Far Cry 4 Review

The Far Cry games have come a long way since their humble beginnings back with the original Far Cry that released on the PC in 2004. No longer is the series helmed by Crytek but is instead developed by Ubisoft’s own Montreal-based studio.

After a decade of new Far Cry games, re-releases and expansion packs the series is as strong as ever, most probably because it hasn’t come under the curse of being released every 12 months.

So how does the latest installment in the franchise hold up? Is it an explosive showdown or a pitiful firework imitating a display of grandeur? Read on for the full Far Cry 4 review.

Story

This time around the story takes place in the fictional country of Kyrat, though parallels can easily be drawn to its real-life inspiration Nepal. We see the gorgeous world through the tired and mourning eyes of Ajay Ghale, a native of the lands you roam. His purpose is simple: return his mother and her ashes to their final resting place, but not all goes to plan.

You’re quickly embroiled in the ongoing conflict that has enveloped Kyrat which has come under the rule of the flamboyant outside Pagan Min, superbly acted by one of the games industry’s most recognisable leading men, Troy Baker. What isn’t he in these days?

The single-player campaign places you smack bang in the middle of the civil unrest, though it’s a bit of a slow burner to begin, what with the obligatory tutorial-esque missions and such, but once the game finds its pace the story soon unfolds.

Far Cry 3 took the series into less serious territory, though still with good intentions and a story to boot and the same is true here. Elements of fantasy weave their way in and out of the experience, something that seems fitting in the digitally recreated version of Nepal which is rich with spirituality and it works well offering up some truly unique experiences and opening the door for tales that would otherwise not be told.

The cast of characters supporting Ajay on his journey for peace are as memorable as ever with a small selection rallying around him, but to what end? It’s not a simple case of ‘these are my friends, they want to help me,’ the battle lines have blurred the intentions of most, making Ajay something of a puppet to their needs, but it’s your choice as to who gets your eventual support. Sort of.

The idea is that of the two warring factions you’ll be doing legwork for both, though you choose who gets more of your time and effort, but be under no illusion, it’s a simple smoke and mirror job, your path is already carved out for you, but the journey towards it is at least rewarding and offers the opportunity for multiple play-throughs.

The real star of the show is once again the villain, as was the same in Far Cry 3. Pagan Min oozes finesse, character, charm and all the rest of it whilst still being a believable and intimidating villain. Seeing him in action gave my goosebumps, something a game hasn’t managed to do in a long time, a true testament to the writing skills of the guys at Ubisoft Montreal and the acting chops provided by Troy Baker. There’s something a little bit Moriarty about him in the way that he sucks you in and entertains only to turn into a vile, despicable creature of hatred the next second. You’ll only really understand the Moriarty reference if you’ve watched Steven Moffat’s BBC series Sherlock, but it’s the most fitting comparison.

A lot of noise was made when the character of Pagan Min was announced, more specifically his sexual orientation. This isn’t something that remotely affects the game nor the enjoyment I got out of the performance. Whilst it was obvious with his sometime stereotypical nuances and speech patterns, it wasn’t done in an exuberant way and doesn’t set out to offend. Pagan Min is a three-dimensional character that doesn’t rely on his sexuality to get by, much like real life gay folk.

Whilst the games villain may be a larger than life chap with dreams of world domination, the player character is much more humble and a lot less vocal. Far Cry 3 was criticised by many for the annoying frat-boy character constantly uttering shoddy dialogue throughout the course of the game, and not just in the cut-scenes, though I didn’t really mind as it reminded me of Nathan Drake and his constant banter, often addressing the precarious situations he finds himself in.

Instead Ajay is a throwback to the early days of Far Cry in which the character doesn’t have much to say, but what he does say has a bit more substance than you’d expect. Personally, I’m not a fan of silent protagonists, not that Ajay is a complete mute. I appreciate the effort that goes into voice-over work and give extra credit when a game manages to make a character speak what I’m thinking as it shows at least a little bit of foresight and deeper thought into the experience.

I haven’t got a lot of criticism for the campaign in terms of story quality, though there are a few ‘what the flipping heck’ moments and at times I forgot completely what was expected of me. This isn’t unique to Far Cry 4 though, it’s a problem with all open-world games, at least for me. By being presented with a huge open-world to explore it’s easy to get distracted and in turn loose sense of the plot. That said, Far Cry 4 does encourage exploration, something required should you want to upgrade your inventory of goodies or complete the many side missions on offer.

In this day and age where blockbuster games are promoted as multi-player games with tacked on single-player experiences its a breath of fresh air to play through a dedicated campaign that aims to get you caring about the worlds inhabitants. It’s not an easy task either, so I can’t fault Ubisoft Montreal for trying, even if they’re shying away from comparisons to Nepal, there’s a lot going on that rings true to the real world.

If engrossing stories and rich characters are your bag then you’re set to enjoy what Far Cry 4 has on offer. The story can take around 15 hours to get through, though this depends on how Indiana Jones you feel as it’s easy enough to waste hours at a time just going over the map having mindless fun exploring.

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Gameplay

Within the first 20 minutes of playing through Far Cry 4 it becomes apparent that not much has been changed from the core gameplay that carried Far Cry 3.

It’s not an unexpected turn but it’s still shocking at how familiar it feels, though this may be due to the fact that each Far Cry game has felt like a drastic improvement over the next, but with less development time between installments this time around I suppose familiarity is to be expected.

You’ll still be presented with the familiar outposts to liberate and towers to ascend in order to open up the viewable game map. It’s still great fun scoping out an outpost or a mission section, noting the movement of guards, picking off a couple of snipers then stampeding your way into the fort, majestically riding on the back of an elephant whilst firing a rocket-launcher into a cluster of enemies. What? Elephants? Yeah, there are elephants which you can ride, but they’re not the only mount available in Far Cry 4, but they’re by far my preferred animal warriors.

Extravagance is prevalent in Far Cry 4 and it allows you to feel that you’re in one big playbox and that you’re the one who dictates how the game plays out, even if the story presents the illusion of freedom.

I especially enjoyed the combat this time around. Far Cry 3 felt a little clunk at time, especially with the automatic cover that was present, but Far Cry 4 embraces its predecessors features and refines them. Nothing has really changed in terms of movement and gunplay but it all just feels a little more responsive and doesn’t hinder your progress.

The core fun of Far Cry 4 is the ability to play as you wish. You can choose to go into a mission all guns blazing whilst riding a glorious leopard, but you’re also afforded the option of taking your time, hunting some of the lone mercenaries before launching a surprise offensive on the remaining foes.

It’s enjoyable and I’m a big fan of allowing players to do what they want, but sometime a little too much freedom can be a bad thing. A bit more variety in the way missions played out would have been nice and I wouldn’t have minded being forced to infiltrate an enemy compound undetected a little more often. These are just my opinions though and whilst the game might not force you to do so, you can always choose to go in ninja-style.

It helps to upgrade your skills, no matter which play style you lend preference too. Gaining experience points for actions is still great fun and gives a purpose to putting bullets into enemy heads, especially as they’re a little tougher this time around thanks to the unforgiving A.I, which at times borders on barbaric. Not all enemies are mini-Einsteins though, you’ll still see the odd idiotic fool run behind cover, only the wrong side of cover, offering up an easy kill. It’s still entertaining gun-play and Ubisoft has managed to make it feel a tad more realistic and slighty less arcadey over its previous entry.

Crafting makes a return and invites you to kill animals to craft bigger sacks, weapons holsters and all the rest, with a couple of new addition thrown in for the sake of it. It’s all very familiar… Again, familiarity isn’t the worst thing and it’s not detrimental to the overall experience, but it does feel like you’ve already done it all before.

Overall the gameplay is solid and offers up some unique opportunities for some chaotic fun. The missions play out in an entertaining manner, though there are some shortfalls but they’re overshadowed by the sheer amount of fun that can be had. You can ride a freaking elephant into battle, what more needs to be said?!

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Graphics

Graphically speaking Far Cry 4 looks fantastic on the PS4, and I presume on the Xbox One also. However, there is a sense that developing the game for both generations has held back what could be an even more impressive show piece.

The world itself is well detailed and great thought has been put into creating a world that’s believable. Everything from the little shanties, the people and the general wilderness are chock full of little details to remind you that you’re somewhere you’ve never been before, but it all still feels that it’s on the cusp of being something more.

Gunplay looks and feels great with appropriate kickback from weapons and enemies falling to their deaths, a little too extravagantly at times but still in a believable manner.

As far as the eye can see Kyrat is a beautiful display as to what can be done when talented developers put their minds to it, they didn’t just craft a game world, they made the game world one of the central characters.

Thankfully this character doesn’t have any stutter in its speech with the frame-rate holding out for the most part, but there are a few ups and downs, though not nearly as terrible as Far Cry 3. I’m not a stickler for frame-rates and I’m often able to enjoy games that do suffer from stutters, but for the sake of an impartial review I did keep an eye out for slow downs and stutters and they were minimal, though when there’s extreme, and I mean extreme action going on then you’ll likely notice a few dips here and there, but it’s almost negligible.

That said, I can’t say the same for the last-gen versions, well, the Xbox 360 one at least. I was given the opportunity to play a couple of hours of a buddies early copy for the Xbox 360 and the frame-rate is erratic to say the least. If you’re going to play Far Cry 4, I highly suggest you opt for the PS4/Xbox One or PC editions, that’s if you’re a stickler for frame-rates. I can’t speak for the PS3 version as I’ve not seen it in action, but once I manage to procure a copy for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 there will be a separate review for those versions.

In short, Far Cry 4 looks the part of a next-gen game and plays as well as the best of them, but I can’t help but wonder what could have been done in the visuals department had Ubisoft gone for a next-gen only release for the game.

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Far Cry 4 is available from November 18th and will be available on the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. You can pre-order your copy from Amazon and get the Amazon-exclusive Blood Ruby DLC pack.

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Primary version review was on the PS4. This review was carried out using a copy obtained by the review at his own expense and is not in any way affiliated with Ubisoft.