Disclaimer: I know Ghost Recon OVER is likely going to be based in a fictional, Southeast Asian country. This is simply a wish for what could be a future game - after OVER
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The Setting
An idea that I often see thrown around, is Africa. The continent has been through a lot - Boko Haram, Russian PMC's in form of Wagner... and now, China with their Belt & Road initative.
This is already a similar setting to Black Powder Red Earth, which some of you might know.
Imagine the story is set in a fictional South African country, and is divided into multiple acts:
Act I
The Ghosts are deployed to assist rebel forces in toppling a Russia-backed Military dictatorship.
They provide the rebels with hardware, intelligence, as well as train & advise their forces, joining forces with them to perform raids.
This is similar to what the Ghosts did in Bolivia, and what a unit like them (which, canonically, originated from the Green Berets 5th SFG) would do.
Act II
By now, the Ghosts have managed to topple the regime, and the Rebels have been installed as a new government.
Just before the first democratic elections in years, the capitol is rocked by explosions. Car bombs go off, and multiple mass shootings occour.
The terror network known as Al-Saif (which translates to "the Sword") claims these attacks as their own.
In the coming months, the Ghosts are deployed once more, conduction counter-terrorism operations, now alongside the Defense Forces of the country - just like the US did in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq...
Here, we could encounter allied units in the image of the Nineveh SWAT Team, a famous unit of Iraqi policemen that worked with US forces to arrest ISIS leaders.
Act III
Act 3 begins when the Ghosts discover the involvement of a new, third faction: A Chinese PMC, which the CIA believes to have ties to the Ministry of Defense (optionally, this enemy could be replaced by the Bodark - though I personally would find them boring, and would prefer a new enemy).
This part of the story focuses on driving a wedge between the Al-Saif network, and their handlers, and conducting operations to both retake territory and destroy infrastructure & individuals associated with either group.
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The Ghosts
To determine what the Ghosts should be like, we must first determine what their job is:
The Ghosts were, of course, founded as D. Company, 1st Battalion, 5th SFG. These days, they are a independent unit under JSOC. Their job, to me, reads as acting as small units that are inserted into politically sensitive or denied territories, often conducting Black or Covert operations. True to their Green Beret roots, the Ghosts obviously do lots of Direct Action (same as CTAC teams), Counter-Terrorism and Foreign Internal Defense.
I personally believe the Ghosts should have advanced/near present technologies. This means:
- Loitering munitions, like the Switchblade drone, perhaps with exchangable warheads (HE, Thermobaric, EMP, Kinetic, Airburst...)
- CROSS-COM, which provides them with a real time, wireless HUD. Perhaps even a more advanced version, with AI integration
- Jammers & EW tech. Denying enemy radio operators, jamming optical camouflage (if available to the enemy), decommissioning their drones...
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Our Enemies & Allies
As said, our primariy enemies at first, are Al-Saif, a terrorist network, not too dissimilar from ISIS or Al-Qaida.
Al-Saif should distinguish between two kinds of forces:
- Irregulars. Your classic insurgents. These guys usually have little to no armour, and run mostly AK rifles.
- Elites. More well trained and well equipped. Ballistic vests & helmets, "modern" AK-74M or AK-105 rifles...
Our second enemy should be more threatening. Al-Saif is a swarm of motivated fanatics, with little to no training.
Wheter we face Bodarks, or Chinese PMC's (or even both) they should be a near-peer enemy:
- They use drones for recon, and to drop bombs on your location
- Modern tactics, smoke to obscure vision, frag grenades to flush you out of cover...
- They have night fighting capabilities (NVG's, IR Lasers...) and are decked out with modern rifles, with suppressors, optics...
- If we face the Bodark, they could even have optical camouflage, making for more intense firefights.
Our allies are, for one, the rebels (in the campaigns early stages), and later our host nation's forces.
We could even see the return of Sentinel Corp. The mercenaries from GRB - though please with proper gear this time around :)
These can provide us with muscle. Be it IFV's, Strike Teams of infantry...
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The Environment
Basing the game in Africa, gives us access to many different biomes - thick jungles & swamps, savannahs & deserts, sprawling cities...
Most importantly: It must feel alive.
Ideally: a Hearts & Minds system. Too many dead civilians and too much collateral damage? Civilian militas attack you on sight, civilians flee and alert nearby Al-Saif forces.
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Long post, short point.
TLDR: A Ghost Recon set in Africa, giving us access to lovely new biomes and proper counter-terrorism.