The Terminator Adds New Flair to Ghost Recon Breakpoint

One of the most entertaining things I did in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands was fight the titular alien Predator in a jungle with three of my friends. It was wacky, out of place, difficult, and perfectly executed. In one of Ubisoft’s biggest games that was packed with hundreds of things to do, that small handful of quests related to tracking down Arnold’s best CHOPPA mate, discovering its ship, and then engaging in a multi-stage battle to the death was barely a drop in the bucket.

Yet that Predator event inspired me to hop back into Wildlands, a game i had already sunk a lot of time into, and play through the DLC and get a platinum trophy. It wasn’t the most exhaustive use of a movie license but it was damn clever. The cat-and-mouse nature of Predators versus humans was amplified in Wildlands. If you didn’t get too caught up in absurdity of it, your mind might have wandered at other possibilities, such as, “Why has no one done a Predator game like this?” And the jury will be out on that until after Predator: Hunting Grounds releases.

Though I was much less critical of Ghost Recon Breakpoint than many, it makes sense that the game’s gritty, survivalist bent is more likely to turn away players seeking the rogue cowboys in Bolivia vibe that Wildlands leaned further into. Breakpoint can be a drab affair for players who don’t want a highly tactical and difficult shooter and would rather just make as many explosions as possible happen.

That’s why, when The Terminator event was first announced, I was hopeful that it would add an interesting dynamic to Breakpoint‘s portrayal of a Tom Clancy techno-thriller where the promises of the near future also included an untimely demise. Taking place on the fictional Auroa island, Breakpoint‘s focal point was a rogue band of Ghosts, rebranded as the Wolves, took over Skell Technology, creator of world’s most advanced drone technology. As players fought for survival, they encountered swarms of turret-equipped drones and unmanned tanks called Behemoths. Just like in the distant future of James Cameron’s 1984 masterpiece, machines were at the top of the food chain. So what better place would there be than Auroa to introduce the threat of menacing exoskeletons?

I’ve covered a lot of my thoughts on the opening missions of the Terminator event last week and they haven’t necessarily changed. But I think it’s important to set the stage for the rest of the event because it truly is easy to see that the development teams at Ubisoft had a great concept that would be an ideal way for players to have a fun reason to hop back into Breakpoint, or at least approach gameplay and missions from a different angle.

Those who dived into Wildlands’ Predator event should know what to expect with Ubisoft’s job in licensing other properties: a dedication to the tone and atmosphere of the source material. The presence of the hulking, steel Terminators is sensible enough on the realistic-but-fictional Auroa. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see those nearly indestructible frames going toe-to-toe with the advanced behemoths and drones that were crafted by Skell Technology.

The first mission available to players started January 29 and was titled “A Storm is Coming.” Players were tasked with looking into a woman, Rasa Aldwin, who says she is from the future and creating a weapon to fight against “the machines.” Considering the amount of machines on Auroa, some of her claims make sense. “A Storm is Coming” begins like many mission in Breakpoint, where players infiltrate an enemy base, take out bad guys silently or loudly, and collect intel. Upon discovering Rasa, a T-800 bursts onto the scene, full 1984 Terminator nostalgia washing over.

If you don’t die to the T-800 clutching two guns and slowly stalking hunting you down, you’ll discover there is no way to defeat the machine. While escaping with Rasa, it’s possible friends and foes may enter the fray and attack the cyborg with no avail. Soon enough, the mission ends and players are given an energy rifle that can cause higher damage to a Terminator’s exposed weakpoints. Once its health has dwindled away, players need to keep firing at the Terminator’s core until it falls.

The reward system in place for The Terminator event provides a good excuse to play each day of the week. The battle pass-like system grants cosmetics, weapon blueprints, and vehicles inspired by the movies. At only 21 levels, it was not a slog to gain ranks. Acting like Faction missions that existed in Breakpoint previously, The Terminator side missions ask players to go to locations across Auroa and defeat T-800s or hack computers while trying not to die. It felt like each mission I completed granted me a new rank and with multiple available per day, I happily spent my time earning rewards.

Perhaps the most notable cosmetics rewarded are the signature blocky Terminator sunglasses and the ability to skin your Ghost as an actual T-800 that is undamaged, or damaged with chunks of exoskeleton revealed. For premium currency, players can purchase a Kyle Reese or Terminator bundle that packs in a few more additional cosmetics. Considering the wealth of cosmetic options available to players in Breakpoint, I’m not sure if every piece from The Terminator event will make an impact, but rather than feeling like a time-sink, the experience of roaming Auroa to down robots was fun and relaxing.

However, once the early access period was over, I switched from playing Breakpoint on PC and back over to my old character on PlayStation 4 Pro. Unlike my PC character who was traipsing around Auroa on normal difficulty, my PS4 character was forged in the crucible of Extreme difficulty where a couple bullets meant a swift death. As you can see in the video below, this was a fool’s errand.

The rate at which a normal soldier can take down your Ghost on Extreme difficulty is one thing, but a relentless Terminator that stalks you from hundreds of meters away across any terrain? Nah. I quickly realized that playing solo on Extreme difficulty was not going to be feasible or enjoyable. And honestly, that’s fine. Introducing the Terminators is meant to juggle how players take on battles in Breakpoint. You knew they were ruthless and you wanted to feel like a badass when taking them down. There can be a little strategy with using various bits of equipment like C4 and rocket launchers, but when it comes to getting those crucial hits on the power core, you’re going to be glad the difficulty is down.

Honestly, I had just as much fun watching the various AI systems clash with each other. The first side mission that tasked me with locating a Terminator got a laugh out of me because as soon as I was a few hundred meters away, the sound of gunfire everywhere made me feel pretty certain as to where my foe was going to be. It was hilarious watching a few grunts, a mortar, and sentry gun, and an armored machine gunner barely put a dent in the T-800. At one point I got in a car and drove at full speed into one, only for it to remain standing and total my vehicle. It’s this kind of silly, playful atmosphere that Breakpoint could benefit from in these limited time events.

Considering there were only two main missions, I didn’t expect anything too crazy to wrap up this short saga with these metal menaces. But getting the chance to run deep into a Terminator factory was a cool moment. The devs were obviously enjoying their time creating this space and I think I may have noticed some 16-bit nods to a previous Terminator game. In a way, this short storyline felt a little anti-climactic if not ominous. No, it wasn’t just the fact that a T-800 says, “I’ll be back,” right before you crush its head. It’s the fact that this event seems to focus solely on the 1984 Terminator film and nothing else.

When the event was first announced, I expected there to be fights against the other denizens of Skynet. With a few AI tweaks and reskins, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Ubisoft to incorporate them into Breakpoint. The event also doesn’t feel like it’s a tie-in to Terminator: Dark Fate, especially considering the film came out months ago. So it leads me to believe that Ubisoft has more up its sleeve when it comes to Terminator. Of course, I would love to see other crossovers that take place on Auroa. But in the not too distant future, I could see more events like this bringing people back into Breakpoint and having them stay.