Casual Reviews – Far Cry 4

“Gamescom 2014: Far Cry 4’s Keys to Kyrat a PS4 Exclusive” by BagoGames. CC2.0

Okay, so the Far Cry series…it’s…um…well, you know, it’s…It’s like. Well how should I put it? I mean, there’s usually some terrorist…or militants; yes, call them militants. There’s a standard issue dictator…dick for short. And I mean like…total 100% full on dick. Who needs to die. There’s you of course, but no one really cares about you…not even you. There’re guns. Obvious, I know. There’re also wild animals, fire, masks, propaganda, weird magic voodoo, mini helicopters, cars, trucks, four wheelers, wing suits…

For reals people, this game is like Rambo vomited his wet dreams/PTSD nightmares all into one place for everyone to enjoy.

But for a game that is crammed full of so much awesome, Far Cry 4 feels empty.

Environment

Does this game have a story? Yes, I believe so.  Do I know what it is? Mmmmmmm I’m gonna saaaay…no.

I tried. I really did. And while there are many things I believe I could point out in order to excuse how little I paid attention to the story by the end of the game, the most obvious reason is, your character is boring. And I’m being generous when I say boring. Literally any other character you meet in this game is more interesting than you.

Lets just focus on what I know. You have mom’s ashes that you’re going to spread in Lakshmana. What is Lakshmana? Well that would be a surprise except that I stumbled on the ‘Easter egg’ ending because my friend called right after starting the game.

Anyway, you meet the aforementioned dick, escape, and then start shooting people.

The ‘story’ is just the developers excuse to put a gun in your hand and turn you loose on the world they have made. And the world is what Far Cry 4 gets right. You can travel the landscape on cars, trucks, wing-suits, helicopters, boats…you name it. It’s a beautiful place. Something is always going on near you, and while that is fun, it can actually get annoying at times. I’m speaking about eagles. Now, I live in a place where I see bald eagles every day. They are loud and annoying, grouping together like vultures just waiting for your trash to scavenge. ‘Merica.

Number of times I have been attacked by them? 0.

I dunno if in Kyrat they breed aggressive, blood thirsty eagles that refuse to eat anything less than twice their size, but after the third time one attacked me in the span of five minutes, it got a little old.

Besides that, I loved exploring Kyrat, but eventually that thrill wears off. Once you’ve completed all your upgrades and crafted so many crafts that Martha Stewart would be proud, the charm dies. It’s because there’s nothing to really care about. The most interesting character in the game is a radio personality, Rabi Ray Rana. It’s borderline depressing when the only character you’re excited to listen to is the dude on the radio.

Gameplay

I love the Far Cry series gameplay. As far as first person shooters go, this series gets the action right, and Far Cry 4 is a shining example. By the end of the game, I feel like I’m in control of almost every situation. I have bunches of weapons at my disposal and several options of how to approach a camp. I could snipe silently, I could stealthily stab my way in, I could just ride an elephant through the camp…or I could get attacked by an eagle which gives away my position, get shot a few times before losing my temper, shout ‘suck it,’ and proceed to shoot anything that moves.

All of these are good options, and the last will be the approach you use the most.

The best part of this game is the outposts. In order to progress, you can clear outposts, regaining control of the region for the golden path, yada yada yada…you know, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care, you don’t care…you kill the guards, don’t set off alarms, and take over. You can reset these outposts to enemy control and do it all over again…and that, scouts honor, is the best part of this game.

It is the single thing that drives Far Cry sales. In a market where AAA games are mostly graded by story, graphics, and originality, the joy of just playing can be lost. Far Cry is a breath of fresh air. It’s all about having fun.

Replay Value

Of all the FPS games I own for the PS4, this is the one I have returned to the most. The main reason is to repeat outposts with a friend. While I doubt I will ever replay the main story again, just hopping into the fully unlocked world and having a go at outposts and random side missions is still entertaining, especially with someone else. Far Cry will not go down as one of my favorite games, and within the year I may finally put it away for good. But I am glad I played and experienced the world of Kyrat. As the price drops, if you have not played Far Cry 4, the value only increases.

The thrill does wear off eventually and I have a feeling that the Borderlands collection may usurp this title due to my addiction to loot.

Online

The co-op experience in Far Cry 4 is what finally pushed me over the edge to buy it instead of waiting to borrow and play it years after its release. While I wish you could progress further in the story while playing co-op, that isn’t a deal breaker. Once the game has been beaten, it doesn’t matter…outposts are the only thing to care about anyway.

I was disconnected with my partner only a couple of times. The rest was just a blast roaming the mountains, finding trouble. It was easy to invite a friend to join and I hardly progressed my single player story once I joined my friend’s game. The online play does what it needs to do. Nothing fancy or groundbreaking.

Conclusion

My best advice for this game is split it with a friend and then use the Keys to Kyrat code so you both can play together…co-op is Far Cry 4 at its best and if you aren’t playing co-op you might as well spend your time elsewhere. You can certainly find such boring characters and their equally boring development anywhere else for free. Just turn on almost any network TV show and enjoy all the emptiness those characters have to offer…free of charge.

Far Cry 4 has many goods, but isn’t the whole package. Much like visiting this blog, you’re not hanging out for the intellectual profoundness…you’re just here for the fun.

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