The latest Far Cry sends the player into a deadly civil war, where surviving is a struggle between life and death. Far Cry 4 stays true to its predecessors by providing a massive, open sandbox environment where the player has the freedom to do anything they want.
As Ajay Ghale, you end up traveling to Kyrat to fulfill your mother’s dying wish, only to find yourself caught in the middle of a bloody civil war. Like its predecessor, the story provides a rich and robust setting, and the game world is constantly in turmoil. The game starts with a very simplistic tutorial that outlines the controls, character movement, etc.
The tutorial is perfect for gamers that are not familiar with the series (it’s also a great way for veterans to brush up on their survival skills). New in this release of Far Cry is a comprehensive crafting system as well as a inventory system that keeps track of everything you collect along the way, among other things.
As mentioned earlier, the in-game environments are quite large. The sheer size of the game has its advantages (i.e. plenty to explore, items to find, etc.), but it can also confuse gamers that are not familiar with this style of gameplay. Luckily, Far Cry 4 eliminates this problem by including an ‘Auto Drive’ feature. This feature sends you automatically to your destination of choice without stumbling around the environment. While the Auto Drive feature isn’t mandatory, the option to use it does appear whenever you enter a vehicle.
The gameplay itself is phenomenal, as it sends you on epic adventures that involve scaling cliffs in search of religious monuments and treasure; stealing snowmobiles and escaping capture; and finding Collectible calling cards that send you on a mission to find a serial killer. But most of all, you’re liberating Kyrat from its oppressive Government. The enemy occupied towers from Far Cry 3 are still present, but they are more difficult to liberate in this release.
Depending on your play style, you can choose to take a tower by force or use a more stealthy approach. While using stealth, you can use bait to attract the local wildlife to distract the enemy. But regardless of the path you choose, enemies can eventually return to a liberated outpost and reclaim it. This usually results in you scrambling back to the area in question to fend off an army of soldiers.
The single-player campaign – coupled with the side missions you can accept outside the main story – offer at least a hundred plus hours of gameplay. And this doesn’t include the countless hours you can spend exploring the vast environments. This lends to the game’s almost infinite replay value (not just in single-player, but online multiplayer as well). Multiplayer includes Outpost, Demon Mask, Propaganda, and Custom Matches. Plus, there is an online campaign that offers co-op similar to the single-player experience.
This feature is ideal if you want to experience the game with a friend. It’s also possible to play co-op with random gamers, but sometimes you will encounter people that are determined to ruin the experience. While this problem isn’t rampant, it does happen more often than it should. And while it doesn’t make co-op unplayable, it does make you hesitant to search for random participants. So if you have friends that like Far Cry, you’re better off getting them to play with you.
Far Cry 4’s graphics are represented by photo realistic environments and stunning 3D character models. The world feels lived in and it’s constantly surprising you in some way. Plus, the game is rich in atmosphere as you explore the compellingly beautiful world of Kyrat. The Far Cry series continues to evolve with every sequel. Far Cry 4 is by far (no pun intended) the best game in the series. Just be cautious of who you decide to play with online.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: Xbox One
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price: $59.99
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Visually appealing graphics that look great on Xbox One. | |
| Sound | |
| By far the best music in a Far Cry release. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Non-stop action from beginning to end. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Everything you’d come to expect from a Far Cry release. | |
