After they hyped up fever dream that was Far Cry 3, I really had high hopes for the sequel to one of my favorite gaming experiences in recent memory. I was met with the mixed bag that is Far Cry 4, and somehow I'm not surprised that Ubisoft dropped the ball again...but not in the way they usually do.





Far Cry 4 opens up similarly to how 3 did; tourist, attacked by terrorists about to meet certain death at the hands of a psycho. Except that if you listen closely, Pagan Min, the game's "antagonist," does not actually want you dead. He actually greets you with open arms, and despite the fact that he kills multiple people around you right out in the open, he seems genuinely happy that you are there.


The problem with Far Cry 4's story is that I'm not compelled to kill this psycho. Vass, of Far Cry 3, was crazy, evil, and posed a direct threat to your existence. Pagan just feels like a creepy uncle who could give you an unwanted wet-willy at any time. Even when you are "rescued" by the local resistance fighters, Pagan keeps messaging you, and still somehow does not seem that pissed off. This lack of drive really makes every statue I topple, tower I capture, or propaganda poster I collect feel empty. You are fighting an evil that isn't there, and the game suffers for it. There is no real drive to conquer...just apathy. When it is all said and done, no matter which ending you choose (except the hidden one), it still feels like a waste.


The "protagonists" also feel sleazy, with neither one having an ideology that makes any real sense. In fact, they are portrayed as even more evil than Pagan, and your character just goes along with them, since there is no option to just go your own way.


Graphically, Far Cry 4 is pretty, not overly pretty (I'm playing on Xbox One), but acceptable. Everything looks sharp and stylish. Faces seem to animate well, but stay out of the weird "uncanny valley" realm that I hate.


Gameplay fells lifted straight from Far Cry 3: tower attacks, hunting, base clearing, etc., have been lifted straight from it's predecessor with very little added. The weapons felt good, but kind of same-ish. I couldn't really tell the difference between weapons of the same type, which led to me keeping the same guns most of the game. 


The ability tree really left much to be desired. Many skills were locked behind the "do side missions" wall, and I would frequently find myself with too many skill points and nothing to spend them on. Many of the skills were not useful, especially some of the extra syringe recipes. It's really a shame that progressions were not better.

Sound quality was crisp and pleasant through my headphones. The environment kept a nice "I'm in a forest" feel, and the touch of switching between radio stations as you left allied territory was a nice touch. However, the radio must have had only two or three clips, as I kept hearing the same things over and over.

Overall, Far Cry 4 feels like a rush job, with someone patching things up from 3 just to make a new game. The story feels uncompelling, the gameplay is overdone, and the whole experience leaves much to be desired. Honestly, you should just turn the game on, watch the opening intro, then put the controller down and do something else for around 20 minutes...

Till next time
~ Neo

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