Announced.
The Far Cry series is an FPS, but with GTA-like game play.
Here's my review of Far Cry 3. I was somewhat disappointed by the writing, but the game is a blast to play. Ditto for Far Cry 2 (Also reviewed, but I didn't bother searching for it.).
If you see Far Cry 3 for sale on Steam, I highly recommend grabbing a copy, especially if you can get it at $5 like I did.
Far Cry 4
11/18/2014
I won't buy it day 1, but this will hit my wish list immediately. Looks great.
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I won't buy it day 1, but this will hit my wish list immediately. Looks great.
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"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
I'm thisclose to finishing the game (I should finish it this evening), and should do so near 100% completion. Thus, I figured I'd get a head start during what will hopefully be a slow day and write the review now.
First and foremost, this is the most beautiful game I've ever played. It helps that I recently got a new graphics card and boosted my PC into the top 3% in terms of graphics, but damn this game is gorgeous. Once I got past the opening moments of the game and was released into its world I had to just stop and admire the beauty. I showed it to my wife, and she too was stunned by how gorgeous and realistic the game appeared. It takes place in a country that seems to be completely surrounded by mountains (see what they did there?) and standing up high on one and just looking around is amazing.
Onto the story, I've got to admit, it's not that strong...maybe. At least not as strong as the previous entry's story, which was really right up front (friends on vacation run into bad guys, you get away, rest are dead or captured, queue fighting). So here your mom dies and as a last request she asks you to go home. Home is the nation of Kyrat, which is currently ruled by a flashy dictator. Once there you have a confrontation with him as he's expecting you. However, he then lets you walk away to begin your rebellion against him. Ok... I'm not yet sure what the relationship there is, I have a hunch, but I haven't completed the story line missions to confirm said hunch. I will say that if I'm correct, and it pays off with the decision I'm expecting it would change how I feel about the story immediately. It'd be far more positive. (And yes, I said decision not plot reveal. I know I'm going to have to make a choice shortly.)
I'm not really being fair to the story because I didn't play it straight through. (Not to mention I've only been fitting it in on nights I'm not playing MW:O.) I'm an explorer in games, which is obvious as I said I'm close to 100% completion here. So I avoided a lot of story line missions in favor of exploration and knocking out the side quest stuff. Also, a lot of the story is told cryptically through notes left at the various sites around the game world. Some are hints to nearby locations which seem pointless once you open up the map locations (if I remember it's a skill option).
NOTE: There are at least two guys from previous Far Cry games that show up with missions, and it isn't just implied, but more admitted that they'll run into whomever you're playing in Far Cry 5. One guy even hinted about the setting.
I will say that a lot of the story is up to you. In this rebellion are two leaders, and throughout the game they offer you ethical choices to make, which determines future missions and will affect the outcome of the game.
Game play is a GTA open world style, but it's an FPS. TONS of things to do. Hundreds of locations on the map to discover, a serial killer's totems to destroy, mana wheels to spin, propaganda posters to rip down, propaganda centers to destroy (very fun), hostages to rescue, assassinations to complete in specific ways, towers to liberation, enemy camps to conquer, friendly camps to defend, races (I could do without these and have mostly skipped them), convoys to destroy, supply trucks to hijack, letters to find, people to protect from wild animals, couriers to kill, legendary animals to hunt, fortresses to conquer, supplies to pickup, trucks to escort, etc. and all that doesn't include any of the story line missions or side story line missions. Like I said, this game has a metric fuckton of content. There's even VERY limited gun and home customization features.
And oh shit, there's also an arena for solo and multi play, which is a lot more content obviously.
Does it get stale? Kind of. I'm towards the end of the game and I'd say between the 75% and 90% level of certain tasks you're just trying to knock them out, but once you get close to completing that type of task on the entire map your excitement and interest ramps back up.
My personal favorite game play style in the Far Cry series is stealth. Using stealth to conquer enemy camps rewards you with XP bonuses, and it's clearly how they want you to conquer them. Giving yourself away spawns reinforcements and massive gun fights. If you're a fan of Thief (Malcolm) this would right up your alley. You scout the locations, figure out how to separate guards, use the proper weapons and techniques, stash bodies, etc. I haven't played Thief in a long time, but of the games I have played, which is basically everything else, Far Cry does stealth better than anyone.
I want to note that they added a new enemy in this Far Cry, a hunter. He's awesome, and they kind of fuck up by not using him more. He can control nearby animals to turn them into allies, he shoots a bow pretty accurately, he can see you through vegetation, and you can spot him for a few seconds, but if you lose vision of him, you won't be able to track him on your mini-map.
The world of Kryat is alive with wildlife, vegetation, and people, but as with most games, the civilized areas are a bit of a disappointment. Technology still limits what can be done to make a place really seem alive for the people, but the damn wildlife is alive and killing the fuck out of each other non-stop. The wildlife is so abundant and so hostile that I don't know how people even live here. Snow leopards, elephants, tigers, leopards, rhinos, yaks, wild boars, black eagles (they attack everyone all the time and watching them grab other wildlife and carry them off is awesome), bees, vipers, demon fish, crocs (I've only seen one), wild dogs, wolves, and the motherfucking honey badger are all out there having a free for all. I didn't even list the docile animals...
While typing this I'm thinking of so many other things that I'm not even touching like syringes, skydiving, the four Shangri la missions that are very spiritual and the game within the game that's becoming a staple of the series, and so many other things I could cover, but I'd be writing forever.
I do want to mention the skill system. As you play you earn XP which gets you skill points that can be spent on new skills or buffs. They're split into the Tiger and Elephant. One gives you boosts to buffs, health, armor, etc. and the other gives you boosts to attacks and new ways to attack. I'm pretty sure you can figure out which is which. I had them maxed out or really close before moving into the Northern part of Kryat, which is probably the 60% completion mark.
If you play FPSs, this should be on your list. If you play GTA open world style games, this should be on your list. In fact, I'd highly recommend that if you have missed this series so far, during the next Steam sale you should grab Far Cry 2 and 3 and play through them on your way to 4. (2 was in Africa, 3 was set in an island nation and I remember both vividly, but I don't remember 1.)
Highly, highly recommended.
First and foremost, this is the most beautiful game I've ever played. It helps that I recently got a new graphics card and boosted my PC into the top 3% in terms of graphics, but damn this game is gorgeous. Once I got past the opening moments of the game and was released into its world I had to just stop and admire the beauty. I showed it to my wife, and she too was stunned by how gorgeous and realistic the game appeared. It takes place in a country that seems to be completely surrounded by mountains (see what they did there?) and standing up high on one and just looking around is amazing.
Onto the story, I've got to admit, it's not that strong...maybe. At least not as strong as the previous entry's story, which was really right up front (friends on vacation run into bad guys, you get away, rest are dead or captured, queue fighting). So here your mom dies and as a last request she asks you to go home. Home is the nation of Kyrat, which is currently ruled by a flashy dictator. Once there you have a confrontation with him as he's expecting you. However, he then lets you walk away to begin your rebellion against him. Ok... I'm not yet sure what the relationship there is, I have a hunch, but I haven't completed the story line missions to confirm said hunch. I will say that if I'm correct, and it pays off with the decision I'm expecting it would change how I feel about the story immediately. It'd be far more positive. (And yes, I said decision not plot reveal. I know I'm going to have to make a choice shortly.)
I'm not really being fair to the story because I didn't play it straight through. (Not to mention I've only been fitting it in on nights I'm not playing MW:O.) I'm an explorer in games, which is obvious as I said I'm close to 100% completion here. So I avoided a lot of story line missions in favor of exploration and knocking out the side quest stuff. Also, a lot of the story is told cryptically through notes left at the various sites around the game world. Some are hints to nearby locations which seem pointless once you open up the map locations (if I remember it's a skill option).
NOTE: There are at least two guys from previous Far Cry games that show up with missions, and it isn't just implied, but more admitted that they'll run into whomever you're playing in Far Cry 5. One guy even hinted about the setting.
I will say that a lot of the story is up to you. In this rebellion are two leaders, and throughout the game they offer you ethical choices to make, which determines future missions and will affect the outcome of the game.
Game play is a GTA open world style, but it's an FPS. TONS of things to do. Hundreds of locations on the map to discover, a serial killer's totems to destroy, mana wheels to spin, propaganda posters to rip down, propaganda centers to destroy (very fun), hostages to rescue, assassinations to complete in specific ways, towers to liberation, enemy camps to conquer, friendly camps to defend, races (I could do without these and have mostly skipped them), convoys to destroy, supply trucks to hijack, letters to find, people to protect from wild animals, couriers to kill, legendary animals to hunt, fortresses to conquer, supplies to pickup, trucks to escort, etc. and all that doesn't include any of the story line missions or side story line missions. Like I said, this game has a metric fuckton of content. There's even VERY limited gun and home customization features.
And oh shit, there's also an arena for solo and multi play, which is a lot more content obviously.
Does it get stale? Kind of. I'm towards the end of the game and I'd say between the 75% and 90% level of certain tasks you're just trying to knock them out, but once you get close to completing that type of task on the entire map your excitement and interest ramps back up.
My personal favorite game play style in the Far Cry series is stealth. Using stealth to conquer enemy camps rewards you with XP bonuses, and it's clearly how they want you to conquer them. Giving yourself away spawns reinforcements and massive gun fights. If you're a fan of Thief (Malcolm) this would right up your alley. You scout the locations, figure out how to separate guards, use the proper weapons and techniques, stash bodies, etc. I haven't played Thief in a long time, but of the games I have played, which is basically everything else, Far Cry does stealth better than anyone.
I want to note that they added a new enemy in this Far Cry, a hunter. He's awesome, and they kind of fuck up by not using him more. He can control nearby animals to turn them into allies, he shoots a bow pretty accurately, he can see you through vegetation, and you can spot him for a few seconds, but if you lose vision of him, you won't be able to track him on your mini-map.
The world of Kryat is alive with wildlife, vegetation, and people, but as with most games, the civilized areas are a bit of a disappointment. Technology still limits what can be done to make a place really seem alive for the people, but the damn wildlife is alive and killing the fuck out of each other non-stop. The wildlife is so abundant and so hostile that I don't know how people even live here. Snow leopards, elephants, tigers, leopards, rhinos, yaks, wild boars, black eagles (they attack everyone all the time and watching them grab other wildlife and carry them off is awesome), bees, vipers, demon fish, crocs (I've only seen one), wild dogs, wolves, and the motherfucking honey badger are all out there having a free for all. I didn't even list the docile animals...
While typing this I'm thinking of so many other things that I'm not even touching like syringes, skydiving, the four Shangri la missions that are very spiritual and the game within the game that's becoming a staple of the series, and so many other things I could cover, but I'd be writing forever.
I do want to mention the skill system. As you play you earn XP which gets you skill points that can be spent on new skills or buffs. They're split into the Tiger and Elephant. One gives you boosts to buffs, health, armor, etc. and the other gives you boosts to attacks and new ways to attack. I'm pretty sure you can figure out which is which. I had them maxed out or really close before moving into the Northern part of Kryat, which is probably the 60% completion mark.
If you play FPSs, this should be on your list. If you play GTA open world style games, this should be on your list. In fact, I'd highly recommend that if you have missed this series so far, during the next Steam sale you should grab Far Cry 2 and 3 and play through them on your way to 4. (2 was in Africa, 3 was set in an island nation and I remember both vividly, but I don't remember 1.)
Highly, highly recommended.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
5k Screenshot Gallery.
Again, the most beautiful game I've ever played.
Again, the most beautiful game I've ever played.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell