Far Cry 4 is the latest entry in the popular Far Cry series, and wow does it deliver! The game has turned out to be one of the best action games in recent memory and is certainly a must-play. Featuring an exciting new location, magnificent graphical presentation and some fantastic gameplay, Far Cry 4 clearly benefits greatly from the power of the new generation consoles. Read on to find out why!
The first thing you will be greeted with when you enter the world of Kyrat is the breathtaking visuals which populate the entirety of Far Cry 4. Ubisoft Montreal have really stepped up the game in terms of the design of their open-world map, based in the Himalayas. The attention to detail is phenomenal, with every piece of vegetation, hut and mountain being in its correct place to create a realistic, lively and impressive world. As you explore the world, you will see the locals go about their natural daily business in peace… only to suddenly be attacked by the dangerous enemies populating this otherwise serene world. Pagan Min is the main antagonist in this game and will let nothing stand in his way on the path to becoming dictator of this region.
You join forces with the residents – the Golden Path rebels – to take control of the outposts and radio towers controlled by Min’s soldiers. This allows you to move into these areas and regain control of certain areas of the map. While this is an open-world game, you are restricted to only being permitted to explore certain areas until you reach certain points in the main story missions. These missions can often by linear in nature, not allowing you much freedom in how to execute the objective, the side missions and quests available across the region are a lot more free. There are a sufficient amount of side missions that the slightly linear story missions don’t actually become a bad thing and still remain a fun challenge to play through. While some of them can become tedious with restarts due to being detected, this doesn’t happen too often and isn’t an issue.
Min’s soldiers certainly present a powerful force in their attempt to retain control of the region; many being experts in particular areas and some even setting themselves on fire and making a charge towards you in an attempt to kill you. At many moments in the game, a tactical approach is certainly needed to dispose of them without dying yourself. Most of the stealth missions in the game leave the tactics of the approach down to the player. You could search and disable alarms, take out the snipers and then lure enemies individually to their doom to execute a silent takedown. Alternatively, you could shoot a nearby animal in an attempt to make them attack your enemy soldiers in a rage. Also, your collected bait can come in useful when trying to bring dangerous animals (such as bears or tigers) to the scene. Finally, there is the simple “run in and attack” approach, which may work depending on your skill. It is this versatility which brings Far Cry 4’s gameplay to life and makes it something really special.
The integration of the various elements of Far Cry 4 (stealth mechanics, enemy AI, animal AI) shows that Montreal have put a lot of work into the development of their systems in a way which allows them to combine in powerful, surprising and impressive ways. Of course, when this is coupled with the phenomenal graphics, some excellent voice acting, a brilliant story and many, many hours of available content, you have a formidable package.
However, this is not all. Apart from the primary story missions, the entirely of Kyrat can be experienced in co-op with friends. This adds even more gameplay options to the dynamic situations available when attacking enemies. Playing the game in co-op is truly worthwhile and can be very fun, so, I certainly suggest trying it! Some side quests available present a true challenge, so, tackling these with friend(s) is recommended! The competitive multiplayer isn’t anything special, however, it is simply a bonus available on top of the fantastic main story and co-op. The offline part of this game is more than enough to warrant purchase. If you enjoy this type of game, this is something you will get many hours out of. Far Cry 4 is a fantastic title which ticks all the boxes and has very few flaws – with little-to-no glitches!