Far Cry 4 Xbox One Review
Summary: Far Cry 4 is a blast of a game no matter what mode you play!
4.6
Honey Badger!
Far Cry 4
Format – Xbox One
Game Genre – Shooter
Rating – MA15+
Game Developer – Ubisoft Montreal
Game Publisher – Ubisoft
Reviewer – Edwin Millheim
Ubisoft seems to never tire of being associated with hit games and that is a good thing for all the gaming fans. This is also true with the latest in the Far Cry franchise, “Far Cry 4” that is developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. Far Cry 4 brings us into Kyrat, a fictional place that is based on the Himalayans with its own nefarious villain. The opening sequence serves to quickly give us the back story of the latest game and introduce the villain to us. This man is named Pagan Min…. who is an over the top nut job that obviously is used to getting his way or people die.
The player character in this adventure is Ajay Ghale, who is from Kyrat originally but was raised in America. His mother moved away with him when Ajay was only three years old and he is unaware of what he is walking into as he is returning to Kyrat to deliver his recently passed away mother’s ashes back home.
The story is played out pretty fast and in no time Ajay finds himself smack in the middle of a civil war with some local resistance fighters called the Golden Path (which had been started by Ajay’s Parents) are fighting against Pagan Min. This whole story is also a bit more interesting than you first see on the surface. Sure it is basic but the game designers have peppered the game with so many choices that it’s an incredible ride. Ubisoft did the right thing here and from Far Cry 3 to this latest game, not a huge amount of gameplay has changed but the changes that did happen make this the best experience in town right now.
But what makes these types of games so much fun? The open worlds. Far Cry 4 dazzles with the big open world with breathtaking vistas of fantastic places based on real world locations. Spending time just looking around and exploring is just as fun and engaging as the story missions. The only time that crashed me out of the immersion of the game was when I ventured too far and the game told me I could not go into the area at that time because I had to advance in the story further. This kind of put the kibosh on the open world explore every place feeling. With that said, the world is pretty big with a lot of diverse areas, so exploring and discovering areas and new parts of the game world is very interesting.
In fact, just exploring and doing side quests is a good way to build the character up for some of those more difficult missions and battles to come. In side quests, there’s the old tried and true supply pickup and delivery, karma missions, tearing down propaganda posters and of course the tower captures that in turn reveal map information of the region in which the tower stands in.
New weapons, equipment and skills are unlocked by completing main key missions and taking over those bell towers that can be found all throughout the land. Liberating outposts are also back, along with those pesky alarm poles. If an enemy triggers the alarm you’ll soon find that the number of enemies have increased because reinforcements show up to make life very hard for you.
Skills however are the key to survival and the skill tree here in Far Cry 4 has been condensed down a bit from the previous game. It is now divided into two skill trees that include The Tiger Path and The Elephant path. The tiger skill tree is all about stealth and attacks, while the Elephant skill tree covers toughness and strength/health. Players can also add to their skills as they advance and level up with points to spend on new skills.
Leveling up and exploring all go hand in hand in this surprisingly dangerous land. The wild life is exotic and surprising. There can be times that a low growl or strange sound is all the warning you get before a lighting fast attack brings you down. Fitting that hunting animals for their skins is part of the game once again and the animal hides are in turn used to craft equipment. As the game progresses, you can also craft better equipment and upgrades like bigger loot bags to carry more. Things you find from looting slain enemies, searching chests throughout the gaming world and harvesting different plants all can also be sold for extra cash. That cash can come in handy for purchasing weapons, ammo and upgrades to those weapons. More bang for your buck goes a long way in this world.
Crafting in the game is a pretty simple affair. To really excel at the game it all comes down to what you as a player really need to succeed. You may decide to concentrate on upgrading the weapons holsters so you can carry more weaponry or the explosives bag, or even the arrow quiver. While it’s all straight forward and tells you what animal skins you need to get the upgrade, it does take some time in tracking and hunting to get what you want. So for upgrades and crafting items, you do have to put a little work into it.
Combat in Far Cry 4 is extremely satisfying and gives plenty of opportunity to try different tactics and strategies. The tantalizing and satisfying variety of weapons that can be accessed will make any first person shooter fan grin from ear to ear. Weapon leveling up and how you trick out your gear has not changed. So shooting and blowing up, or even slashing, stabbing and stealth kills with a knife are all here and has enough visual and sound punch to make it very satisfying.
Now of course a player will encounter times when stealth is more preferable than a stand up fire fight, so things are balanced out nicely in the combat department. Because believe me, there are times and missions that demand stealth to complete. However here is where the fun begins and some of the nice little tweaks come into play as the wild life seems to have gotten some fun tweaks. Once Ajay has leveled up enough he is able to ride an Elephant and use it in battle. The chaos brought forth by this strategy is loads of fun and elephants are much like a living tank in the game. Bashing about, turning over vehicles and killing the enemy with one swipe of the mighty beast’s trunk.
Further, the use of animals goes tactical. For when you skin an animal you also get some bait and this can be used to cause some chaos amongst the enemy. Thrown bait attracts some predator or another and they in turn keep the enemy busy as the enemy fire on the beast as it attacks them. Using the environment does not stop there, convenient hornet or bee hives can be hit to cause the swarm to help clear out an area but just be sure to be at a very safe distance when using this tactic.
The creative ways to take on your enemies in this game is just pure awesome gaming goodness and hats off to the developers here. There may well be times that a plan goes totally haywire as more soldiers just show up or a dangerous animal decides to target you just when you had the upper hand, it’s that unpredictability that can make for some unexpected excitement in the game.
Co-op and multiplayer for Far Cry 4 covers the pretty standard fare of multiplayer gaming but it’s oh so hugely enjoyable and seems so much more responsive and a smoother feel to it than the Far Cry 3 multiplayer. For the Far Cry 4 multiplayer, there are three different modes. Players fight in PVP modes as either the Golden Path or Rakshasa and each faction has their own skills, weaknesses and weapons. This makes things a nice challenge for either side. Players thinking they have the upper hand because their faction is the ones with guns instead of bows and arrows may be in for a shock. The players that utilize team work, and know how to use their abilities using the best strategies often win.
The three different game modes are listed here:
Outpost: The Golden Path tries to create an outpost in the region while the The Rakshasa strive to take out all who are non-believers as they fight to take the outpost for Pagan Min.
Propaganda: The Golden Path fighters have the mission to destroy three propaganda structures that are churning out the word of Pagan Min… Time to blow stuff up! While The Rakshasa do their best to defend and make the interlopers pay with their lives.
Demon Mask: The mythic and spoken in whispers Demon Mask acts as the capture the flag mode for Far Cry 4. Players have to use whatever skills they have to spirit The Demon Mask back to their home base while the other side seeks to prevent this.
Co-op mode is for you and a friend to play the in game campaign missions with and how much more fun is that to cause chaos with friend? Things become even more interesting when planning out an attack on an outpost for instance when you can coordinate with your co-op buddy. More strategies open up for you with two players in the game. Planning out and executing attacks on the various types of outposts and fortresses in FC4 is a spectacular thrill ride in and of itself and it’s one of the major strong points about the game. What makes it such a blast is the variety and different levels of difficulty these outposts and fortresses pose.
I’ll just leave you with this in regard to Co-op… have your buddy fly one of those gyro copters, and you can grapple on and hang by rope from the bottom for a fast insertion on a target outpost or fortress. What fun.
Far Cry 4 is a solid joy ride gaming experience. Be it single player, Co-op or multiplayer goodness.
Have fun, play games
Edwin Millheim Impulse Gamer
Key Features
• From leopards, rhinos, black eagles, and vicious honey badgers, Kyrat is home to abundant wildlife. As you embark on your hunt for resources, know that something may be hunting you…
• Scout enemy territory from above in the all-new gyrocopter and then plummet back to earth in your wing suit. Climb aboard the back of a six-ton elephant and unleash its raw power on your enemies.
• Choose the right weapon for the job, no matter how insane or unpredictable that job might be. With a diverse arsenal, you’ll be prepared for anything.
About the Author
Edwin Millheim Edwin Millheim is a freelance writer since the 1980's has worked in comic book scripting and story writing, for such magazines as Shadis magazine, Anime A2. and also has worked on role playing game creation and adventure creation in the role playing industry as a freelancer (For such companies as Hero Games ,Palladium Books Rifts Index and Adventures Vol 1 hook line and sinker story contributor) working over the years with his editor and co writer for many projects, Donna Millheim, his wife, together... wrote the "electronic games" article for Funk And Wagnalls Encyclopedia Edwin has also worked as writer on comic adaptations to some of his writer/created role-playing games such as Bright Future (Sci Fi) and Unknown Eagles (Based in World War II), and Moonsfar: Warrior's Creed.(Sword and Sorcery) Has also worked as an actor for various live action stunt shows and worked as action fight coordinator and action coordinator for film, and tv and live shows. He is also the Lead singer and Lyric writer for the band Dragon and Berr, who he works with his Drummer wife. Other than the albums they have released over the years, he has also started producing and mixing and mastering for other artists from his wife and his label Loose Bolt Records. All in all likes to keep busy, his first love will always be gaming though.
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