By October of 2008, I had been a Microsoft “Xbox 360” owner for barely five months. And during that time I had the opportunity to play some open world games (“Grand Theft Auto IV” and “Saint’s Row” to be precise), dove into an even more beautifully rendered boxing ring with “Fight Night Round 3”, and had the chance to race around the world in “Forza”. But all of the games mentioned had a certain level of expectation to them that would make the experience either better or worse depending on the game’s quality.
Things were picking up as the holiday rush of games was upon us – and 2008 was a true gem of a year when looking back. Games like “Gears of War 2” and “Fallout 3” were just some of the great pieces of digitized work waiting around the corner. But before they could arrive, Ubisoft released the second iteration of their eventual series, “Far Cry 2”. “2” expanded its market to consoles with the promise of being bigger and badder than anything seen in the original game. Sadly, “Far Cry 2” suffered from a myriad of problems ranging from unnecessary re-spawning of enemies to save files becoming corrupted. The gameplay design choices really turned me off after several hours as the need to keep the playable character healthy by not allowing him to succumb to malaria, frequent jamming of firearms/vehicles, and a terrible save system (though the PC version allowed players to save at almost any time) made me opt out and never return.
With good reason, I was apprehensive about even playing “Far Cry 3” was released. But friends told me that it was nothing like the prequel and featured a game that was genuinely fun. I eventually took the chance and found that my friends were right. “FC 3” proved to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of console gaming’s seventh generation. Though I thoroughly enjoyed “3”, my gaming backlog was pretty extensive by the time its sequel came out and I waited a while before picking up “Far Cry 4”. But when I did pop the game’s disc into my “Playstation 4”, I was prepared to have an experience greater than its predecessor.
Did I Complete “Far Cry 4”?
Similar to every “Far Cry” other than the second iteration, “Far Cry 4” allows the player to control a named character with his own identity – in this case, Ajay Ghale – as he enters (or returns to) a land inhabited by groups waging war against one another. Ghale is presented as a simple American guy of Nepali origin returning to the (fictional) Himalayan country of Kyrat in hopes of scattering his mother’s ashes across the land she helped make a better place before her leaving. But, as noted above, things are no longer peaceful in Kyrat; mostly thanks to conflict between Kyrat’s Royal Army led by the country’s tyrannical and stylish king, Pagan Min. Opposing the Army is the Golden Path – a group of rebels originally formed by Ajay’s father. Through the decisions of the player, Ajay shapes the future of Kyrat.
Choose wisely who to support (you’ll be surprised how it turns out)
It doesn’t take long before returning players to the series recognize just how similar “Far Cry 4” is to the third game, all the way down to the side quests including liberating Royal Army outposts – which creates fast travel points – and destroying propaganda-spewing bell towers to skinning wild animals to craft helpful syringes and pouches to hold your ammo, money and guns. So I took to the game like a fish to water. After getting used to the controls (which hadn’t changed much since the previous game), I was off to do pretty much everything in the right order unlike what I did in “Far Cry 3” by liberating and climbing. By the time I was a hulking monster of guns and backpacks, I advanced the story, completed missions (both main and side) and eventually saw the fruits of my labor play out in a disturbing five minutes of video post-credits.
After finishing the offline trophies, I jumped online and tried my hand at the three available multiplayer modes. All three modes were thoroughly fun and rooms were easily filled – making my journey toward a Platinum trophy a lot more enjoyable than expected.
Did “Far Cry 4” Live Up to the Hype?
As noted in the previous section, “Far Cry 4” had the initial promise of being everything “Far Cry 3” was, but better. And boy did they live up to that claim. Depending on how you treat the first twenty minutes or so of the game, you (through Ajay, of course) are thrust into the middle of a war between one wannabe army and one actual army. Ironically enough, through the game’s progression Ajay becomes a one-man army able to withstand tons of abuse, wield any gun (or launcher, or flamethrower or rock) in the game’s universe. But Ajay is still human and the added damage output compared to “FC 3” makes running and gunning a little harder to accomplish at times. That doesn’t mean one can’t go crazy and just blow up everything walking if the player isn’t mindful of his/her environment. Just like the third “Far Cry”, thanks to the ability to act a complete fool while taking down Pagan’s men never grows old.
But what if you don’t like to be Rambo? What if you want to sneak, quietly takedown enemies and even give some local animal a fresh meal? “Far Cry 4” adds some new elements to the gameplay including bait. By slaying an animal, Ajay collects flesh that can be used to alert nearby animals of food. These beasts cannot only be distracted by aforementioned food, but also turn nearby enemies into a short meal. Liberating outposts thanks to the help of a bear or tiger is always exhilarating.
Expanding the animal kingdom also makes “Far Cry 4” better than its predecessor. Lions, tigers, and bears (okay, maybe not lions, but the rhyme worked here) are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wild beasts roaming Kyrat. The one beast that stands out the most is the elephant – which, through an ability purchased in the game’s character “skill tree”, can be utilized by Ajay and terrorize whomever. Like a living tank, it takes a lot to put the elephant down and the animal can cause a ton of destruction before it keels over. The unpredictability that comes with packs of wolves roaming the area, chasing deer-like creatures only to turn in your direction in a sheer twist of fate makes “Far Cry 4” feel like an unbelievable experience not yet matched by any other game.
But what about the missions and side quests? Don’t fret because there is plenty to do across the two halves of Kyrat. Not only can Ajay shape the fate of a land his parents once called home, he can also battle endless swarms of enemies in the land’s version of a Roman coliseum, go on drug-fueled scouring trips featuring quirky hallucinations and confused adversaries, protect traveling merchants by shooting grenades at incoming attackers, free hostages under the cover of darkness, down fortresses (giant, walled versions of outposts) and even enter Shangri-La in an effort to cast out demons while learning about some of the world’s mythology. Random events also occur during the playthrough that usually involves Ajay either chasing down and killing someone or hijacking a vehicle. There’s so much to do in Kyrat and the game frequently rewards you with new weapons, loot or collectables for exploring the land.
Thankfully, the fun isn’t just for you. In “Far Cry 4” players can join up with a buddy and explore the world of Kyrat together. All the stuff you can do playing by yourself is obviously doubled in fun with a partner as two players can perform vehicle takedowns on enemies and even earn a trophy/achievement by taking over an outpost together. Moments like utilizing the game’s gyrocopter to set up your grappling hook-hanging friend so he/she can takedown a helicopter is one of the true joys that comes with this game being multiplayer accessible.
But there is a big problem with playing story mode online with friends: if you lose connection, you’re kicked back to the main menu while losing any unsaved progress. Add that to the fact some trophies/achievements become glitched if you play both offline and online. You can also take part in several online modes – dubbed “Battles of Kyrat” – including the game’s version of capture the flag featuring a demon mask. There’s even a map building mode so players to enter your creation and see if they can survive or thrive. While these extra multiplayer modes are fun, they lack a certain flair that will make you want to come back for more. Probably the biggest draw back when it comes to multiplayer in the game is the removable of local multiplayer. If you want to play with a friend, they must have another console, a copy of the game (unless you’re using “Share Play” or game sharing a digital copy) and an Internet connection to experience Kyrat together.
You might’ve noticed nothing has been written about the plot. Well, the one promise the developers didn’t keep was making a memorable story. The first twenty minutes or so are absolutely captivating and give off a feel that the player is about to experience a story full of cultural strife and intrigue, the plot loses a lot of steam. Other than deciding who to side within the Golden Path and Pagan Min’s incredibly eccentric and almost seductive character (a character that practically disappears for a majority of the game before returning via radio almost three-quarters into the story), there’s not much else to write about regarding the game’s plot (other than kudos to the person or people who added conditions to the multiple endings one can witness as early as fifteen minutes into the game). One of the biggest faults when it comes to main villains in the previous game repeats itself here as a lot of meaningful moments of revenge occur off-screen. Story missions follow the same tired open-world game formula of “go get this”, “go kill that”, or “go blow up that” without much to differentiate itself from the rest of the competition. The main mission structure could be a lot more forgivable if the story wasn’t so disappointing and, at times, nonexistent.
Where have you been?
Though there is plenty to do in Kyrat via side quests, the quests not connected to the main story suffer from the same problems as the main story missions by being too similar in nature. If you’ve saved one pack of hostages or assassinated a Royal Army commander, most likely you’ll do it in the exact same fashion the next time. The great amount of variety actually becomes less varied before the game reaches a halfway point. And then there are the copious amounts of collectables that don’t add much to the game, a radio DJ who repeats himself constantly, restarting missions features a lack of cutscene skipping, an inability to craft health giving syringes unlike “Far Cry 3”, and the implemented “auto-drive” feature that while driving will change the intended destination randomly.
“Far Cry 4” embraces the template of “Make Your Own Fun” when it comes to open-world video games. Sadly, most of that fun occurs outside of the story and the main incentive to continue through slowly fades as the plot progresses.
Should You Play “Far Cry 4”?
There are a couple of ways to answer this question. One of the easiest is by posing another query: “Did you enjoy ‘Far Cry 3’?” If the answer is positive, then there’s no reason not to play the sequel as it does mostly everything that its predecessor does, but better. But what if you’ve never played a “Far Cry” game before? Honestly, it might be best to start off with the third game if you think you’ll ever have the urge to go back. Certain elements of “Far Cry 3” have been made easier and the challenge can be a tad bit greater in the prequel than the most recent sequel. Jumping from “3” to “4” feels like a natural progression (or regression in certain cases), while doing it backwards will take away some of the greatness from either game. But if you just want to play the latest game, definitely check out “Far Cry 4”. It isn’t perfect, doesn’t have a great story, or features much innovation not only regarding the series, but first-person shooters as a whole, but “Far Cry 4” is just like the third “FC” – an incredibly fun experience that mostly avoids unnecessary tedium outside of the story and gives the player more options to expand his/her experience than a how many armed guards a honey badger can kill on an airstrip.
