Far Cry Vengeance

"Ouch, My eyes hurt but im having fun!"

Okay then so you've decided to have a look at the first person shooters available on the Nintendo Wii. After deciding not to purchase Red Steel (that game is poor) and that you might as well wait a bit to purchase the Resident Evil 4 because you played the Gamecube or PS2 version though-and-through, your not left with much choice.

Now I purchased this game purely because I had Red Steel and despised it within the first hour of playing it and decided to take it back to the shop and purchase this Far Cry title, based on playing the PC Version.

One thing for players to realise is that Far Cry: Vengeance is not the PC game, in terms of both graphics and game play its the equivalent to the Xbox game. Now if your sat there thinking to yourself, “I didn't purchase a Wii to play a game for the Xbox, I purchased it to play the Next Generation” then I ask you to think of it in the terms of the Wii. Because you won't be playing it on a normal controller.

The Wii-mote (Controls)

God bless those Nintendo geek's in Japan working day-in day-out to come up with something as amazing as the Wii-mote. One of the reasons I beckon people just to try this game is because the controls are so responsive and easy to use. It feels brilliant to be running around the Island, sneaking up on Mercenaries and stabbing them in the back by waving the Wii-mote like a maniac! And its also a lot of fun to pick the Mercs' off from the other side of the jungle with the Wii-mote stretched out in front of you at the TV. Some really good controls for this game, unfortunately, not everything can be this good.

9/10

Graphics

Now graphics play a strong part in next-generation games, admittedly the Wii isn't the most powerful of the three but still something nice to look at is normally expected. Now Far Cry Vengeance is not as good looking as its older cousin (the pc version) in fact it horrifyingly ugly to look at. It does look like a high-end PS2 game, not something worthy to be on a next generation console. The trees and greenery look OK from a distance away but when your crouching in the bushes with a sniper-rifle in hand the entire thing seems to pixel-ate and go blurry. Indeed Far Cry Vengeance hit every branch on the ugly tree, and then, it appears, was run over by a bus when it hit the bottom.

4/10

Sound

Now don't expect a moving musical score from a game like Far Cry, but as first-person shooters come, Far Cry Vengeance has good pretty good sound. The gun shots sound realistic and the engines sound real. And the music is what you'd expect from a game like this. Unfortunately the engines do seem to sound rather similar as you jump from vehicle to vehicle, however this isn't that noticeable when you play the game.

9/10

Game Play

Now this is where Far Cry games usually pick up the most points, now as (currently) being the only decent FPS on the Nintendo Wii Far Cry is as good as it gets, especially when in comparison to Red Steel. There are a few things I have to say though, if your the kind of person who enjoys shooters that are very A -> B then Far Cry isn't a game for you. Far Cry involves imagination and skill. For instance; when tackling a group of Mercenaries, you have so many options. Do you sneak round? and hope that they don't notice you? or do you swim across the river and pick them out one-by-one with a sniper rifle? or do you go for the full-on guns-blazing, knife slashing option? the choice is entirely yours, and because of the Wii controls all these options are easily executable. There are some extra game play treats that Vengeance gives players. Like the ability to change into a “creature” for a limited amount of time if you get so many knife kills and head shot kills. And as this “creature” you have increased speed across both land and water and it makes it easier to pick up knife kills.

7.5/10

All in All, Far Cry Vengeance is a good game, admittedly Ubisoft could've spent a bit more time working on the graphics etc, and it also features a slightly enjoyable, if totally pointless 2-player mode. If you are a fan of the series or want a good shooter to keep you occupied then by all reasons buy this game, however if you don't know if its for you then borrow it off of a friend or from a rental store. Just to see how the controls are. And if none of them, just keep your fingers crossed that the next Wii Far Cry game boasts good graphics and On-line play, two things that this game could've done with.

Total Score 7/10

Worth playing, but not nice to look at.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/04/07

Game Release: Far Cry Vengeance (EU, 01/05/07)