"Far Cry; Not just a tech demo! Best FPS in many years."

INTRO
The graphics. Everyone who has ever read ANYTHING (and I mean anything) about Far Cry has heard about the graphics. Now alot of people will say "Oh, but graphics are not the only thing that matters!"...there is some truth to this statement, but in the First Person Shooter genre, I believe a game cannot be considered truly one of the best without awesome graphics (awesome graphics relative to the year it was released mind you.) An FPS is at the core a pretty boring idea. Run around and shoot various things with various weapons and then advance to the next level, or stage, or whatever. Therefore, a good FPS must find a way to spice things up. Beautiful environments, mind blowing landscapes, and unprecedented attention to detail are a good way to spice things up, and that is exactly what Far Cry has come to be known for. Luckily, CryTek and Ubisoft took things to the next level, and churned out a game that not only has the most beautiful graphics in video game history, they also threw alot of other great things such as the best AI since the original Playstation Medal of Honor, a good storyline, and an extremely immersive atmosphere and level design. Without a doubt, this game is the best FPS in many, many years (perhaps ever).

THE GAME
The premise behind the game is fairly simple. You play as Jack Carver, an Ex-Special Forces guy who now charters people about the Pacific ocean. His latest charge is one Valerie Cortez, a somewhat suspicious character who is claiming to be a photographer wanting to visit Japanese WWII ruins in Micronesia. However, Jack suspects she is not exactly who she claims to be and his suspicions are somewhat confirmed when he reaches her destination and things go wrong. An unknown group of mercenaries is already enhabiting the islands and they blow up Jack's boat as well as kidnap Val. This is where you start playing. You come into contact with a man on the inside of the whatever operation the Merc's are carrying out.

I will stop there with the story because I think it is alot more fun to discover it for yourself. But where I stop the rest of the game's story certainly does not. Throughout your violent struggle for survival the story twists and turns, taking a darker path than first perceived. Many people rag the story of Far Cry and I'm not sure why. The story is exactly on par with many of the stories in other good FPS games, and it stays interesting as you progress through the game. I often judge a game's story on whether or not it could be made into a halfway decent movie, with maybe a few minor adjustments, and Far Cry could easily make a good movie.

I probably don't need to mention alot about the graphics. You most likely already know that they are very good. They are, of course the game's biggest draw. I'm not much on the technical terms when it comes to graphics so I'll try to keep it as simple as possible. Everything about the visuals here are truly great. The environments are by far the best part, whether you are stalking through the lush jungles, creeping anxiously through dark corridors, or just plain blasting away through a bunker of mercenaries the game's level design plays more than perfectly to the engine's strengths. Outdoors the game offers a 1.2 kilometer view distance which is nothing short of breathtaking. You get an incredible feeling when you can snipe someone from 600 meters, the view distance really adds a whole new aspect to long range combat. The game looks just as good in the indoor environments as it does the outdoor environments. The textures are top notch, and the lighting is really incredible. You really just have to play the game and see it for yourself, because you can't really describe the beauty of the game through text. Obviously this game is needs a pretty good graphics card to power all the great effects, so if you were thinking of upgrading I would definetely suggest it. A common myth is that the game needs a really high end system to run, which is not at all true. As long as you've got a good graphics card, many systems can run the game well (you might have to sacrifice a little on the visuals but its hard to notice most of the time). I run the game fine with settings on High at the 1024x768 resolution and I only have 256 megs of RAM! But I also have a radeon 9600 Pro card, so as long as I optimize my system for playing the game runs well.

Ok on to the audio portion of the game. To start, I really want to mention the music. The music in the game is alot different from other games of the genre in that it is not constantly there. It floats in and out depending on the situation, and wow does it really add to the game. I love the music in the game, mostly because the developers didn't try to over-do it, instead they just put the best fitting strands of audio exactly where they needed to be, and the rest of the time let the player bask in the sounds of the environment, which are equally good. The buzzing of insects, birds singing, waves lapping against the shore, leaves and branches crunching as you move...all the environmental effects are right on and sound terrific. I'm also always very critical on the gun effects. If a game does not have the right blend of gun fire effects, It actually really bugs me for some reason. Thankfully, Far Cry did a pretty good job on the weapons (not just in the sound department, but overall as well). The only complaint I have is that the large explosives do not sound as I would have imagined, but I guess not everything can be perfect.

And now we come to the meat and potatoes of the review; Gameplay. As mentioned before, an FPS has to constantly change things around in small (or large) ways to keep the game fresh, mainly because the concept behind an FPS is pretty basic and can easily get boring. Far Cry isn't all about shooting thankfully. A very good portion of the game is stealth, which is something I was really glad CryTek included, me being a fan of stealth games. And I have to say, coupled with the AI, the stealth is done extremely well for and FPS. Because of the games difficulty, you'll often find yourself wanting to sneak around and avoid a confrontation involving more than two enemies. But the game doesn't forget that it is still a Shooter, and the developers provided a great mix of stealth and shooting based levels throughout the game.

I think the biggest gripe I have encountered while reading other reviews and opinions on the game is the save system. The basic game features checkpoint based saves, placed in key points throughout the level. Many people do not like the system because if you die between checkpoints you have to replay from the last one. I found the checkpoints were placed in all the right spots, but alot of people like quicksave features. If you are one of the people who like quicksave, all is not lost. You can use the console to save and load your game anytime you want.

The AI plays an important part of the gameplay in Far Cry, because it is so well done. That said it's still not perfect, but I doubt there will ever be a game in which the computer reacts realistically to every situation. But the AI in Far Cry is more than likely the best in FPS history. Enemies will do all sorts of different things depending on what you do. They call for backup, flank, give orders to each other, and most importantly they WILL kill you if you don't stay on your toes the entire time. There are a few flaws in the AI but not nearly enough to detract from the game. In some cases I will snipe a guy long range, and everyone around him will take appropriate cover, but then sometimes a guy will just break cover and start walking around in the open looking around. Needless to say he's always the next one to die. But minor problems like this aren't common and really aren't that annoying anyways.

I also have to mention the immersion factor of the game as you play through it. Usually the toughest part for developers to achieve is making the player feel like he is really part of the game, and not just someone playing a game. The level design plays the most important part in the immersive feel. Far Cry is the only game in which I thought that almost every level got progressively better, and pulled me a little deeper into the game. The design of the levels is incredible, and there are always more than one (most of the time more than two) ways to get around. The amount of freedom you have in the game is very surprising for an FPS, and the game has a very non-linear feel.

Even though the graphics are so good, the gameplay is still the best part of the game. It's never stale, always challenging, and incredibly immersive.

The multiplayer portion of the game isn't quite as polished and thought out as the single player, but it is still not bad. Rocket launchers and other explosives dominate multiplayer which gets annoying, and it only sports 3 modes of play, the only unique one of the three is Assault mode, and even that isn't too unique. But still, there's always the possibility of patches and tons and tons of expected mods on the way. Even then, the multiplayer provides a decent experience that is still entertaining, but it is not as good as I think anyone had hoped (however that is likely to change in time with mods and patches).

The replay factor and length of the game is incredible. The game itself is an easy 20-25 hours the first time through and it is fun all the way through. Plus, you'll most likely want to play through the game again because there is just so many ways you can do things. Plus you can explore the islands, and mess around with the cool vehichles like hang gliders! Multiplayer is average, you should at least give it a try. Not to mention there are already a very good amount of user created levels and mods. This game will likely never get old.

Scoring breakdown:
GRAPHICS - 10/10
-The best in computer gaming history bar none, with every visual aspect sporting a level of polish literally unexpected by myself and others.
SOUND - 9/10
-Music adds a whole new feeling of intensity to the game, but doesn't go overboard with itself. Also the environment effects are top notch as well as voice acting and gun audio.
PRESENTATION - 8/10
-Cutscenes are pretty good, the story is not at all bad with twists and turns to keep you interested to the end. Load times are bad, but the seemless environments means you will only load once in the entire level. The checkpoint save system is loathed by many but enjoyed by myself.
GAMEPLAY - 9.5/10
-Great mix of shooting and sneaking. Massive outdoor environments, and really well thought out indoor areas. Level design is really something the dev's should be proud of in this game. Gameplay never really gets stale at all. Save system might be annoying to some.
REPLAY - 10/10
- Near endless single player mode. Decent multiplayer that definitely shows promise for the future, not to mention mods and user created maps. This game will never get old.
OVERALL - 9.5/10

OUTRO
Far Cry deserves to sit among the all time best in the First Person Shooter hall of fame (you know, that gold plated, air conditioned, catered room where Half Life and Dark Forces and Halo all hang out). In fact, I might go as far as to say it is the best FPS of all time. Perhaps that is going too far, you'll just have to play it and decide for yourself.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/04