If you haven't played Ghost Recon Wildlands yet, I have to ask: Why? It's an excellent open-world shooter, big, varied, reactive, filled with vehicles to drive and guys to shoot, and perfectly willing to let you do whatever dumb, self-destructive stuff seems like a good idea at the time. But if you're somehow still not convinced, you can find out for yourself in the upcoming free-to-play weekend, which will also see the kickoff of Operation Oracle (opens in new tab), a two-mission job "that will challenge your perception of the truth."
Operation Oracle introduces a new character by the name of Cole D. Walker, a "Ghost Team Leader with his own agenda," who's been sent to extract a Skell Technology engineer who's been arrested by Unidad. Skell Tech is the company behind some of the high-tech gadgetry used by Ghost Recon, Fourth Echelon, and Rainbow, and so obviously you don't want him talking too much to the Bolivian military. Ubisoft said players will "uncover information that will redefine loyalty," and warned that missions will need to be explored thoroughly: "What you will discover here might very well set the scene for the future."
I can't help but notice that Walker looks very much like Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, as portrayed by Jon Bernthal in the recently-cancelled Netflix series (opens in new tab). The announcement makes no mention of Bernthal and it doesn't sound like him [Update: Several people have told me that it actually sounds very much like him, so maybe my ears deceive me], but the physical similarity is impossible to overlook. I mean, come on:
Jon Bernthal checks out the #Daredevil TV #Minimates #Punisher mini-figure! Come get it at Booth #2607! #SDCC2016 pic.twitter.com/2nx0I3JShUJuly 22, 2016
I've emailed Ubisoft to ask if this is Bernthal or just a remarkable coincidence, and I'll let you know if I hear back. Either way, Ghost Recon Wildlands is free to play this weekend, from May 2-5. Details are up at ghost-recon.ubisoft.com (opens in new tab). And let us never forget: Why?
