Far Cry 4
Platform: Ps4, Ps4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Ubisoft
Author: S.A
The free roam game that is Far Cry continues in its Fourth Installment of the series, forging on with both its likeable characters and gameplay. To those of us who have played the previous Far Cry games it’s easy to feel right at home when starting this vast new game. Once again Ubisoft has created a game that is both massive in its entirety, enjoyable in its options, and also completely free to explore in terms of progression. There were far too many times I would get caught up in side quests before even remembering the main story line within the game. That isn’t to say the story itself wasn’t enjoyable, if not a bit predictable in nature. The vast amount of side quests, to me, merely showed the amount of work put into the game to attract the gaming community, and who was I to turn scuff at such work.
The story of Far Cry 4 takes place in a fictional land called Kyrat (a land that seems to be based in the Himalayans) and centres on Ajay Ghale, a young Kyrati turned American. He returns to his home country to spread his mother’s ashes, as per her dying wishes. However, upon his arrival, Ajay finds a country that is in a state of serious conflict. The two opposing sides being Kyrat’s Royal Army led by the countries current tyrannical leader Pagan Min, and the Golden Path, a rebel faction that wishes to be free of Mins rule.
The gamer has no choice but from the very onset of the game to get involved with these two factions, not only to successfully fulfill your mother’s wishes but also to understand this odd fascination that Pagan Min seems to have taken in you upon your arrival. Your every decision pushes the game forward, making you the deciding factor in how the story will end not only for yourself, but also for the people of Kyrat.
The gameplay and graphics for this game are where it really shines and shows where the developing team really put in their hard man hours. Not only are the graphics for this game beautifully rendered, but the gameplay is thoroughly enjoyable. The gameplay is similar to many FPS games but separates not only in its open world game play but also in the vast amounts of weapons available to be found and upgraded within the game. The world of Kyrat is vast, and seemingly without end at some points as you journey from one end to another to meet your goals. Often times you must employ one of the many vehicles available throughout the world or else you might find yourself walking through its wilderness for quite some time
The upgrade system in the game encourages exploration of the vast world, only allowing the higher class weapons to become available to a gamer as they explore and liberate more of the country from Pagan Min’s rule. As you do good deeds throughout the land in your journey, you begin to accumulate things known as Karma points, which you than trade in to up your characters own unique skills. The gamer’s own equipment and abilities upgrade through a similar exploration route, encouraging you to hunt down and skin the animals of the land, then using their skin as a means to craft better items. Basically, if you don’t explore, you will never be allowed to grow in this land and will often times find it hard to progress even in the main story.
The best part of the game though remains to be the way in which you may employ the very wildlife itself to help you in the fights you have with the A.I. opponents scattered throughout the world. You have the option of either drawing nearby animals to a specific point of attack, or freeing locked animals in cages to join the melee. Though be warned, many animals can’t tell friend from foe and will attack you just as easily as it will the automated intelligence. That said it’s better to use them as a means of distraction, as they will never outright win a fight against numerous foes.
Far Cry 4 is a good game throughout and remains to be one of the higher played games of the 2014 year. Its replay ability is staggering, especially for those who haven’t unlocked everything the first time through, and many hours can and will be sunk into the game. I suggest you play it, especially if you’ve always wanted to hunt boars.
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