Imagine this: flying a cross-over dune buggy and mini-helicopter with one hand while with the other shooting a grenade launcher towards a truck, with one of the bad guys shooting in the air a little below you, all while an elephant rampages through the rest of the outpost sending people, cars and everything in the way flying. This captures perfectly the spirit of Far Cry 4, being awesome as hell, a little over the top and full of frenetic activity.
Following the great success of Far Cry 3, Ubisoft decided to follow on the formula which made it so great, but managing to improve quite a lot to the predecessor. In Far Cry 4, you take the role of Ajay Ghale, who while on a mission to spread the ashes of his mother Ishwari at the temple of Lakshmana in Kyrat, is captured by the game’s antagonist, Pagan Min, who instead of torturing is captured by the game’s antagonist, Pagan Min, who instead of torturing you, like any other kidnapper would do, treats you to a meal and ensures that you are well-kept while in his palace. Unless one decides to sit there wait for Min to return from a call, which unlocks a secret ending, you escape from the palace and are taken to a little village where Ajay learns that his father was the leader of a group of fighters, The Golden Path, aiming to kill Min and save the region from his dictatorial reign. Unlike a lot of other games which do not push a lot the game’s story, Far Cry 4 is loaded with signs of how oppressive the regime of Pagan Min is; collectibles such as propaganda posters, writing on walls, even the presence of enemy soldiers patrolling streets and who open fire as soon as you enter their field of vision enhance the feeling of living under a totalitarian who only cares about his own good.
Far Cry 4 is a gorgeous game, and while for the first hour or so I had the impression that this was a clone of the previous game in the series, the feeling quickly disappeared upon a couple of hours more. Both games may share having a villain who the game focuses on, and a similar start to the story, but the evolution of the story shows how both games are different not only in the story but also gameplay. Speaking of similarities, Far Cry 4 retains the excellent crafting system of its predecessor, while increasing items that can be crafted while diminishing the variety of skins needed for crafting; unlike Far Cry 3, here you only need a number of skins from one animal to upgrade the item, be it a quiver, a wallet or any other object. Far Cry 4 also keeps the skill tree’s format similar, while splitting only into two sections instead of the three of the previous iteration. Having two trees is better though since one contains offensive skills and the other focuses on defensive abilities, so one can decide on what play style to adopt based on the skills taken. Going a balanced route is suitable for a lot of people, and since there are a lot of sources from where to gather XP, levelling abilities will not prove to be a big problem. Skills are upgraded through skill points, obtained upon filling the XP meter. Some abilities require more than one skill point, asking for 3 or even 4 points for one skill, while other abilities may demand the completion of a story or a number of side missions to be unlocked and then levelled through skill points.
In fact there is a ton of things to do in Far Cry 4. Apart from the normal story missions, there are also little quests called Karma Missions, which pop up very frequently and randomly while you are exploring Kyrat, crafting or doing side quests. These vary from defending Golden Path members from wild beasts to saving hostages or killing Royal Army soldiers. These fill the Karma Meter, which upon levelling up yields different bonuses, be it unlocking upgrades for Guns for Hire, which are basically tokens to call mercenaries from the Golden Path to aid you, or even discounts on weapons or ammo from trade booths or vendors. Like Far Cry 3, there are outposts and radio towers which one can conquer, outposts unlocking new weapons as well as giving you new side quests, and towers which slowly reveal the map. The map may at first appear small since there is fog around the locked areas, but zooming out will reveal how large the whole region is. It is a bit of a shame that some areas, mostly Northern Kyrat, are locked before a certain number of missions are completed, and while understandable for the course of the story, a lot of exploration is hindered by this blockage, such as more towers or outposts.
As far as gameplay is concerned, this is a traditional first person shooter, which also comprises a little strategy, particularly tagging all enemies with the camera and taking them down one by one. Another component of what makes Far Cry 4 great, and its predecessor too for that matter, is its emphasis on stealth. There are a series of unlockable skills which deal with takedowns, for example killing someone with a stealth kill gives you the ability of taking your victim’s knife and sniping another enemy close by. In fact there are stealth bonuses for conquering outposts without enemies noticing you, which makes being silent all the more rewarding, apart from being fun by itself. Another aspect of the gameplay is driving. There are a variety of cars, ranging from slow and durable to fast but not so resistant, so one can choose what style to take even while driving from one location to the other. Fast travel exists as well to minimize delay from one mission to another, but to be honest taking the long route and driving is always my preferred option. Why may you ask?
The reason is simple: Rabi Ray Rana. Rabi Ray is the deejay of Radio Free Kyrat, the only frequency your car radio seems to pick up while exploring the initial region of Kyrat. This is because upon venturing north, the radio will change to more dictatorial music and messages from the Ministry of Public Affairs, warning you to abide by the laws of Pagan Min. Rabi Ray alternates between music and discussion with mostly himself, but it is this discussion which is really the main attraction of the radio show. The topics, which increase the further you progress in the story, are insane, and his interpretation of the facts is funny as hell and will make you rethink all the occasions where you have to get out of the car, since leaving the car will change entirely where the radio left off, even for just a second.
As for new mechanics of the game, the story features choices in the Balance of Power missions, having to choose which mission to follow, either the one offered by Sabal, one of the top men in the Golden Path, or Amita, the only woman in the clan but which has strong ideas of her own. Amita and Sabal disagree a lot and it is up to you to choose which mission to play, therefore giving up the other. It makes for a different yet interesting take on Far Cry 4. Another big addition to Far Cry 4 is Shangri-La, this mystical landscape of red beauty, where you have a tiger at your command to aid you in killing the demons patrolling the place, and sounding a huge bell at the end of each level. Shangri-La levels are interesting in the sense that you feel literally in another place and another game, which is what probably was the scope in these little missions. As for changes in the outside world, elephants steal the scene. As massive as they are you cannot possibly miss them, but their contribution to the game is also a great one; unlocking the skill to ride them comes pretty early into the game, and lets you create havoc by spamming the run button. It is extremely fun sending people flying too so elephants themselves are already a good reason to get the game alone.
Far Cry 4 is a great game, one which builds on the foundations of a top-notch predecessor but at the same time gets the story right and also gives a feel to the character not experienced in other games of the series before. Kyrat definitely is the place to be if you haven’t already started your adventure, and if you have I definitely recommend a second dose of it since it is so hard to get enough of.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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