I’ll be honest with you. Farcry 3 didn’t really fascinate me in the way that it should have. I heard so many people go on about how amazing it was and still couldn’t get into the hype, no matter how hard I tried. However, with a new generation of consoles comes a new chapter in the Ubisoft series. I enter this with a clear mind and an interest unabated. Will that still be the case when I’m done with my visit to Kyrat?
No game of this type would be complete without a mental tyrant and that is the case here. Pagan Min is our 80’s romantic pop styled villain and you can tell there is a screw loose right from the off, as a bus containing your character, Ajay Ghale, is fired upon by our tyrant king’s minions. After the bullets stop he then turns to his officer and subsequently kills him for firing on the bus in the first place. I mean come on, you’re only here to scatter your mother’s ashes, right?
The main gist of the plot has you joining a resistance front called the Golden Path in order to not only topple Min, but to also reach your final destination and lay your mum at her eternal resting place. I won’t delve too much into the actual plot, as there is a lot to cover, but you get your interesting mix of characters and missions all resulting in a fun story that doesn’t seem to tire like others. This is because of the open world, which is not only open to you as standard, but also available to play through in co-op once the particulars have been taken care of. It’s nice for Farcry to add this and in doing so keep up with other shooters available.
As far as the gameplay mechanics go, this is solid enough and plays much like what you would expect. The guns feel right, the pace is decent and the missions can vary more than they need to. Bearing in mind this is the game with the “mental animals” in it you can be forgiven for getting carried away hunting for skins and trying to topple the big bulky mammals. Word of advice though; do not approach the bears or rhinos, as they are a pain to take down.
The more you go through Farcry 4, the more you enjoy it. Sneaky enemies with cloaking ability and nothing more than bows and arrows make things tricky as you start to get major progress going. Oh yeah, and they can possess animals to attack you, which makes it even more of a tactical head screw. It nicely adds stealth and assault in a way that is finely balanced and adds a lot to the enjoyment of the game because it caters for everyone without leaving some wondering where their content is.
With all of the vehicles, animals and just the sheer size of the world map, you sometimes wonder how they can cram it all in. Sadly in the case of the Xbox 360, this all does come at a price. When playing FPS games you want a smooth frame rate at all times and the ability of keeping screen tear at a minimum. Just to eliminate the curiousity, I borrowed the Xbox One version from a friend to try that at the same point. The game engine on the last gen platform has moments where it looks like it is coughing and wheezing, even in the cut scenes, which shouldn’t really cut much due to them being staged routines. The current gen doesn’t have this problem and is more of a joy to play. It isn’t to say that the 360 one is unplayable, but I would say that if you have the opportunity to go for the more powerful choice, I seriously would urge you to.
The multiplayer is limited to three choices of match, with Outpost being the more favoured amongst them, being a capture and hold the flag based fight. The editor allows for almost unlimited map choices, which is a great addition and makes you feel like you’re owning the gift that keeps on giving. To be fair, the fact that the competitive options are solid is testament to how well balanced the actual mechanics are.
Going back to the main game though, you can see why people like this series. It offers such a wide variety of things to do with upgrades, pickups, hunting sessions and so on. The fact that you can do this with a friend now makes this more fun, especially when you’re heading towards middle age at a rate of knots, like me. Casual gaming session with a friend, whilst tea drinking? Hell yeah, boss. What this means though is that you can get through the major missions and then go off and wreak havoc in an almost “Grand Theft Auto Kyrat” style. The one thing that has impressed me most of all is just the sheer scope. The graphics should also take mention, as some of the landscapes are stunning, even on the older machines. The first mission leading to the tower showcases all of that in one go and just sets things up for your eyes for the rest of the game.
Farcry4 is an impressive achievement in it’s own right and after playing it I can see what the fuss is about. The open world and the volume of things to get stuck into is just off the chart for an FPS. It could almost be like Skyrim with guns, albeit without 2 years of grind and an RPG element, but the co-op part, the size of it, the free choice and the visual splendour is something to truly behold. I only wish they had sacrificed a little of that to make it run smoother on our old friend, the Xbox 360. It’s not that it’s unplayable, far from it, but when the odd slip of frame rate or tear happens it is just enough to put you off. If you can put up with that though I would urge you to get it. Those with an Xbox One though have absolutely no choice in the matter. This is that perfect tonic for getting away from everyone playing Destiny and it is joyful to get stuck into, hence why this mark is based on the now current gen hardware. I’d take half a mark off if you have old faithful though.
I mean come on, any game that can have you run over someone with a Tuk Tuk and then be stampeded by an Elephant for your troubles has to be worth it. Can’t happen anywhere else.
A big thanks to the Xbox Community for allowing us the chance to review the game.
