Far Cry 3.5
Far Cry 4 so faithfully respects its predecessor, Far Cry 3, that we could almost say we are looking at a very long expansion.
Although Far Cry 4 takes place in Kyrat (the Himalaya Mountains), which offers a change in scenery, the rest remains the same: the exploration, the hunt, your character’s progression, enemy AI, secondary missions…Is it bad news that what we have here is “more of the same”? Let’s find out.
Now with more elephants
Far Cry 4 invites you to explore Kyrat in your mission to save this region from a dictator’s grip. Just as in Far Cry 3, part of the mission’s allure is being able to put aside the main linear missions and embark on the large quantity of optional contents.
Conquering the outposts of the dictator’s militia is one of the best pastimes, since there is no single solution. You can enter the fortresses shooting nonstop, drop in from the air with a mini helicopter, attack at long distance with a sniper rifle… There are other random events that also add a high degree of unpredictability to your expeditions.
The rest of secondary missions are more lineal, but they have been more diversified in comparison to the ones you played in Far Cry 3. For instance, you will escort provision trucks from the rebel army with your faithful companion, the grenade launcher. The results will be literally explosive.
“O.K., all this sounds very familiar”, you are probably thinking. Far Cry 4 adds more “tools” to unleash your creativity, such as elephants, a mini helicopter, more animals to hunt… but the structure remains the same.
Far Cry 4 wants you to unleash chaos in company. The Multiplayer mode is one of the game’s novelties. You can travel around Kyrat along with another user in Cooperative mode, or engage with one of the Player Vs. Player modes, such as Catch the Flag or Disable the Bomb.
The other great novelty of the Campaign is the fortresses. These are 4 super outposts with such a high level of difficulty that it is recommended that you try to capture them along with a friend in Cooperative Multiplayer mode. You will have a great time alone or in company, but we missed more challenges like this.
A change of scenery
Kyrat is a beautiful place. The graphics help you to forget that you are in some kind of expansion of the paradise-like island from Far Cry 3. Each of Kyrat’s sub-regions has its own style and colors, and a type of culture you can deduce from looking at the scenery. In exchange for that, Far Cry 4 demands a powerful computer. But the sacrifice is worth it.
If you have recently played Far Cry 3 you will want to skip the Far Cry 4 tutorial. And even if you are a newcomer to the series you will learn the controls right away. They are very intuitive and you can do a lot of actions with them, without having to make complex combinations of keys or buttons (in case you are playing with a gamepad).
No revolution in sight
Far Cry 4 is “more of the same”. Do you look forward to repeating the crazy things you did in FC 3, but this time in a new scenery and with more options? Then, jump into the adventure and don’t give it another thought. Are you up for something more revolutionary? Then wait for the inevitable Far Cry 5.
