Home Gaming The new Far Cry isn’t just 3.5

The new Far Cry isn’t just 3.5

2 min read
15

FC4 honey badger

It’s very easy for games, especially cool and successful games, to fall into the franchise trap. Every game is just a reskin or a reiteration of previous elements. Ubisoft didn’t want that for Far Cry 4, and has taken specific measures to make it something different. But first, here’s a pretty trailer showing survival.

Geez, looks like you can cause avalanches and attacks from all kinds of wildlife. Intense! Plus, there’s a weird cover of “I will survive” that I can’t decide if I like or not. That’s just one of the many things added to the game, though – according to a new Ubisoft blog, developers decided that they wanted it all.

Originally, the team brainstormed the idea of making the new Far Cry game set in the same world with the same characters. However, that conversation didn’t last long as developers realized that they wanted to add more things – each time an idea seemed too outlandish, it was seen as a sign that they should use it:

It’s the “we want it all” approach that first introduced elephants to Far Cry. But it also introduced verticality. And the ability to fly. And the ability to do it all in co-op. And new enemy A.I. like the hunter, which can charm an animal and send it charging back at you, creating yet another layer of enemy A.I. in the form of these living tanks.

However, the team also acknowledges that there was a disconnect between the open-world experience of Far Cry 3 and its narrative. This time around, they want to ensure that the experience ties together more, and is more nuanced – Pagan Min will keep you guessing throughout the game and you’ll discover the world right along side the protagonist. The feel of the game will still be similar to Far Cry 3, but as you delve deeper you will see and feel the differences.

The most intriguing difference is when the team describes the Shangri-La gameplay. It’s meant to go above and beyond the idea of the mushroom missions in Far Cry 3; it’s an actual game within the game.

That’s when the Toronto studio came in, and put together a fully interactive and ethereal experience that was separate but still meaningful to the main game. With a pet. Who happens to be a tiger. Which the player can control almost like a permanent co-op partner who is really good at stealth. “We want to have an organic drone that can effectively be used as a weapon,” Hay recalls. “And everybody’s like, seriously? And you want the other thing with the outposts, and you want the other stuff with the—” Hay pauses for a half second before adding: “Yes. We want it all.”

It’s great to hear that they want it all, but can they deliver it all without the game becoming a garbled mess? I’m glad that they know that they need to make it a cohesive package; I just hope their ambition doesn’t get the better of them.

Last Updated: October 15, 2014

15 Comments

  1. Kensei Seraph - Staff

    October 15, 2014 at 10:09

    I half expect there to be a point where a kitchen sink is used to bludgeon someone (probably you) into unconsciousness.

    Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      October 15, 2014 at 10:31

      The kitchen sink is so last month.
      Dead Rising 3 mang.

      Reply

  2. Jac7

    October 15, 2014 at 10:09

    My wallet screams at the thought of so many games launching this close to the Steam Christmas sale.

    Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    October 15, 2014 at 10:12

    Am I the only one who didn’t like Hurk? He was irritating.

    Reply

    • RinceThis

      October 15, 2014 at 10:24

      Nope. That makes 2 of us.

      Reply

    • McFancypants HD 3.0

      October 15, 2014 at 10:50

      Nope, not at all. I didn’t even bother playing his ‘exclusive’ missions :/

      Reply

  4. RinceThis

    October 15, 2014 at 10:25

    Funny, read another site (shock) and they said quite the opposite, that the game is a 3.5 of Farcry 3. Either way, had some hands on at rAge and thought it was a laugh!

    Reply

  5. Hammersteyn

    October 15, 2014 at 10:25

    That honey badger looks pissed. Honey badgers doesn’t give a shit

    Reply

  6. Matthew Holliday

    October 15, 2014 at 10:29

    theres that term again “verticality”
    using it like its a new thing.

    cant stand devs and I wish the marketing teams for this would come up with something relevant for once.
    the game looks good though, keen as.

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      October 15, 2014 at 10:48

      You just aren’t thinking vertically man. Sheesh.

      All you gamers wana do is think in portals

      Reply

  7. Rags

    October 15, 2014 at 10:44

    What versatility means to me, is that I will find myself an obscure path up a mountain by smashing the jump key. Then having an unreachable spot by AI and snipe them all day long.

    Reply

  8. McFancypants HD 3.0

    October 15, 2014 at 10:56

    Even if it ended up being a Far Cry 3.5 (LOL), I’d still be okay with that.

    Hold on; will we have a selection of radio stations to listen to, while cruisin’ for a bruisin’?

    Reply

  9. Norman Pleasant

    October 15, 2014 at 11:25

    Wasn’t that bloke in the bandana in Aliens: Colonial Marines?

    Reply

  10. Guest

    October 15, 2014 at 13:31

    Looking pretty sweet! cant wait to experience this on a console in Glooorious 900p at 30fps…eehh…wait a second…

    Reply

  11. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    October 15, 2014 at 14:05

    I just can’t trust what slithers out of the orifices of Ubisoft PR any more. When they say it isn’t Far Cry 3.5. It probably is. Any one else getting tired of this crap about verticality being “something new?”. I mean really now… UNREAL Tourney… TimeSplitters…. etc. etc. anyone?

    In any case, Ubisoft is still in the shit box, so this title is also in the “bargain bin/won’t buy retail at stores/definitely second hand” list.

    Reply

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