Posted January 08, 2010
A spectacular game.
Usually mentioned now in the same breath as Assassins' Creed, as an example of 'flawed genius'. This is too reductive: yes, Far Cry has some weaker levels but the overall game is stunning. Remember the Xen levels of Half-Life?
The game is an exemplary shooter - the guns are satisfying, if a little cliché; the enemies are the same. The freeform structure is much more than hype and really delivers some excellent unscripted moments. The replayability and room for experimentation is pretty much unmatched: the single demo level delivered hundreds of hours of fun alone.
The graphics and setting are more than the icing on the cake: they're the icing on the second cake, even bigger than the first, well-iced cake. Or something. The art and graphics are beautiful, and make exploration brilliant fun - so much effort has gone in to making the islands a cool place to visit, right down to rusting WW2 relics to stumble across in the jungle. Never fear, though, the game runs great even on slower machines.
Far Cry is sometimes referred to nowadays as a past-it milestone; a game that was groundbreaking once. However, it's worth considering that the only games to have really challenged Far Cry in the 'big freeform shooting, lovely setting' arena are its spiritual sequels, Crysis and Far Cry 2.
The original still has so much to give, especially at this price. Take a holiday!
Usually mentioned now in the same breath as Assassins' Creed, as an example of 'flawed genius'. This is too reductive: yes, Far Cry has some weaker levels but the overall game is stunning. Remember the Xen levels of Half-Life?
The game is an exemplary shooter - the guns are satisfying, if a little cliché; the enemies are the same. The freeform structure is much more than hype and really delivers some excellent unscripted moments. The replayability and room for experimentation is pretty much unmatched: the single demo level delivered hundreds of hours of fun alone.
The graphics and setting are more than the icing on the cake: they're the icing on the second cake, even bigger than the first, well-iced cake. Or something. The art and graphics are beautiful, and make exploration brilliant fun - so much effort has gone in to making the islands a cool place to visit, right down to rusting WW2 relics to stumble across in the jungle. Never fear, though, the game runs great even on slower machines.
Far Cry is sometimes referred to nowadays as a past-it milestone; a game that was groundbreaking once. However, it's worth considering that the only games to have really challenged Far Cry in the 'big freeform shooting, lovely setting' arena are its spiritual sequels, Crysis and Far Cry 2.
The original still has so much to give, especially at this price. Take a holiday!