Far Cry 4 (Xbox One)

Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft

Release Date(s): Nov. 18, 2014 (North America, Europe, Australia), Jan. 22, 2015 (Japan)

Genre(s): First-person shooter, action-adventure

Platform(s): Windows, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Language(s): English; full localization for German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Br. Portuguese, Japanese; interface and subtitles for Czech, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian

Pricing: $59.99 USD / €59,99 EUR / £42.85 GBP

Rating: M (ESRB), 18 (PEGI, USK), 15+ (ACB)

Two years ago, Far Cry 3 brought a new dose of wild and crazy action to Ubisoft’s Far Cry series. Far Cry 4 has brand-new setting and new cast of characters, but it’s just as crazy and action-packed as its predecessor. 

Mother’s last wishes

Far Cry 4 puts you in the role of Ajay Ghale, who grew up in America after the civil war in Kyrat forced his mother to flee her native land, taking three-year-old Ajay with her. Recently, Ajay’s mother died of cancer, and her last wish was that her ashes be spread in Lakshmana, Kyrat.

Ajay travels back to his homeland to fulfill his mother’s wishes, but gets caught in the middle of the rebellion being waged by the Golden Path, an organization founded by Ajay’s father. The Golden Path is fighting against the forces of Pagan Min, self-proclaimed king of Kyrat. An unlucky turn of events leads Ajay directly into the arms of the eccentric madman, who is actually somewhat reminiscent of Vaas, the villain in Far Cry 3. The prologue ends with Ajay being rescued by the rebels and joining up with them. 

During the course of the campaign, you can choose to take missions from different people, which will influence how they play out. For example, in the first mission of the main storyline you have the choice of getting some secret documents from a camp for Amita or following Sabal’s wishes and assisting the rebels. It’s a shame, though, that Pagan Min doesn’t really appear as much as he could, especially at the beginning of the game – though you do hear his voice. It’s strange for a game like this to have a villain that doesn’t make much of an appearance, and they miss the chance to build up the sort of antipathy that you would often develop towards such a villain. In any event, though, the sound design and voice acting fit the game really well, and at no point did we find anything negative to say about it. 

It’s also kind of strange how in the course of a few missions Ajay develops from plain old tourist to elite warrior, as capable with a sniper rifles as he is with a shotgun, bow and arrow, or grenade launcher. It’s kind of like how Lara Croft goes from shipwrecked archaeologist to female Rambo in 2013’s Tomb Raider. A lot of this is of course explained by the upgrade system, which is similar to the one in Far Cry 3. You can skin various animals and use the pelts to create better bags to hold more money, grenades, loot, etc. You also receive skill points which allow you to unlock and upgrade Tiger or Elephant skills. Elephant skills focus more on attributes like strength and health or the ability to craft syringes, and Tiger skills focus more on combat and stealth, and allow you to unlock better Takedowns or driving skills.

It’s cold out here!

While Far Cry 3 had you sweating on a tropical island, you’d better pack your winter gear for this one, because Far Cry 4 takes you to the cold, rugged land of Kyrat in the Himalayas, and the mythological realm of Shangri-La. You climb snow-covered peaks, walk, fly, or drive through forested valleys, swim through lakes and rivers, and explore mysterious caverns. Prepared to be amazed over and over by the lighting effects when they put the finishing touches on a gorgeous sunset or temporarily blind your in-game eyes. You can see over vast distances, making it feel like you can see entire mountain ranges and beyond, and the day night cycle only adds to the realism. Unfortunately there are some washed-out textures that tend to tarnish what are otherwise awesome graphics. Nevertheless, Ubisoft has really managed to deliver a graphics tour-de-force, which is made even more impressive by the living and breathing world of Kyrat. It all runs very smoothly and without any objects or characters that take too long to load, which of course also contributes to the realism.

Kyrat is home to animals like wild bears, monkeys, rhinos, and honey badgers – a whole world that lives and breathes on its own with or without the player. Tigers, dholes, and eagles attack other animals as well as members of their own species, not to mention people. Of course, you can use this to your advantage, and set them on your enemies. But be careful – when you’re making your way through the forest, you can quickly end up a whole lot closer to these wild beasts than you’d prefer.

I remember one scene in particular where I was in the middle of a firefight with the royalists, and one of them ended up shooting at a rhinoceros, which went into a rage and charged my own band of fighters. We panicked and ran for the car to try to get away, but the rhino was faster, and rammed our car, flipped it over, and continued to pound it. Luckily, we somehow ended up right side up again and were able to high tail it out of there. Turning around, I realized the rhino was chasing us, which only increased the suspense. These kinds of random encounters happen all the time in Kyrat, making for an exciting and unpredictable gaming experience.

Hunter & Gatherer

Alongside the main storyline following the Golden Path and their attempt to overthrow Pagan Min’s regime, there are also tons of side missions to complete and objects to collect, which significantly increases the time it takes to play the game. For example, you can liberate Bell Towers to reveal sections of the map and unlock new weapons. You can also collect lost letters, sections of your father’s journal, “Masks of Yalung”, turn Mani Wheels, open treasure chests, tear down propaganda posters, or find documents. You can read the lost letters and the journal, which allow you to immerse yourself more in the backstory. You can also complete racing missions for Kyrati Films, destroy Pagan Min’s convoys, and defuse bombs. 

There are also randomly-generated Karma Missions where you can rush to the aid of Kyrat’s citizens to protect them from wild animals or the Royal Army. Completing the mission will raise your Karma level, and give you points that allow you to call in some rebels to help you out of dicey situations. If you nevertheless do get killed, there are enough fairly-placed checkpoints throughout the game, and you can also save your progress at any time.

You can also hunt rare animals and use their hides to create special gear and items. This can be pretty hard when you have to hunt a rhino using only a shotgun or even a bow and arrow. And of course there are also lots of outposts and fortresses you can liberate, and many different ways to get the job done – enlist the help of captive animals by releasing them from their cages, kill all the bad guys yourself, of hop on the back of a wild elephant. This is one of the few new features in Far Cry 4, and all you can really do is ride on them, move cars out of the way, or trample your enemies. Otherwise there really aren’t that many new features, and sometimes you’re going to feel like you’re playing Far Cry 3 again. This also goes for the controls too though, which work really well and always do what you want them to do. The only thing that takes some getting used to is the wheel you use to select weapons and syringes. You’ll get used to it after an hour or so, though.   

Rebels vs. Rakshasas

In addition to its single-player campaign, Far Cry 4 also features a co-op mode that lets you join up with a friend or a random player from anywhere in the world via Xbox Live to destabilize the regime. Unfortunately, there’s no split-screen local co-op mode or anything like that. You and your partner can explore the game’s open world, flank enemy fortresses, hunt together, track down collectible items, or complete site quests. Apart from the main storyline itself, co-op mode has all the same features and gameplay possibilities as the single-player game.

There’s also a multiplayer mode, called “Battles of Kyrat”  featuring asymmetrical 5-on-5 matches. Depending on the game mode you choose, objectives include capturing outposts, recovering masks, and destroying propaganda stations, among others. But when you compare it to other shooters like the Battlefield or Call of Duty games, there’s really not that much of a selection when it comes to game mode. There are a total of ten different multiplayer maps, which are pretty diverse, but tend to get less and less interesting after a few matches. Locations include an opium farm, a distillery, a factory, a river bank – each area is meant to look like a location from the single player campaign. You can also liberate a Bell Tower, which lets you see your enemies on the mini-map.  

Multiplayer allows you to play as a heavily-armed rebel using assault rifles, rocket launchers, and hand grenades, or as a member of the Rakshasa tribe, using bows and arrows as well as the forces of nature. You can purchase upgrades at the respawn site, where you can also find vehicles to use. Some maps even have machine guns or mortars which can also be used against your opponents. Halfway through the match, the roles are reversed and everyone plays as the opposite faction. 

I hate to say it, but I didn’t find multiplayer in Far Cry 4 to be all that much fun, as the lack of balance between the two sides tends to get frustrating after a while. When you’re a Rakshasa armed with only a bow and arrow and have to go up against a guy with an assault rifle, it doesn’t help that you can ride elephants, enlist the help of animals, or crouch to become nearly invisible.

I’m going to build a world of my own

Far Cry 4, like its predecessor, also incudes a map editor where you can piece together your own battlefields. There are four types of maps you can create: Assault, Hunt, Outposts, or Extraction, and each one features certain objectives to complete either in single-player or co-op mode. However, you can’t create maps for competitive multiplayer. 

Depending on your preferences, you can create a map entirely from scratch, or you can choose from a variety of pre-sets and then  set respawn sites, position enemies, or add objects. The creative possibilities are endless, and it’s also a lot of fun, if you have the patience for that sort of thing. If you don’t have the time to create your own maps, or just don’t feel like it, you can also download maps created by other players and play co-op mode on them. This is actually more fun than fighting your way through frustrating multiplayer matches. The Map Browser even allows you to search for the top-rated maps and have the kind of fun you typically won’t get to have in multiplayer.