Far Cry 4

With a solid fan base in place from the previous additions in the franchise, especially following on from the great successes of Far Cry 3, it is easy to see why Far Cry 4 had a reputation and a set of standards to live up to. After Platinuming the game and playing close to 50 hours, I can report that whilst the game has obvious bugs that plagues, its experience, and besides the little improvements that have been made to it from its' predecessor, the overall experience of Far Cry 4 is an enjoyable one, and one that will entertain and please most fans of the series.

To begin with, in the AV department, Far Cry 4 mostly ticks all the right boxes. Graphically its the type of game that will make you stop what you're doing to simply drink in the gorgeous sights of its world, "Kyrat." In particular the lighting and sunlight effects will have this impact on a player, often making you appreciate the effort that went into creating a detailed game. Although strong lighting in games is something a player should expect nowadays, it can be argued that this should still be a point of praise, as although expected, it can still add to the positive memorable moments of the playing experience. The character animation is also solid, giving characters a classic Far Cry look, but making you surprised with each freckle and spec on a character's face. However, whilst the visuals of this title can be appreciated, players of the previous games in the franchise may begin to recognise a few objects that are only slightly edited from the previous game, along with a lot of the same old animations that have crossed over from Far Cry 3, whilst this gameplay crossover isn't necessarily an issue, it is disappointing to see that the game's protagonist "Ajay" for some reason opens doors, climbs walls and drives in the exact same way Jason Brody did. Whilst these animations may be somewhat characteristic to the series, it just seems lazy of Ubisoft not to change these in any way, and this is a trend that players will notice the further into the experience they get. The games audio is also mainly strong, with a great voice acting performances coming from Troy Baker especially, who voices the game's villain Pagan Min brilliantly, giving the same gravitas to the character as Vaas did in Far Cry 3. The voice acting portrayal of Ajay is also fairly solid, much improved from the whiney and annoying tones of Jason Brody in Far Cry 3, and the main character is supported by strong performances from the supporting characters. Where this audio is let down lies in both the absence of Pagan MIn for the majority of the game as well as a radio show that proves to be entertaining at first but quickly becomes repetitive and annoying. Moreover, it sometimes doesn't make any sense, according to "radio free-Kyrat" I had liberated every outpost and unlocked every bell tower when in fact I still had a few left to complete. Whilst this isn't a major problem, it detracts from the immersion of the experience and isn't an infrequent reminder that you're playing a video game. On a side note, at certain set-piece moments the game's levels and exciting moments are aided by strong soundtrack selections that both make you more immersed and want to enjoy for longer at the same time, whilst songs are seldom used in moments such as this in video games, Far Cry 4 asks the question of "why not?" as if chosen correctly these can work greatly.

Story wise, this game is of fairly high quality, keeping you entertained enough to want to follow it through to the end, but I'd argue that this is also a lazy point from Ubisoft. For a game that is so strongly single player, action-adventure driven, the story of the game probably could have been more detailed, especially following in the footsteps of Far Cry 3, which arguably had one of the most enticing stories of any game for the previous generation. Having said this, Far Cry 4's story isn't at all bad, and the frequent choices you as the player get to make add to some interesting moments and plot twists, but these often had me asking myself "is there really much difference in the outcome depending on what I choose here?" And although this may add replayability to the title, the story is not strong enough to make you want to go back all the way and play from the beginning. After doing some research, my questioning of these moments was correct, as basically whichever potential leader of "The Golden Path" you choose, they both will become corrupt and the story will have more or less the same outcome. Whilst these "your choice affects the outcome moments" can be a strong way to create an interesting story, when these moments are just put in for the sake of it and don't actually do anything it just feels pointless, lazy and rushed. One of the best parts about Far Cry 3 was its villain, Vaas. And even after Vaas Hoyt was a fine replacement. You get the sense that with Far Cry 4 they tried to follow much the same format, a younger male is thrust into doing things he usually wouldn't because of the oppression of the villain, so when the main character finally does get crazy enough or skilled enough and he's taken on the world, having frquent run-ins with his enemy, then is finally ready to take the villain down. The best thing about that format usually, is the frequent encounters that you have with the villain, unfortunately these are lacking in Far Cry 4, and Pagan Min is hard to love more seeing as we hardly see him for most of the game's play time. Far Cry 4's main focus should be its first player experience, particularly in its story, and although the story is strong enough, I'd expect better from a game from this series. One choice that does affect the game properly, one which I actually admire is the choice at the beginning to stay and wait for Pagan or to leave. Whilst I won't spoil this for anyone, this is a great moment and is one that makes you admire the creative direction of the game.

I would argue that the two most fundamental aspects of a game like this are its story, and the actual gameplay. Far Cry 4 offers strong gameplay and a signature style that Far Cry fans should expect. The gameplay importantly lives up to its predecessors, and offers some new aspects that are good additions, namely the wing suit, grapple hook and buzzer. Whilst these are all bright new ideas into the Far Cry experience, they, like the story, feel a little rushed and could benefit from some polishing as they can often feel forced and a little buggy at times. Far Cry also carries on the hunting and looting system from the previous games, and this is still a satisfying and enjoyable part of the game. Far Cry 4 also adds new animals to suit the new world, allowing players to ride elephants which is always satisfying as well as randomly see the harsh nature of the food chain with tigers often spawning in to catch prey before your eyes. The game's shooting, stealth and exploration in vehicles are all other positive parts of the gameplay and should be praised as they are what can keep a player enticed in the experience, more so than the story. Although the "mini cut-scene" style of actions is signature to Far Cry, continuously holding the square button to perform any sort of action feels overused and tedious after a while, which wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't so central to every action you perform. Although this is something that comes as part of a Far Cry game, I don't remember thinking about that sort of mechanic system as tedious or annoying when playing the previous instalments. This is just another factor that sadly makes the game feel somewhat unfinished or rushed. Far Cry does get the open-world approach correct though, and most of the time you can really tackle objectives in any way you want, and exploring Kyrat is always fun, finding secret loot bundles and collectables. However, this open world also sadly comes with issues, bringing limited fast travel systems, making the game's pacing a little off. Although you can tackle objectives and outposts in your own way, stealth feels much more difficult and not as satisfying as the previous games, making me ask the question did Ubisoft really want you to play a certain way? Was this change on purpose? If so why in a Far Cry game where you're supposed to feel open to different playstyles? Much of the time, attempts at stealth were met with the frustrating detection system and subsequent back up that came no matter how you tried to silently subdue enemies. Furthermore, it frustrates me that Ubisoft decided to make their distraction system so precise and particular. Using the rock throw in Far Cry 3 to distract people was a great way to aid stealth and feel great at the same time, but the same action feels under-powered in this game and something I only used to get the trophy for distracting 15 enemies. Which, took far too long, because for a distraction to count an enemy must hear the noise, go over slowly and investigate the noise, then stroll back over and return to their original position untouched, a cycle that takes far too long, trust me. Although evidently frustrating, Far Cry's gameplay is still enjoyable and can keep you interested in playing the game for hours as well as wanting to try new things like weapons, play styles and methods of attack.

Far Cry 4 also continues the multiplayer side of the game that Ubisoft often tries to make a big part of their games. Although I would argue that this game, or any type of single player driven game does not need multiplayer and this feels forced as well as unnecessary, Far Cry 4 actually delivers a fairly enjoyable multiplayer section. While the ideas are all there for the multiplayer section and work alongside the single player world, like any forced-feeling multiplayer, players will be met with match number problems, either being on a cataclysmic winning streak or being one of two people on their team, and often the only player actually trying to play the multiplayer, not just sit idle and wait for the compulsory multiplayer achieved trophies. While that was somewhat expected, what was a surprising and brilliant new addition to Far Cry, was the co-op options that gave the game a whole new experience. To my surprise, my brightest and most enjoyable sessions of Far Cry 4 were actually playing through the game with a friend by my side. This allowed us to tackle harder objectives but honestly made the game feel a lot more enjoyable. Moreover, the Keys to Kyrat every player is given for buying the game is great, and is an inviting gift from Ubisoft for other players to join your session. This great co-op is something I can't decide on, either I'm very happy it was so enjoyable because it proved to be such a good way to experience the game, or to be displeased that this isn't what Far Cry is known for, so should it really be the best way to enjoy the whole experience?

Far Cry 4 may be a great game, one that kept me entertained and enjoying for more hours than I expected, but the game does bring glitches and problems which mainly highlight and stress why hammering out sequels does not need to be done so quickly. Although Far Cry 4 is a great game, and brings some new aspects to the table whilst using the best aspects of their previous titles, it is so evident that Ubisoft were simply trying to translate their success of Far Cry 3 onto the new platforms, and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, I would much rather see them try to build on this success, taking their time, not avoiding risk taking and not playing it so safe like they have with Far Cry 4. As a result, Far Cry 4 feels rushed, unpolished and frame rate dips, glitches and rendering problems are frequent. Overall, however, Far Cry 4 is a really enjoyable experience, but is that just because it's a Far Cry game and a great follow up to Far Cry 3? if so, should it be praised? nevertheless, it is one that should show Ubisoft that taking time with titles, especially ones as important to them as Far Cry, should not be rushed, instead they should look to really focus on and polish the game, making the next instalment something that builds on their prior successes not simply sticks to them, and something that can, again break the mould of first person action adventure games.

3/5