Far cry is probably one of the few games which has withstood the test of times and may be one of the few games to have got over the “first version is the best” conundrum!
Long post ahead since the review is of six huge games!
Of course if you actually see the first person shooter or the RPG universe, the competition is so huge that it is a game which you cannot win! So much so that Games like Half life or Doom have limited release possible bogged down by the humungous expectations! Half life was an experience which I am sure will never be repeated! The first person shooter with RPG elements and the flow of story from one weapon to defeating the super boss was simply epic!
In contrast Far Cry was one of the games which simply existed along with the biggies with the added change that it had the open world concept! The maps were so vast that you can simply roam around in the big forest and miss the tree so to speak!
So it was popular but an unexpected hit and no one would have thought that this game would one day have so many sequels! The direct sequels or versions of Far Cry are numbered from 1 to 6 and these are the games I have played and this blog is about them. Far cry as such as two direct sequels and there are other expansions and versions of Far cry such as Far Cry Primal, Far cry Dawn and Blood Dragon which have similar game play but not the same since they happen in a different universe and in the case of Primal, different timeline.
Let me get it out in the first itself that the first was the best if you consider the FPS genre while Far Cry 6 is the best if you consider the RPG genre while every gamer would readily agree that the best game in the series and the one which set the final trend was Far Cry 3 which combines both the FPS and RPG elements beautifully in a complex story line especially since your actions change the story in between and even the ending!
If you actually think about the genre, Far Cry 1 is actually a stand alone game, apart from some common elements like driving a vehicle and finishing mission; Far Cry was a straightforward game which happens in a linear fashion where the story progresses in a linear fashion and with no side missions. In spite of that, far Cry is a long game! It was in fact one of the longest FPS and very early in the series I understood that you get more points for stealth (this is the major point in all the games!) and if you can avoid some fights on the way to your mission then avoid! (I learnt this the hard way!).
Far Cry 1 was the trend setter of sorts and the mission moves forward only if you complete the previous mission fully! In one of the first missions, I was not able to move forward to the next phase simply BECAUSE I did not finish making the area secure! I was sure that I had killed everyone and spent so much time is searching for someone whom I could have missed! Then I saw one soldier in the water hit but not dead! So I had to shoot him and lo! the cut scene heralding the next stage appeared! Another mistake I did initially was to play the game in harder difficulty! That was a bad choice since if your intention is to finish the game as soon as possible then selecting this level will make you age with the game! One level on the top of the boat; you are supposed to start the bomb then rush to the edge of the boat, actually swim towards the beach and immediately shoot the bad guy who himself is shooting you from a chopper! I have spent days finishing that level till I got a hack to make quick load and quick save possible! (You can search online for the same and use it if you ever want to finish the game before you get old!).
The game keeps you on your edge and even in the easier mode takes some time to finish with lots of twists and turns in between with so many Indiana Jones like adventures thrown in between which means visiting old caves and dungeons! (This is another common theme in most of the Far Cry games!). Running out of bullets is really frustrating and lack of no active checkpoints is a big let down! Apart from this obvious flaw, the game is perfect in every sense!
Another odd one out is Far Cry 2 which was a departure from classic FPS in that you have lots of side work and missions to finish and still did not get the classic RPG treatment of Far Cry 3. Though there are many fans of the this game including some claiming that the Bad Guy Jackal is one of the best bad dudes out there! The best thing about this game was the quick save and Load option which was the only thing they got right according to me! This option is not there in any other version as far as I can remember. So in any of the subsequent games, when you die, you respawn or begin at the nearest checkpoint as in Far Cry one or the last Safe house in Far Cry 2 or the last Fast Travel location from Far Cry3 onwards. Another irritating thing about Far Cry 2 is no direct fast travel location though there is a mode via bus or train you can reach but it is still not great! And one of the worst issue which plagues every Far Cry from this one is the absolutely abysmal GPS! At one point the marker shows the spot on the other side of the un climbable mountain or at the end of a huge water body! The worst issue which plagues this game and thankfully does not fall over to the later version is the dreaded malaria attacks! It was ridiculous to say the least! In the beginning of the game itself you get malaria and then in between every other fight or run you get these attacks! On top of that in an attempt to have more realistic feel the makers had added Gun getting jammed specially if you had picked up from your enemy! So in addition to the malaria attack and low health you also cannot defend yourself because your gun gets jammed! If I wanted a realistic experience I would not be playing a game! Far Cry 2 is based in Africa and in between some conflict and even that if a sore spot! Even in the cut scenes where you cannot do much, you are beaten and traumatized to the point of near dead! You have a confused hero who works from this side and the other side! and finally the ending is two way according to what you choose! I was so happy when I finished this nightmare of a game though I understood that it was so bad, the next one ought to be better and how! There are of course a bunch of serious gamers who like this nightmare since it is a challenge and since apparently this game comes close to reality as much as possible including the rays of the sun hitting on your rear view mirror! But please keep real life away from the game!
After the nightmare that was Far Cry2 (at least for me!); I moved on to Far Cry 3 which is the best of the series! The whole setting starting from the beach vacation to the caves and the mercenaries gave a Brazilian feel though on research it was based in Rook island somewhere in the Pacific. The story line starts with big kill which was shocking to say the least! But after some time you settle on the open world and start collecting leaves! and hunting and what not! The regular far cry flavor which is the theme of further games comes into play. You sequentially start controlling one area and explore some caves or dungeon and get experience points. The game play was better than Far Cry 2 and there was no Malaria! (There is a difficulty setting in this game called the Malaria! which could be a dark twisted humor paying a homage to Far Cry 2!). There is a skimpy clad girl who gets into your brain and one of the most difficult levels was defeating that creepy witch like Boss who keeps on vomiting ghouls! The GPS issue has still not been solved that well and you still cant get to where you want to go soon! This is applicable to all the games after 2 and is a big itch which you cannot reach to scratch! You will be in one corner of the Island and you need to reach another end! It was torture! It was solved partially in Far Cry 4 when I always used the Mini Chopper!
The quick save and load option is also not given which was a big let down. That was probably the only thing they could have taken from Far Cry 2!
Also there was a change in Genre when the hero gets “involved” with the witch and that leads to some scenes of skin show which could have been avoided since all said and done, Kids do play these games! The collection of leaves and meat starts from this game. The brutal way of skinning the meat or collecting the meat also could have been avoided. You kill a wild animal and that should have been the end of discussion! Why to make a butcher of every gamer is beyond me! The amount of violence and gore shown is actually too much but then I guess that is the trend. Now all the Far cry game versions have this simply horrible way of showing character death! The cut scene feels like someone has thrown a life sized mannequin! And not a good one at that! And another irritating thing that plagues all the versions is the deployment of Parachute! It simply does not come out in time and I have died countless times falling off a side of the mountain because of the GPS issue! Either make the Parachute button more responsive or make shorter mountains! And this is not limited to PC gaming! I had the same issue with my X BOX controller also but more on that when we get to Far Cry 6!
Here also there are two endings (possibly more!) and by the time you reach that point it does not matter! But still this one is one of the best in the series!
Far Cry 4 is based in some location in India or China or some Nepal mountain! The confused story writer was not able to make up his or her mind! They give an Indian Sounding name to the hero! Apparently there are multiple ways of finishing this game and one ending is simply 15 minutes into the game! This is the game where they introduced throwing meat and getting a Bear or some other wild animal to do your dirty job! Or you have a bees nest nearby to help you! The emphasis on stealth and not direct assault is more in this one. Since there are a lot of mountains in the game and only one chief enemy, the best vehicle to move around is a mini chopper which I realized very early in the game! Or you will simply spend running around and getting tired! They have made his breathing into the mike so very soon he sounds like Darth Vader! Not my cup of tea! You also have beginning of amigos or animal friends who can help you! Like most Far cry games, you tend to go in between into some strange land where you have super powers and still you get killed! It normally happens when you drink a concoction given by two dim wits and you drink it (who is the dim wit now!?). hese two characters are for comic relief and remind you of Jack Sparrow! Even between the good guys or gals you have to choose between two different leaders which apparently changes the course of game to aggressive assault or silent capture! When you take over a camp or area controlled by the enemy, it becomes your fast travel location. This idea was officially started in this game which continues in Far Cry 5 and 6. Every game of the series actually reward you for stealth and silence! If you disable all alarms, the reinforcements are not called and you get bonus! So it always makes sense to be an assassin rather than a terrorist! If you trigger an alarm you almost always get a chopper with guns which really hits you hard! The downside is that you have to be very patient and painfully slow! The game also continued the throwing of rock and distracting the enemy (In Far Cry 6 you get a limited number of balls to do the same!). Far Cry 4 also is special in that you can use the animals trapped in crates all over enemy camps to do your work! All you have to do is free them and then strike! The same is repeated with less emphasis in subsequent games! Radio or cell tower destruction and rewards which was started in Far Cry 3 continues in this and others with some modifications. If you go for the story mode the game gets over and you can still play the game getting new territories and safe houses though. But after the story is over, I normally do not like to play! Far Cry 4 also has some beautiful mountain views which is the best part of the game! I enjoyed playing this since its closer to home though the simply inaccurate Sanskrit and Hindi was a little overkill to me!
Far Cr 5 is set in America and is a long ride! You are a rookie cop who goes to a place to arrest a God man who has a big cult and three chief juniors who are like the three bosses to finally reach the main boss as and when you complete the respective mini boss areas! You of course start small and build up your resistance and reputation as you go along!
As you move along the game, you get reputation and skills and more health which is of course similar to the previous games. The best is how you capture a camp and that becomes yours! When the last enemy is killed the game goes for a slow motion reveal of getting the prize so to speak which is an amazing feel! The most irritating part of this game though is to fly a plane and Shoot the first boss! It was an impossible feat for me since the plane controls are so clumsy! A better way to get over this level is to either get a chopper or enlist the help of your pilot friend! A hack I found online and that was the only way I could finish that level in which I was stuck for ages!
The other two Bosses were easier in comparison! But still the GPS and the death is something which has to be improved by leaps and bounds!
Of course even this has two or more endings but it does not make much of a difference to the game play except may be the end.
Finally we come to Far Cry 6; Now my Microsoft surface Pro could not handle Far Cry 6 and I had to wait for my X BOX to play it! It takes ages to download and from the first level I knew that the game is not for console! You do have aim assist in console but no FPS game can be bettered by the combination of Mouse and Keyboard! I struggled so much to get a shot right in the face till I got the scope rifle and used the zoom but it still got no close to the level of perfection we have with Mouse and Keyboard. Though some games like the Call of Duty support Mouse and KB even in X BOX; unfortunately Far Cry does not have any support. It is frustrating to try and shoot even the enemy so you can forget shooting a chopper down! In the initial levels, if you activate an alarm and you have either a Chopper or a Tank behind you then you had it! Even getting on the tank or Chopper is a dauting task with the controller! Of course over time you do get used to it and improve your skill but even the best controller cannot compete with a mouse and KB when it comes to FPS!
So after weeks of frustrating gameplay (including a level which I later found out that it was a side mission), I stuck to the story mode and then it became better to proceed. Once I acquired a rocket launcher it was much better; also I noticed that you do not get hurt much by the Chopper in easy level and story mode! In fact I have lost so many life only while falling from a cliff or a mountain! This is because of the horrible GPS and the slow response of the Parachute button! The same button while standing still gets the sword on double tap or does a take down. The same again if sitting or standing makes you crouch while walking makes you skid and while falling opens the parachute! When one button has so many options then it is a headache! The controller simply does not respond! Many times I have to click on the wingsuit and then the parachute and only then will it respond! It was frustrating to say the least! Another side mission are the ones you can play only online but with good connection! You need to get a Bomb like thing and constantly keep watering it! and only when you have cleared all the enemy (who are shooting you and the bomb is getting heated) the level is complete! It was a nightmare! Luckily I realized that the mission has no impact on the story so do not try it in the beginning of the game! Get High in the level and get some serious arsenals in your kitty and then go for it! The amigo which is a Panther is an amazing buddy but you get it only if you solve an ancient three step treasure hunt! Even this only if you see the online forum since the mission has no impact on your storyline.
Getting the checkpoints and getting the anti aircraft guns is a piece of cake and getting the big military targets is a little difficult initially. It really helps if you have lots of patience and slowly disable all alarms and take down all enemies silently! But if you go in full guns blazing then make sure you have rocket launcher in your kit! The best weapon according to me was the Rambo Bow which you get after an epic level and kill more than 500 enemies! That was a great level! There was so much Hype for Supremo but I rarely used it in the middle of the battle! The best mode of travel in Far Cry 6 for short distances is the horse! Believe me! and later on you can get the chopper whenever you can! In fact in this game and also in Far Cry4 and 5 I used to use the Chopper whenever I can especially for getting loots or treasure or even to sabotage a radio (in Far Cry 4!)! So instead of spending so much time using your grapple and climbing and falling and dying from below, Its better to land from above!
I used this hack even for getting the supply runs! I either keep the Horse ready or the chopper ready! Then it is a piece of cake!
Since it is a long game it was a slow but steady progress and here also the choices do not change the game mode or outcome! It was fun doing all the chase and shooting! Most of the time you can simply run into the next level and save yourself some health and bullets! The Stranger things inspired level was inspiring (but you have to finish the level once you start so beware and make sure you have lots of time and patience for this and the final level which was again a game of stealth!).
With so much stealth I felt like I am playing assasins creed!
All in all a very good game and since it was my first game in X BOX I simply loved it so much so that when it got over I missed it! In that instant I got Far Cry Primal! Now that is a whole different experience for another day another blog!
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