Neon Island of Insanity
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was initially thought to be some sort of April Fools' joke, but as with Twisted Pixel's Splosion Man, this proved to be untrue. Blood Dragon is real, a ton of fun, and full of nice throwbacks to the 80's in many different ways.
The name alone suggests that Far Cry 3's story would be integrated somehow, but their only similarities are mainly from the game's controls, the fact that it takes place on an island, and that you'll be able to play similar activities. This game is all about Rex Power Colt, a cyber-commando who arrives on an island to retrieve information and finds his old commander Sloan in charge and hoping to control the blood dragons.
Over the course of the roughly 2-4 hour story, you'll explore the island and level up as you uncover the truth about the events on the island, and work to save the world. While you can complete the story in a short period of time, the side-activities and working to unlock everything will bring the count much higher. I've got about 8 hours out of the game, and had fun every moment.
Most enemies you will face are re-skinned versions of Far Cry 3 foes, who have been altered to represent the 2007 version of a future so you'll be fighting Cyborg-soldiers, robotic dogs, and the new blood dragon enemies, who can shoot lasers from their eyes. Pretty awesome. Weapons are pretty different though, and although you can still use the bow, which has been given a neon makeover, you'll find plenty of new items to check out.
Almost every weapon can be upgraded, so during the end of the game, you'll be pretty unstoppable as you obliterate foes with devastating power. One of my favorites was the upgraded version of the shotgun, which had four barrels, shot fire bullets, and was semi-automatic. Pressing in the right analog would also cause Rex to give enemies the middle-finger, just to show how bad-ass the guy is.
Rex Power Colt has plenty of great one-liners, which is reminiscent to Duke Nukem, but they're not as cheesy here. He is voiced by Michael Bien, who was known for his role in Terminator and Aliens, so he fits quite nicely here.
Presentation in this game is also very 80's. Cutscenes are 8-bit esque scenes, with stills of the characters shown as if you're playing an old SNES game. Instead of a loading screen, you get a tracking screen, and one of the collectables are to go around the island and find VHS tapes. The in-game visuals are very neon like and colorful, which purple, red, blue, and green being prominent and bright in the game.
I really enjoyed my time with this game, the gameplay will keep you occupied for a few more hours after the main story is finished. Ubisoft did something different with Blood Dragon, and anyone who decides to check it out will see that it's worth playing. A must buy if you can!
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