Far Cry 4 Reviews
Far Cry 4 is a fantastic thrill ride, but it's going to feel awfully familiar to fans.
It's Far Cry 3 again, for people who don't want to play Far Cry 3 again. Far Cry 4 doesn't innovate much and so there are a fair few I've-Done-This-Before moments, but it's still just as well-crafted and just as much fun.
For all its visual appeal, however, Far Cry 4 remains a shallow experience. It has loads of things in it, but having a lot of things is not the same thing as having depth.
With the possibility that anything can, and will happen in Far Cry 4, it makes Ubisoft Montreal's latest inclusion in the series an essential purchase. Granted, even though Far Cry 4 is very much a prettier version of Far Cry 3, it is still incredibly entertaining. The bar was set so high with Far Cry 3, that even though there are numerous similarities between the two games, Far Cry 4 and Kyrati is still worthy of your exploration. Ubisoft will however now face a dilemma with the undoubted arrival of Far Cry 5 in the future because they will know they've exhausted the general plot of both games. To have another story of a liberating American traveller will unlikely sit well with the community of fans the Far Cry series has, and creating a brand new experience that betters both Far Cry 3 and 4 will be tricky. Nevertheless, Far Cry 4 is an enjoyable, exhilarating thrill ride full of enough entertainment to keep you happy. Just be nice to the elephants!
At its core, this is just a brilliant, well-designed shooter. The weapons feel great, there’s genuine opportunities for creativity, and it all takes place in a dynamic world where random tiger attacks are commonplace.
Far Cry 4 is at its best when you ignore the story and focus on the open world's beautiful, living take on unhinged chaos.
Far Cry 4 is a good game, but the lack of any real significant improvements or advancements over its predecessor may be enough to turn some people away. The major difference here is the Himalayan setting, which looks absolutely stunning and is a joy to explore using the Far Cry mechanics. The dearth of motivational integrity in the narrative aside, Far Cry 4 is a game that will have players losing hours of their lives as they get lost in Kyrat, either by themselves or with a friend.
Mechanically, Far Cry 4 is an excellent shooter. It adds further polish to the open-world and action of its predecessor with even more involved and dynamic gameplay, and is loaded with rewarding side content on top of featuring a huge game world you'll spend hours exploring. The narrative isn't quite as solid, and falls through in several places with some aggravating characters and a lack of context to drive your actions.
Far Cry 4 is Far Cry 3 dialled up to eleven, with more animals, activities, missions and abilities. And while throwing more stuff at the player isn't the perfect recipe for success, I was happy to play a richer, larger version of one of my favourite games in recent years.
Ubisoft have shown over the last ten years, with Assassin's Creed and the Far Cry franchise, that if they come up with a good idea they don't mind running with it. Far Cry 4 sticks very closely to the successful formula set out by Far Cry 3. So, if you loved Far Cry 3 you'll love Far Cry 4. However, if you found Far Cry 3 got repetitive, you might get the same feeling with this version.
With so much to do and so many ways to do it, you'll never get bored. It might not be the most original entry in the series but it's definitely the most fun. After all, isn't that what video games are about?
If you thought Far Cry 3 was fantastic, then wait until you get a hold of Far Cry 4. It's not only a great game in its own right, but also a stupendous sequel that manages to expand upon its predecessor's greatness in impressive and memorable ways.
Far Cry 4 excels because it provides the depth that so many other shooters lack. It is not revolutionary, and it doesn't push the boundaries of the genre, but you know what? Far Cry 4 knows that in the end, all players want to do is "shoot some goddamn guns" and have fun doing it. Far Cry 4 delivers that in spades.
Far Cry is a series still struggling with that balance, between offering you the freedom to do what you want while enforcing the limitations to make what you want meaningful. I think it's also only a game away from needing a gritty, Bond-style reboot back to its Far Cry 2 roots.
'Far Cry 4' doesn't change up the gameplay from 'Far Cry 3,' but it does present a fascinating new world full of places to explore and stories to uncover.
Even though its plotline fails to engage and grappling play gets repetitive and boring, Far Cry 4's game-world and multitude of engaging missions and tasks draw you in. There's so much fun stuff to do in Kryat that you could get lost here for some time. Oh, and you can ride an elephant and flip over vehicles with its trunk.
Far Cry 4 is radiant with opportunities to both seize and indulge in its power. This speaks to its fondness for connected progression systems, an insistence on emblazoning its geography with scores of content, and meaningful improvements to the blueprint laid out by Far Cry 3. It's the latter that gives Far Cry 4 the most trouble, a sense of déjà vu permeates an otherwise honest artifice, but it keeps a straight face amid its more prominent transgressions.
Far Cry 4 isn't really pushing the franchise forward, but it's a fun and robust entry all on its own.
Where it lacks innovation Far Cry 4 makes up for it in quality gameplay, memorable characters and a breathtaking world begging to be explored. A worthy instalment in the series.