until Ubisoft adds more arenas. With more modes and maps, Phantoms would be a formidable offering, but it’s worth dipping into until then.
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  3. Gamereactor Sweden
    Apr 30, 2014
    70
    Considering this is completely free to play, Phantoms has a lot to offer in terms of tight controls, nifty cooperation and a neat ranking system. Given the fact that it will keep evolving, it looks like fans will have good reason to stay.
    Read full review
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