Good but difficult game
This game when released was a ‘far cry’ from all the other major releases of the year. None more so than Doom 3 with its dark claustrophobic corridors. Far Cry when released had outstanding graphics which stand the test of time admirably. The huge open environments were quite a shock to the average gamer expecting to be trapped in some cavern or room or corridor. Indeed it does take some time getting used to the vast open areas present in the game and taking advantage of them.
The game starts as the main protagonist; Jack Carver is hired by a mysterious journalist to take her to a tropical archipelago somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Since this is a game, things do not go according to plan and their boat gets blown up by an RPG from the shoreline. The player assumes control of Jack near the shore. First order of business is to swim ashore and get a gun. Jack being an ex-military man puts his training to use to locate the journalist and unravel the mystery of the island through the course of the game.
From the get go, the players are let loose on the island guided by an ever present compass to different objectives. Players are allowed and indeed encouraged to approach each objective in many different ways. Stealth and subterfuge are an equally viable means of achieving the goals as running and gunning may be.
The lack of in game save-anywhere feature is a real pain, especially in the 2 half of the game, when the difficulty ramps up due to the appearance of a new type of enemy. Most of the time the player will be looking for health kits to prolong their life. Ammo is abundant as are the number and types of guns available. Pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, rocks...CHECK. Yes, rocks are useful too. Players have an unlimited supply of rocks, the theory being that rocks are available everywhere on the island just lying around. Throwing a rock is a good way to distract the enemy AI. They usually head for where the rock crashed if they didn’t see you throwing it in the first place.
The enemy AI is smart. They take cover when under fire, retreat to better positions if they are on the defensive. The AI will even flank the players if not discouraged by some bullets. Preferably lots of them.
The vehicles available in the game are valuable tools in negotiating the terrain. The 4x4 is useful for escaping the enemy, or quickly getting from one engagement to another with minimum fuss on the way. The players are rewarded for creative thinking. For example, players are tasked to destroy some enemy encampments. If you go in guns blazing and manage to destroy one camp. The others will be on the lookout since they have been warned on the radio. If however, you destroy the radio tower placed at the far end of the map; all the camps will be unaware of the situation and be relatively easy pickings. Other vehicles include boats of various kinds and hand gliders.
The first half of the game is a brilliant exercise in design and innovation. The open world in which the player is free to pursue whichever path they feel is most suitable to their playing style, against smart enemies is a joy to play through. Inconvenient auto-save checkpoints notwithstanding.
A new enemy type is introduced in the second half of the game. If you want to avoid spoilers skip to the next paragraph. As players find out early in the game that the island is the base of operation for a mad scientist experimenting with gene mutations. They result in him creating extra tough animals of simian nature in appearance and behaviour. Well, they are extra vicious monkeys that lunge at the player with their sharp claws. Usually attack in groups. Later on, the scientist creates mutants that are smarter, more organized and most importantly very proficient with weapons. Basically they are evil mutant super soldiers. Just when you thought things could not get any worse. They do. Another enemy type is a 10 foot tall, 500 pound hulk that has got a rocket launcher for an arm. These are not so difficult to beat; their rockets are slow and can be easily dodged and strafed. Empty a few clips from you assault rifle and you get through most of them.
The game regresses to shooter clichés in the second half, fighting in dimly lit claustrophobic corridors against inhuman enemies, that don’t always behave as you would expect them to. The jump in difficulty at this juncture makes the game less fun to play than before, as the check points don’t arrive as regularly as you would want them to. Even on lower difficulties, players should expect to play the second half of the game with constantly low health and low reserves of ammunition.
The sound design in this game is excellent. The weapons sound terrific. The orchestral music, especially composed for this game is extremely adept at keeping the players immersed in this tropical paradise gone to hell.
Overall, the game is a good shooter with few good innovations. The story is not much more than a summer action movie. The characters are just cut outs from B-movies. The graphics are great. The immense draw distances force players to change the way they approach fire fights. The shooting is satisfying. The game sounds good. The graphics in the game scale down nicely and look good even on the lowest settings. If you can handle the higher difficulty then this is the game for you. Go pick it up from you local game bargain bin. If you choose to play this game, I guarantee you will not forget it for quite some time.
