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The franchise’s games are known to be grueling methodical shooters that still accommodate gamers’ desire for fast-paced action. However, the constantly changing formula of the franchise results in hit-or-miss success on Metacritic with every installment. This list will answer which are the best Ghost Recon games, according to critics, along with the worst.
Updated March 26, 2022 by Jack Pursey:The tactical shooter genre has been slowly but surely slipping out of mainstream relevancy for the last decade. The surprise hit of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege did bring the series roaring back, though a few other studios have tried to capitalize on its success.
Consequently, many fans of the forgotten genre are now looking back instead of forward for their next game to play. The Ghost Recon series is the first place that many people look for tactical shooters, so we’ve updated this list to include some more details, such as each game’s best feature and main story completion time.
15 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (2010) - 46
Release Date: November 16, 2010
Available Platforms: Wii
Main Story Completion Time: 10.5 hours
Best Feature: The Nintendo Wii’s motion controls were well-implemented and felt very responsive.
Just because Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon has been a cornerstone of the action genre doesn’t mean that the franchise hasn’t thrown up a few disasters along the way.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (2010) was released on the Nintendo Wii and attempted to utilize the Wii’s motion controls to provide the most immersive Ghost Recon game yet. To be fair to Next Level Games, the motion controls were solid; but the game was let down by its repetitive gameplay and unintelligent A.I.
14 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Predator - 54
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Available Platforms: PSP
Main Story Completion Time: 4 hours
Best Feature: The impressive selection of weapons that added great strategic depth and variety to the gameplay.
Released the same year as the aforementioned Nintendo Wii game, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Predator hit stores in October exclusively on the PSP. The game’s key selling point was that it allowed players to switch between any of the squad’s three soldiers.
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Similar to the Wii game, Ghost Recon: Predator suffers from being too one-dimensional, with little emphasis on what makes the series so unique; its tactical and methodical gameplay. Another similarity is the lackluster A.I. which is more than enough of a reason for even the most die-hard Ghost Recon fan to skip this entry.
13 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint - 58
Release Date: July 26, 2019
Available Platforms: PC, Stadia, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Main Story Completion Time: 22 hours
Best Feature: Successfully infiltrating enemy bases undetected is exciting, intense, and rewarding.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is the latest game in the Ghost Recon franchise. Following the events of Wildlands, the story focuses on callsign Nomad. Together with what’s left of his team, he aims to take out opportunist Cole D. Walker– a former ghost who overrode Auroa’s advanced technology for his own abuses.
Aside from the open-world tactical shooter elements, the game also has RPG mechanics with different classes to choose from. Also, it has an Immersive Mode option that removes the hud and increases realism, bringing this game back to its tactical roots. Though it is fun, the direction the game wants to go to seems unclear. This earns it a low Metascore and a user score of only 2.5.
12 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands - 69
Release Date: March 7, 2017
Available Platforms: PC, Stadia, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Main Story Completion Time: 26 hours
Best Feature: The enormous, beautiful open-world that features a great range of different biomes.
Ghost Recon Wildlands is the first open-world game in the franchise. This allows for various non-linear approaches to the story and side content, such as taking out convoys and enemy compounds. The game follows Nomad and his team of ghosts as they are deployed into Bolivia to dismantle the global-scale cocaine production and liberate the people.
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The vast world, together with the tactical nature of the game, gives players heightened freedom that adds to the ghost experience. Given its Metascore with a user score of 6.3, it’s a huge leap from the previous entry on this list.
11 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm - 70
Release Date: March 12, 2004
Available Platforms: PlayStation 2, N-Gage
Main Story Completion Time: 13.5 hours
Best Feature: The game offered online multiplayer for the first time in the series and was a notable influence on the sharp rise of online gaming, which was right around the corner.
Released in 2004 on the PlayStation 2, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm is an expansion of the original Ghost Recon. The game is best remembered for offering online multiplayer for the first time in the series.
Jungle Storm’s lackluster score predominantly comes from the fact that it was the final of three expansions to the game, and players were growing tired of waiting for Ghost Recon 2. Despite making only minimal changes from the other expansions, the game provided an enjoyable experience that will have greatly appealed to die-hard fans of the series.
10 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Phantoms - 70
Release Date: April 10, 2014
Available Platforms: PC
Main Story Completion Time: N/A
Best Feature: The solid range of classes to choose from and their individual abilities that offer good strategic depth to the tactical shooter.
Ghost Recon Phantoms is a fast-paced multiplayer game with some tactical elements. Similar to today’s Rainbow Six: Siege, the game features tons of variability with high-tech equipment and abilities in the game. From shields to intel grenades to optic camo, this game has enough tools to create different sorts of strategies and plays.
There are three classes to choose from: assault, recon, and support, each with its own tools and usability. As fun and promising as the game is, Ubisoft, unfortunately, shut down game servers due to a steady decline in users. The user score for this game is 6.4.
9 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier - 71
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Main Story Completion Time: 10.5 hours
Best Feature: The range of multiplayer modes and options, particularly the co-op campaign, which is a blast to play with a friend.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier takes place in 2024, where military gear has shown significant improvements. The plot follows the squad under the callsign’‘Hunte’’ through a series of international missions to dismantle the system from within. Future Soldier features a third-person cover-to-cover mechanic for a tactical approach to engagements.
The game also gives the players futuristic tools such as intel grenades to tag enemies behind cover. The user score for Future Soldier, however, is just 5.1. Lower than some of the previous entries on this list.
8 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars - 77
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Available Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Main Story Completion Time: 25 hours
Best Feature: The game demands strategic play, particularly in the second half of the campaign, with every decision that the player makes feeling crucial on higher difficulty levels. This creates an incredibly immersive experience.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars was released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011 and compensated for the handheld console’s limited hardware by offering players a complete change of genre from the norm.
The change of genre was an ambitious but welcome choice, as the turn-based tactics game provided a solid XCOM-like experience. Shadow Wars certainly didn’t reach the heights of the XCOMfranchise’ss most critically acclaimed entries, but it did provide an enjoyable campaign with decent tactical gameplay that will appeal to fans of both the Ghost Recon series and turn-based tactics genre.
7 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon - 80
Release Date: November 13, 2001
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube
Main Story Completion Time: 12 hours
Best Feature: The game’s strategic play differentiated the game from most other shooters at the time and inspired other developers to add strategic depth to their games.
Developed in 2001, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon is the first Ghost Recon game ever made. This game is the most tactically unforgiving out of all the games in the franchise. A six-man squadron can be built from four available classes to choose from. Players have the ability to command their AI companions by tagging the path they should take.
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They are also given the function to alternate between who to control, giving them the role of both an on-the-ground soldier and a commander. Ghost Recon incorporates RTS elements to a tactical shooter to create one solid formula that will soon be the heart of what the franchise is. That being said, the game has an admirable user score of 7.6.
6 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 - 80
Release Date: November 16, 2004
Available Platforms: Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube
Main Story Completion Time: 9 hours
Best Feature: The excellent sound design, which was ahead of its time in 2004 and created an engrossing experience.
Ghost Recon 2 is a console-exclusive game that improves from the previous Ghost Recon. Having modified in some areas, it didn’t stray too far from its core mechanics. Releasing three years after the first game, this game upgraded its graphics and also humanized the characters more through dialogue interactions and cutscenes.
There are also some gameplay changes, such as the players’ control being limited only to squadron leader Scott Mitchell, as opposed to the previous game allowing the player to alternately take control of multiple units. The players, however, may still command their squadron as they please. These improvements resulted in a higher User Score of 8.7.
5 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Island Thunder - 82
Release Date: September 25, 2002
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Main Story Completion Time: 3.5 hours
Best Feature: The addition of jungle maps added a new dimension to the tactical gameplay.
The Island Thunder expansion of Ghost Recon features a single-player campaign taking place in Cuba after the death of Fidel Castro. When democracy is threatened by the communist parties with violence, it’s up to the special ops ghosts to dismantle their system and restore freedom to the people.
The expansion also features jungle maps that encourage players to approach the foliage-ridden environment with caution. Despite its decent Metascore, Island Thunder only has a User Score of 6.7. A bit higher than that of Wildlands.
4 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Desert Siege - 82
Release Date: March 27, 2002
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 2
Main Story Completion Time: 4 hours
Best Feature: The expansion offered great value for money and was a key influence in the rise of DLC, given that expansions were still uncommon at the time - particularly on consoles.
Another expansion of the original Ghost Recon, Red StromEntertainment’ss Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Desert Siege, takes players to East Africa and tasks a team of U.S. Army Green Berets with intervening in a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
In contrast to the aforementioned Jungle Storm, which was likely docked points for being an unwanted third expansion, Desert Siege’s Metascore is helped by it being the first expansion and consequently still feeling fresh.
3 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike - 84
Release Date: August 2, 2005
Available Platforms: Xbox
Main Story Completion Time: 4.5 hours
Best Feature: The heightened difficulty implemented in the expansion increased player immersion and demanded that players fully understood and utilized the various gameplay mechanics.
Released in 2005, Summit Strike is a Ghost Recon 2 expansion that introduces new multiplayer modes, improved mechanics, and an additional story mode. The story revolves around Scott Mitchell and his team’s pursuits in capturing Pakistani terrorist and arms dealer Asad Rehil– a notorious threat to global welfare.
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The expansion also made missions harder and more challenging. This deepens the tactical elements of the game. The expansion features snowy environments, plus the option to re-do the missions in solo mode. This game has a solid User Score of 7.
2 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - 86
Release Date: March 6, 2007
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii
Main Story Completion Time: 8.5 hours
Best Feature: The ability to see squadmates’ bodycams, which helped give players a better understanding of their surroundings in a way that felt natural and fair.
Released in 2007, Advanced Warfighter 2 takes place in Mexico. A year after the events of Advanced Warfighter. Players take control of ghost leader Scott Mitchell as he leads his team through various missions. Players can see the bodycam feed of their squadmates, allowing for more effective reconnaissance.
They also have control of advanced military equipment such as a UAV that they can use to gather intel on enemy locations. On top of that, the command system is more fluently integrated with combat. Though this Xbox version of the game has an impressive Metascore with a User Rating of 7.7, the PC version is only rated 76. As for the PS3 version, 84.
1 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - 90
Release Date: March 7, 2006
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2
Main Story Completion Time: 8 hours
Best Feature: The fantastic blend of various gameplay mechanics that makes Advanced Warfighter one of the best tactical shooters of all time - and one that still holds up today - over 15 years after its release.
Developed in 2006, the Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter is the highest Metascore a Ghost Recon game has achieved. The game takes place after the events of Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike. Scott Mitchell and his band of ghosts engage in a series of missions to protect and preserve the alliance of the US and Mexico.
Players once again take control of Scott as they lead their team by giving out orders. The integrated RTS elements of Advanced Warfighter, together with its tactical gameplay encourages players to be methodical with their approach. Despite being the highest Metacritic rated Ghost Recon game with an impressive 7.9 user rating, its PC version is only rated 80. Still, many agree that, even to this day, Advanced Warfighter is the best Ghost Recon game.
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