Far Cry 4

Ah...Far Cry, one of my favorite series. 

Many of you might already know that I loved that game (based on its placement in the Rath Awards 2014) but here is the formal review to explain why I loved it so. 

2014 was a bit of a bummer year for gaming. Many of the bigger titles (mainly Destiny and Watch Dogs) that gamers believed would define the year and their respective genres ended up on the wrong side of their hype, although I'd still argue they had their merits. On top of that, it seemed that most Fall releases were crippled/plagued/destroyed, whatever verb you want to use really, by bugs ranging from stuck characters, online lobby issues, and more. The "Y2K-14" era was especially hard on Ubisoft with both The Crew, and Assassin's Creed Unity having some pretty severe issues. 

Gamers such as myself were holding their collective breaths surrounding the release of Far Cry 4 as it seemed like truly no game could escape the annoying clutches of the videogame flu going around. Luckily, aside from a few, very minor, Day 1 issues (none of which I actually experienced) I can safely report that Far Cry 4 survived the epidemic, and on top of that, it's one of the few games this year to live up to the hype set by its phenomenal predecessor. 

It may be a last gen/next gen game, but it is achingly pretty. (I was attacked by an eagle shortly after this photo)

"They see me rollin...they hatin..."

Each Far Cry, much like each Assassin's Creed, takes us to a different locale. Far Cry 3 had us on a tropical island filled with pirates and a madman. Far Cry 4 is based in the Asian Himalayas in the fictional country of Kyrat. To say that the locale is as stunning as ever would be an understatement. In terms of detail, complexity of the map, and variety I would have to say that this is one of the best open worlds I've ever experienced. Personally I enjoyed it more than Far Cry 3 but I think that comes down to preference as one is tropical and the other is mountainous. There were several times during my sizable chunk of time with Far Cry 4 where I would reach one of the higher points on the map and just gape at the views. In the distance of the map always lies a mountain range that is so detailed and well-constructed that it truly speaks to the player. It helps to build a sense of where you are at in the world while also reminding you that the territory you are in is deadly and dangerous. During a few of the campaign missions, the player gets to travel up into the Himalayas and most of these missions are phenomenal and epic, often inducing large amounts of vertigo. The land of the map itself is ingeniously designed with cliffs (of which the player can now climb with a grapple system), lakes, roads, secret caves, and plant-life galore. Whereas in some mountainous games (*cough Skyrim cough cough*) it was frustrating to climb up intensely sloped areas, Far Cry 4 announces "traverse-able" slopes with grass. See grass on the side of a steep hill? You should be able to climb up that portion. It's a slight enhancement that I found fantastic and I very rarely found myself struggling with going up steep sides of terrain. Even more impressive is how well the developers were able to place grapple hook points that allow the player to climb vertically. Again, very rarely would I approach a cliff or look up to a cliff and there would not be a grapple point there. In short, the map feels very intuitive, which is an adjective that you are likely to hear me use more throughout this review. 

Ancestor sequences where you control a tiger? Yes please!

Think I can hit that mountaineer from here?

Many have complained about Far Cry 4's story, especially when comparing it to Far Cry 3's iconic one. I concur that the story of this iteration is less compelling than the last and that's mainly because Vaas (the insane pirate villain) isn't matched in this one. Pagan Min (voiced by the wonderful Troy Baker) is the main villain in this one. He is also psychotic, oddly calm, and at times funny, but I never found him as downright frightening or unpredictable as Vaas was. Vaas electrified the screen every time he was on it, Min merely owns it. Truth be told, it's still a better villain than most games are capable of creating, but Min never surpasses Vaas's insanity. Think of it as the Joker and Bane from the Dark Knight trilogy. Both are impressive in their own right, but the Joker (Vaas) is clearly the better villain of the two. From a plot perspective, Far Cry 4 certainly has more to do. Whereas 3 was about a spoiled rich kid becoming a true warrior, 4 is about a son returning to his homeland to scatter his mother's ashes. He is greeted with basically what amounts to a Civil War and begins fighting for the Golden Path and against Pagan Min's regime. Within the Golden Path there is some animosity between the leaders, which leads to slightly different mission objectives for particular campaign missions. These decisions have strong logic behind them, but ultimately the decision to have the leaders of this rebel group disagreeing felt like it was written in to give the player a somewhat false feeling of choice. A few subplots make everything a bit messy and the game has a hard time tying any of them together. When taken separately though, each additional character is usually either really weird or a riot and a large chunk of the side quests are highly entertaining ranging from collecting blood diamonds, tripping balls, taking down enemy compounds in the Himalayas, and even playing in a mythical dreamland where you command a tiger. Truth be told, the side missions, are often more fun and engaging than the main campaign's.

"I am Katniss Everdeen and I shoot f**kers with explosive arrows!"

Going back to the gameplay, I have to say that the Far Cry series has some of the best all-around gameplay of any videogame series out there. I mentioned the word "intuitive" earlier and Far Cry 4 flows so, so well. Other than some weird driving controls (which I eventually changed in the menu to a more preferable setup) and an odd syringe-using technique that I never really got the hang of, the buttons and the motions of your character come effortlessly. After just an hour or so of gameplay it's really rather magical as you know exactly what the limits of your character are. Choosing weapons and throwable items are something I got insanely fast at and the general feel of your movements is flawless. Rather than Ajay feeling like a playable character, he feels like an extension of you, which makes the game thrilling. Controls for everything are tight...wingsuiting, shooting, archery (easily the best archery of any game out there), throwing, running, swimming, jumping, etc. Much like Far Cry 3 however, stealth really steals the show as Far Cry 4 continues the series focus on it with one of the most, you guessed it, intuitive stealth systems out there. If you feel hidden from enemies, whether it be out of their view on a ledge, around a corner, in a bush, etc, you are hidden. I had only one or two scenarios where enemies saw me when I thought I was hidden and with over 40+ hours of gameplay, that is beyond impressive. Far Cry 4 makes it easy to hunt and stalk your enemies, which is very in line with the savage spirit of the game, and it's an experience that isn't really matched in any other game right now. My favorite loadout was a recurve bow and throwing knives, both of which are silent, and taking down enemies with little-to-no awareness of my presence. For long distance scenarios (although I did have a recurve bow headshot from over 100m out...a moment where I certainly cheered) I used a silent sniper and picked off enemies as they frantically searched for the sniper [me] as I changed from outcropping to bush to bush. When enemies get too close? The amazing "takedown" gameplay is back where you can violently and gruesomely take an enemy out and choose to throw their knife at a nearby friend, shoot them with their pistol, pull their grenade pin and kick them away, or link another takedown to a nearby enemy. Again: intuitive and beyond fluid. Far Cry 4 gives you the complete ability to be a nightmare for your enemies if you play your cards right. I've seen some players where all they do is run and gun, which, if that's your style I admit that the Far Cry series is much less entertaining. But for players who are addicted to the stealth aspects like I am, It represents a high and level of planning in gaming that leads to some deeply satisfying moments.

I saw these bears fighting. One of them won. Then it killed me. I nicknamed him the "Master of Kyrat".

Then we get to the multiplayer which, stupidly, I let sit untouched for a month. I tried it out and quickly became addicted and I'm quite ashamed because it would have been a contender for some Rath Awards of 2014. I frequent the "Outpost" scenario that pits hunters vs. soldiers. Hunters have bows and arrows and can go invisible while soldiers have full weapons. I was shocked by how well balanced it all was and how effortlessly it carries over the spirit of the game. Both sides are incredibly fun and I'm not sure I have a favorite, but each game was intense (especially if you had a good team) and filled with classic Far Cry moments such as hangliding, brutal stealth kills, elephant kills, explosive arrows, etc. It's a blast and, much like the main game, I have very few complaints about it.

By now you've guessed that I loved Far Cry 4. Sure, it lacked some of the awe that Far Cry 3's first-time innovations carried with it, but it's still a new and improved version of that game in most aspects. Whether or not the formula can stay fresh with the inevitable Far Cry 5 is a question that's not fair to ask of this game because for the fourth iteration, the answer is an unequivocal "yes". There is a certain gaming magic in the craziness that is Far Cry.

And when you are running from a rhino, caught in between it and a group of enemy soldiers, one of whom you shoot with an arrow from a considerable distance, and you decide that your best escape route is a borderline-suicidal jump from a 100+ foot waterfall in front of you...that's when you'll find it. When it's at its craziest is when Far Cry 4 truly comes alive and becomes slightly more than "just a game". 

CONS:

• The separate stories are all fun/strong within their own right, but the whole experience and plot are incredibly disjointed when taken as the entire sum of its parts
• The formula, at least more so than FC3, ever so slightly began to get stale after long play periods
• It's vastly improved over the last game but the fall damage is still ridiculous
• Slightly tricky syringe creation/use process
• Some tricky default driving controls
• Missing Vaas, and Pagan Min was woefully underused
• Some long loading times

PROS:

• The stories taken separately from one another are fun and most of the side characters are a blast
• Pagan Min, while not nearly as captivating as Vaas, is still a strong villain
• Fluid, gorgeous, and intuitive gameplay. Watching someone who is good at Far Cry is incredibly entertaining
• I didn't play it too much, but the co-op campaign option is pretty cool
• The weapon selection is awesome. Bow and arrow for the massive, badass win
• My vote for best stealth gameplay in videogames
• The world of Kyrat is gorgeous and a character in and of itself. The animals are dangerous, there are hundreds of secret places to explore, and it's easy to get stuck staring at the landscape
• The lack of transition time to climbing, driving, hang gliding, wing suiting, etc. really makes for an immersive experience
• Some awesome drug-induced sequences
• The ancestor sequences where you play through an ancient Kyrat folk tale, are gorgeous, intense, and brilliant. Kudos to the developers for taking their time on those
• Awesome abilities to unlock, many of which feed into the expertly crafted takedown system
• SO MUCH TO DO...DEAR LORD is there a lot to do
• The multiplayer is unique, well balanced, addicting, and hilarious
• "EAGLE! Eagle!" Why isn't this an internet meme yet?!
• There is quite a bit of variety in missions and I really enjoyed 90% of them
• Far Cry 4 is a game you lose yourself to pretty quickly. It gives you almost complete freedom in the world and begs you to play it the way you want to. For me? I'm all stealth until I get caught and then I try to be as inventive and balls-to-the-wall as I can be. Some of the most fun I've ever had playing a videogame

Rath's Review Score: 9.5/10

Check out a hilarious gameplay clip of my playthrough below. Hint: me + elephant + rhino = dead badguys