While some developers are using free-to-play to prove you can deliver high-quality experiences as good as their paid counterparts, Ubisoft seem content to treat Ghost Recon Online as the cheap thing it is. The multiplayer third-person shooter is as barebones as they come, offering only four different maps, three different classes, and just two game modes that function in much the same way; Onslaught and Conquest.

Both revolve around capturing strategically placed points on the map, with Conquest simply pitting two teams against each other as they attempt to take all five, while Onslaught has one attacking team and one defending, with more points being unlocked as the attacking team captures them.

One soon-to-be-dead soldier didn’t see the conveniently placed cover walls

When it works, it works well. Two balanced teams going toe-to-toe over a capture point can be exhilarating despite the slow pace, with teams taking it in turns to push forward in an effort to gain a foothold further up the map, only to have their attempts rebuffed by a solid defensive wall that then goes on a counter-assault of its own. It’s trench warfare in a modern setting, each team delicately manoeuvring between cover to find a vantage point, snipers covering the charging ground troops, everything coming together in harmony.

You’d better have a firm grasp of how long your neck is, as kill-or-be-killed in Ghost Recon Online often comes down the smallest of margins. Keep your head poking above a wall for just a few seconds while scanning the area and you’ll likely find it acquainting itself with a not-so-friendly bullet, a lesson you’ll learn quickly, teaching you to only break cover and reveal your position when you’re confident you’ve got the upper hand.

Even when that happens and you get the jump on your adversary, you usually need to move to new cover pretty soon, or face being pinned down and unable to move when enemy forces figure out where you’re hiding.

Because of this, anyone with a hero complex should stay away from Ghost Recon Online, as charging into the fray will only get you killed, and leave your teammates exposed. It requires patience and intelligence, with teams needing to work together to make sure surges happen in unison, and no soldier gets left alienated.

That’s when it all works – hitting a blend of adrenaline and patience that perfectly suits the format. When it doesn’t work, which unfortunately is most of the time, it’s nothing more than a humdrum third-person shooter, adding nothing to the genre that the Ghost Recon series hasn’t done a million times before.

This may be the current community’s fault – the people who charge in recklessly while decrying everyone else a “fucking noob” seem to live in the majority, meaning games rarely hit that sweet tactical note, instead devolving into bouts of my-gun-is-bigger-than-your-gun where everyone just goes about trying to prove they’re the best person to ever play an online shooter.

Some blame has to lie with the matchmaking system, though, which doesn’t assign teams with any sense of balance, instead appearing grateful that it can simply find sixteen to put up against each other. This is a basic task that it struggles with, which is especially annoying as there’s no lobbies, meaning it’s the only way to join a game. You can’t change your class once you’re in a game, and ending up with six of the same class on an eight person team really ruins the balance.

The sweet taste of victory is now yours for just a few dollars

There are only three classes; Recon, Specialist, and Assault, and each has complementary skills. For instance, Recon allows you to play either as a sniper or a behind-enemy-lines runner, with special class-specific devices helping you to achieve these roles. These devices have large cooldowns, but can really sway the tide of battle should teams use them effectively and in unison.

When the majority of people are all playing the same class (Recon tends to be the most popular), the Feng Shui of tactical warfare gets thrown out the window, as a team of snipers all using their ability to highlight enemy positions on the map doesn’t really aid anyone, and neither does a team of machine gun-wielding assault soldiers who aren’t getting the support they need from the wings.

The trench warfare aspect also becomes problematic when you realise the same choke points on each level are where the fighting ends up happening – especially on Conquest, where shootouts rarely extend beyond the middle capture point. This means that the already tight levels become even more confined, leaving you hiding behind the same cover you’ve hidden behind in every match played.

There are also some minor design choices that may be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but still leave a jarring impression. Running forward and sliding behind cover as bullets rain around you is an awesome feeling, but it’s slightly dampened when you’re sliding up a steep flight of stairs, momentarily deciding the laws of gravity and friction don’t apply to you while you do your best impression of a flying seal.

Zooming in, especially when using a sniper rifle, doesn’t reset after you’ve ducked in and out of cover. You can line up your shot, hide for a few seconds, and if the enemy is still sitting in the same place, you can shoot without even needing to adjust your aim in the slightest. It’s not game-breaking, but it allows people with scopes to always have the advantage, knowing they can get the kill shot as soon as the enemy pops out from hiding.

Further disappointment comes when you gander through the item store. At first, the system sounds fair – you can either purchase items using real money, or with RP points that are given to you for completing objectives and levelling up. Essentially, it looks like a time-saver for people who can’t invest hours upon hours into grinding the latest guns.

Maps are well designed, but under-utilised due to repetitive choke points

Investigate deeper, though, and it’s not quite so innocent. Only collecting RP means you’ve essentially got to make a choice every few levels: do I spend it on a new, better weapon, or do I spend it on upgrading my existing weapon? Those who are flashing their cash don’t need to worry about such quandaries, instead purchasing new weapons and upgrading them, meaning they’ll always be one step ahead of the curve.

Ghost Recon Online has moments of exciting and tense action, but they’re fleeting events in an otherwise drab game that’s plagued by minor annoyances and a cash shop that adds a pay-to-win element to proceedings. It’s early in its life, though, and with Ubisoft promising to offer continued support for the online shooter, it could turn into something better yet.

Top Game Moment: Seeing a planned, tactical assault come to fruition, as eight soldiers working together win a capture point.