Halo Fan Recreates Sergeant Johnson in Ghost Recon Wildlands

It's not uncommon to see people use the character creation tools in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 to play as historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, or to play as characters from other popular franchises. A game people might not immediately consider for this purpose is Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Wildlands, released in 2017, but one fan took it upon themselves to bring Halo's Sergeant Avery Johnson into an entirely new brand of shooter.

Johnson was a pivotal character throughout the run of Halo games under their original developer, Bungie. The UNSC Marine Corps veteran appeared in five games (six counting The Master Chief Collection), four books, as well as the Halo: Legends TV show, and according to Halo Waypoint he was widely respected even when motivating his squads "with harsh language and relentless (though jocular) badgering." However, he was killed by Guilty Spark during the end of the story campaign in 2007's Halo 3, leaving future developer 343 Industries to work new characters into its narratives.

Though the character is likely more at home fighting extraterrestrial threats, Reddit user Monty423's recreation of Johnson offers a compelling case for his ability to take on cartel members in Ghost Recon Wildlands. One stand-out detail is that the iconic Halo character can smoke a cigar even in this alternate reality thanks to options available in the character creation tool.

The Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series turns 20 years old in November, and is still seeing attention from Ubisoft. Ghost Recon Wildlands is no longer its most current entry, as Ghost Recon Breakpoint released in 2019 and has received ongoing content updates. In fact, a 2021 roadmap for Ghost Recon Breakpoint was published earlier this month, promising more to come in the fall.

Meanwhile, fans of the Halo franchise still have time before the release of next-generation entry Halo: Infinite. The aforementioned Master Chief Collection continues to receive seasonal content and updates in the meantime, giving players access to six games across the series via Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service.

Players can experience the full video game journey of Halo's Sgt. Johnson in the collection, though Monty423 offers an interesting alternative for those who want to see him break into roles in different series. If not Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2, more casual games like The Sims also offer opportunities to create characters based on other titles. As these and other creative-driven experiences such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons' have shown, fans will go out of their way to make something unique.

At launch, Ghost Recon Breakpoint received mixed reviews. The acting of Jon Bernthal was praised almost unanimously, but the gameplay, multiplayer, lack of ally AIs, and more were criticized by many. Perhaps the best way to describe the gameplay is a broken marriage between a Tactical Shooter and a Looter Shooter, as the former genre has fallen to the wayside in recent years.

Nonetheless, Ubisoft kept at it. Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a much different game in 2021 than it was in 2019, and while it may not have a No Man's Sky-level revival, its fanbase or those who wish to dip their toes in have been treated kindly by Ubisoft. In fact, the company's most recent roadmap shows a lot of promise, yet it might not quite be enough.