Far Cry Vengeance

"$20 is a deal for this title"

Farcry Vengeance is a half port, half original make of the second far cry game released on the XBOX and PC. It was released just a month after the release of the way and everybody hoped it would be the sweet killer FPS for the Wii. I'm sure about everybody that knew the standards the original Farcry set were disappointed.

This game was originally priced at $50 like most Wii games at launch, and it was a ripoff. Farcry Vengeance is a rushed effort that didn't deserve its $50 price tag.

The first thing people will notice is a low quality opening scene upon starting a new story, that looked gritty like a playstation cinematic scene, think FF7, which was good at the time, oh and if you care to hear the story, be sure you don't push any buttons or waggle your remote. It will cut out, and you will lose track of whats going on easily, because thats where all the progression of story takes place. Then when the game begins, you are treated to large and detailed environments with lush vegetation, streams, blue skies. Pretty, but ugly at the same time. The character models are definitely like that of an old 007 game like Agent Under Fire. The grass seems to pop up as you approach it. It's pretty cheap. Graphics seem to be the biggest gripe about this game. The graphics are mediocre. They aren't horrible per say, as environments are detailed, animations are alright, and its colorful.

Gameplay works for the most part. The aiming works pretty well but the combination of straffing and aiming makes the screen sometimes lock up and you lose your cursor. The fix this, you can hold A and the screen will stay stationary under your control while you aim and straff to avoid being shot. It's a first person shooter, and it works, and its fun. You can drive vehicles which take some getting used to. Predator mode is sometimes hard to use, but helpful in tough spots like one level where there is a strip of about 7 people with sniper rifles taking you out. It's also a very satisfying feeling when you melee somebody and watch them fly for yards and yards away. The AI is horrible, as enemies will sometimes just stare at you instead of shoot you, and the sometimes don't react to the sound of gunfire or explosions, but you can make up for it by playing it in the hardest difficulty like I did, and I was really up for a challenge, which it was. They may be stupid then, but they got some spot on aim.

The sound is fair. The music when played is very mood setting. I felt really into the game during high action moments and I'm surrounded in enemies, and I'm escaping away in my jeep. It's entertaining hearing your enemies choke on their blood before they die. I thought the game was like in South America, maybe I'm wrong, but everybody speaks with a butchered Asian accent. "YOU NOT WELCOME HERE!"

Replayability. Pretty much limited to playing it again on a harder difficulty. The multiplayer I didn't even bother to touch after hearing its only 2 players in huge environments. I know that story. Spend 5 minutes trying to find them, 25 seconds of fighting, and then 5 more minutes trying to find each other. No thanks.

There are definitely better titles out there, but the Wii shooter is still a rare find so far. Now retailed at only $20, but almost seems like it should be boycotted because of Ubisofts total lack of effort on it that butchers what people liked about Farcry, it still is a decent find for a budget Wii shooter. Fun, challenging, and engaging with a good use of the Wii remote and nunchuck.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/08

Game Release: Far Cry Vengeance (US, 12/12/06)