Ghost Recon Wildlands' new character looks like an awful lot like The Punisher

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, 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. 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: 

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. And let us never forget: Why?

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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