Going into this I was expecting a first person extravaganza but instead got a top down strategy game. It was a pleasant surprise to be honest. Leveling up can use some work and when more people get the 3DS online should be great. I highly recommend this title, hands down the best game out so far.

Although the story-line lacks an intriguing depth, and there's not cut-scenes to really add to the Ghost Recon formula, the strategical gameplay (similar to Advance Wars) and tactical prowess makes Ghost Recon a fairly enjoyable experience, with a possible sixty hours of fun to be had in the campaign mode, plus the nice addition of single console multiplayer, maybe not providing the best multiplayer, but making it highly convenient to play with friends and family.… Expand

Got this game on a whim, because of a bundle deal from Gamestop. The idea of playing a Tactics game early on the 3DS lifespan interested me and it was pretty cheap anyway.
To my surprise, the game ended up being one of the best Tactics games I've ever played, with interesting features like Return Fire and an intuitive way to deal with character upgrades(instead of experience-based, accomplishment based).
As many have already said, the plot lacks depth, but the game isn't meant to be played as a proper RPG. The fun is in beating the stages from the story mode and then the skirmish missions.
Truly a masterpiece, very good even without considering the fact it's a game from the initial batch of releases.… Expand

I was a bit unsure of whether to get this game. I have played games like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem in the past and have really enjoyed them, but for some reason, modern gaming has made me only buy a game if it has good online multiplayer, good graphics and a good story....turns out neither of these things are needed to make this one of the best launch titles for the 3ds, it will keep you occupied for ages and the gameplay is extremely addictive! Worth every penny!… Expand

As an adult, this is THE best 3DS game I've played (even after Super Mario Land 3D, Mario Kart 7, etc.!) for all the following reasons:
1) Multiple characters to pick from with various weapons and powers
2) Large number of campaigns - I've played countless hours, and am still playing
3) There's some strategy involved in picking right characters and weapons for missions, but not to the point that it's painful and onerous
4) Controls are fantastic and easy to follow
5) Each mission is can be saved at any point in time so you can save before taking certain risks

Although I didn't pay the full retail price for it, I would happily have done so without a thought. BUY IT if you haven't yet!… Expand

It really is a good game. In my oppinion the best option for 3ds if you don't like fighting games.
I feel like playing an Advance Wars title for more aged players.
I haven't finished it yet, but it seems to be long enough.
The images I saw from the game before buying it, aren't as nice as seeing the game on your 3ds.

Shadow Wars does so many things right that it is very easy to let its shortcomings slide. As a strategy game, the lack of micromanagement makes it a very good title for even those not usually into strategy titles of any sort, myself included. Being in control of a small team means you're making fewer choices, though those choices will have much heavier weight on them. This would seem like a recipe for repetitive gameplay, but the creators have gone ahead and made levels of all sorts -- search and destroy, bomb defusion, stealth missions, and hostage rescue to name a few. Combined with the return fire mechanic you get the distinct feeling that you're guiding a skilled group of ghosts through these missions.

Where the game does fall short is the brain-dead story. Ghosts that get their cover blown due to unnecessary radio chatter, ghosts that dream of R&R on the beach... we can bury those along with the Saturday morning cartoon the scenario was obviously based on. Thankfully enough, much like a great FPS you'll forget about the story at hand when trying to help your squad survive near-insurmountable odds.

One last thing I'd like to say: ignore the senseless 'professional reviews' that will tell you the graphics are lacking or that 3D somehow adds nothing to the gameplay. For a portable SRPG the graphics are actually _very_ well done. The 3D adds a sense of board game-like weight to the world, and makes detecting elevation changes on the fly very easy. Damage modifiers for height does exist, so this criticism is at best silly; you'll find yourself positioning your sniper well in the higher difficulties, because that extra point of damage can often make or break the mission.… Expand

While the graphics aren't much of anything that couldn't be accomplished on the DS and the plot is pretty easy to anticipate, this is still the best launch title you can find for 3DS in my opinion, narrowly beating out SSFIV3D when vying fir my time. 3D is only really a boon to cover situations but the great mix of Fire Emblem and Valkyria Chronicles style gameplay makes every level interesting. again, the skill tree for each character has only a single route but it can be fun to load all your points onto you favorite character. As far as game games go this is the best you can buy on 3DS. Although I usually rush right through to the finish of games I got 26 hours out of this little gem. Well done.… Expand

It was quite repetitive, but the slow addition and accumulation of game concepts were good. The 3d was pronounced, which was good. My two complaints with the game were these, firstly, the game has a horrible story. Actually, one of the worst I've seen. However, since the story does not mix with the game, it is not a huge negative. Secondly, I experienced a couple of bugs where I had to restart the level. I look at the game favorably though, so I recomend getting it for any stategy game fan owning a 3ds.… Expand

Maybe it isn't the best at graphics (not even the 3D effect) and its multiplayer mode is really poor (only one 3DS for two players), but it's a surprising game with good sound effects, interesting story and a fun mixture between tactical gameplay and classical RPG character improvement system. A must have for tactical games fans and those who want to play something different on their 3DS.

Excellent turn based strategy game. I thoroughly enjoyed it and played it to its completion along with its challenge missions. I had many hours of fun with this one and I definitely recommend it especially with its reduced price. I hope they make a sequel with some online options.

If you love srpg's or any game with a turned based strategy system, then you might find yourself happy you found this little gem! While it doesn't have lots of team members to choose pre-battle it does have one kick ass team to kick ass with;-) the 3d is nice but not game changing like others with be its still pretty cool looking at the battlefield with true depth, makes you feel like a God watching the fights unfold. The story and static cut scenes are ho-hum but that's not why we play srpgs. Launching this on the 3ds launch date makes it a no brainier for tactics fans.… Expand

If you're looking for a new visual display for your 3DS to really "wow" you, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is probably not the game you're looking for. If, however, you're looking for a deep experience with hours of gameplay and have a thing for strategy/tactical games, Shadow Wars is a safe way to spend your money. Graphically, Shadow Wars is kind of ugly. The character models and environments are all rendered in 3D (3D modeling) and clearly don't push the system to its limits with low polygon counts and bland textures. The 3D effects (the ones where the images "pop" out of the screen) add depth to the game, but never go out of their way to do anything interesting with the tech--the way it looks is like cutting a hole in the top of a shoe box and peering through it at little, plastic army men. The 3D doesn't pop out of the screen as much as create a window for you to peer into this world. It does have a clearly defined sense of depth, but it's nothing to drool over. The visuals are very basic and were clearly not the focus of the game's development, but they get the job done. Gameplay, however, offers basic but deep strategic combat while incorporating RPG elements that allow you to improve your team. You're given a team of six Ghosts to control throughout the robust campaign, and each Ghost has a specialty (Sniper, Heavy Weapons, Medic, etc). Each character also comes with a special ability attached to a gauge that fills up slowly after each action--the special abilities come in handy when you find yourself backed against a wall and can act as a sort of panic button (I played on the hardest difficulty for each of the campaign missions, so use of the special abilities was essential). Each mission allows you to choose your difficulty (of which, there are three) before starting and contains a series of objectives (some of which are "starred"). After completing a mission, you are given stars (the amount of stars given is determined by the starred objectives) which you can use to upgrade your characters and equipment. It's a nice touch that adds some sense of depth and customization to an otherwise straightforward strategy game, but it's not a robust leveling system and you're encouraged to level your squad uniformly. There's also a ranking system dubbed "Persistent Elite Creation" (P.E.C.) which allows the player to rank up with ranking tied to the difficulty a mission is completed on. As stated earlier, there are three difficulties and each difficulty opens a new tier of "Eagles" that can be earned (for example: a mission on easy might give you one or two eagles, but playing on the next difficulty up might get you two or three). After completing a mission on any difficulty, the only way to earn eagles for that level is to play it on a higher difficulty. Each eagle you earn increases your P.E.C. score and you rank up after you have accrued the required amount of eagles. Completing campaign missions can also unlock skirmish and multiplayer challenges. The skirmish missions are objective based and similar to (but separate from) the campaign missions--like story-less side missions that expand the game's content (which is a good thing). I haven't played the multiplayer but, from what I've read in the instruction manual, it has players passing a 3DS back and forth (think controller swapping from the days of NES... except with a handheld console). The lack of local wireless and online multiplayer is a bit of a letdown, but there's plenty of content in Shadow Wars to keep you occupied for many, many hours (especially if you're striving to gain max P.E.C. rank). Story in Shadow Wars is pretty lackluster and cliche and never evolves beyond a formula of "bad people are doing bad things." This would be much more bearable if you didn't have to click through text of uninteresting plot developments and unneeded character banter that is often cheesy and poorly written. Another issue with this is mission failure; if you fail a mission, you have to go back to the mission select screen, choose the mission you failed, click your way through all the text and dialogue again, and then you can finally proceed with playing the mission. It's disappointing to me that a game bearing Tom Clancy's name manages to be so uninteresting when it comes to plot. Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars might not be the prettiest game on the 3DS right now and it's not going to blow you away with its added depth, but it's likely to give you the most content for your cash while being a satisfying experience. It's a fun game that's deep enough to keep you engaged, but simple to the point where it will never really astound you. It's certainly good (especially for a launch title) and provides a game that isn't needlessly gimmicky by overusing the 3D effects of Nintendo's new system because it knows it can stand on its own merits as a game.… Expand

In my opinion, this is the best launch title for the 3DS. Shadow Wars is a turn-based strategy title in the vein of Advance Wars, and like AW, it offers up some deep and satisfying gameplay.

You control a squad of six ghosts. Each belongs to a certain class (eg. sniper, engineer, medic etc.) and possesses a number of stats and abilities. The fun lies in utilizing the right combination of operatives for each mission. SW also offers up a ranking system and some equipment customization options for your squad. Unfortunately, the presentation doesn't match up to the great gameplay.

Characters are tiny, cutscenes are done through static talking heads and the 3D effect isn't very noticeable. I ended up playing through the game with the 3D slider off. The characters and plot leave something to be desired, but it is hardly game breaking.

If you are looking for a fun and complex title to play on your 3DS... this is it.… Expand

I was genuinely surprised with the quality and depth of the game. Shadow Wars was my first purchase for my Nintendo 3DS. Im in the 6th chapter so far and im loving it. Banshee is my favorite character, so i hope that they keep her in the sequel, at least. Sometimes it gets hard, but that's a good thing i think.

Bought this after ridge racer turned out to be a disappointment. Wasn't sure if i'd like the turn based thing or not, but it's turned out to be alot of fun. The game is well put together and the 3-d adds a neat effect to higher terrain and models. Not sure exactly what beating levels on higher difficulties gets you, but beating campaign missions unlocks skirmish missions, which add alot of play time to your game. The combat is fun, deep, and complex enough to punish players who just attack in the open. Fences provide cover, but only if you are next to one and only if shots are being shot between you and the fence. Buildings and trees offer cover, but restrict movement and line of sight. Attacking an opponent has several different factors. Most enemies will fire back, dealing damage to the attacker at a reduced rate, some classes counter attack for maximum damage. If you have units nearby, they will offer support and also counter attack if they are in range and line of sight of the attacker. Grenades can be lobbed over small walls and ignore defenses and prohibit counter attacks. The ghost class cannot be attacked unless adjacent to an enemy. its alot of fun to sneak your ghost around the battle field and shank people. Killing units gives bonus power, which can be used for special attacks, usually bonus damage, and sometimes adding another movement for that player. There is also a medic to help patch up your team, and an engineer to deploy turrets. I just finished chapter 2 and if there are 3 more, i will be satisfied but i wouldnt be surprised if there were more. The story isnt anything special and the dialogue is cringeworthy. Small maps and a few bugs (like move attacking with an explosive and instead of choosing a target, your character goes idle and they are done for the turn) keep this game from being a 9. With better animation and special effects, and online play would move this closer to a 10… Expand

Los puntos que yo resalto en este juego son los siguientes:
Jugabilidad: buena en algunas misiones con muchos edificios a veces se pierde tu personaje y aunque puedes rotar el mapa con el stick, no es del todo cómodo ya que siempre regresa ala posición original, otro punto que se debería de corregir si es que hay segunda parte es que puedas acelerar el movimiento de los enemigos dejando apretado algún botón, ya que en las misiones finales donde hay muchos enemigos suele tardar demaciado la transión entre tu turno y el del rival.
Sonido: Lo justo hay muy pocas melodías sin embargo los FX están adecuados sin ser nada del otro mundo.
Graficos, aqui es donde sin ser un juego que necesite grandes graficos por el tipo de juego que es se hubiera agradecido un poco mas de trabajo en el motor del juego ya que en algunas secuencias de inicio de algunas misiones el Frame rate va muy bajo, sobre todo si tenemos activada la opción de 3D, por lo demas hay algunas sombras, efectos de agua que sin ser lo mas real del mundo cumple.
Diversion, es un gran juego pese a no ser perfecto muchas horas dura la campaña, sin contar todas las misiones de escaramuza que se van abriendo conforme pasa el juego, lastima que no tiene opción de jugar por internet contra otra(s) personas, asi que una ves terminada la campaña solo te quedaran las misiones de escaramuza, sobre todo si jugaste en la dificultad mas difícil que es la que recomiendo.… Expand

I have recently finished the campaign mode for this game, and I have to say it's pretty great. The storyline isn't particularly fantastic, the graphics are decent, but the game play is great. It doesn't reach the heights of other games in this genre such as Advance Wars and Fire Emblem, but it is the closest thing I have found. After you have done the campaign mode, there is still quite a lot left to do through skirmishes and multi-player, you can even re do all the missions from the campaign mode again to try and get a higher level to gain 100% (something I have not done).
All in all it is the second best launch game available for the 3DS and I would recommend it to anyone who is undecided about getting it or people who want another 3DS game.
Presentation: 7.5/10. Everything fits and looks rather nice, making quite a nice package.
Graphics: 5.5/10. Most of the graphics seen here could be replicated on the DS.
Sound: 6.5/10. Gun shots sound fine, music is repetitive.
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Lasting Appeal: 9/10. The campaign will last average players of 20 hours+, not to mention the extras that are included.
Overall: 8.2 (but can't put that as score)… Expand

For fans of tactical strategy games, this game will surely give you a LOT of entertainment. for those that are not very familiar with this genre, it's simple enough and the way that it guides you through the earlier levels will surely arm you with what you need to know to play this game and play it well.

combat mechanics are smooth and will be familiar to veterans of this genre of game.

honestly surprised that i found this with a bargain price of $20 (at my local zellers... not sure if it's everywhere or if this was merely an overstock clearance sale.) but if you see it, it's worth adding to your library.… Expand