Far Cry started as a first person shooter in a long line of already extant fps games that some bothered with and some didn’t. The times were still trying as the Halo era and the buzz that the game had created was only starting to wash off. In that haphazard mostly trodden and ravaged battlefield Far Cry had stepped and was one of the shining stars in the nightsky of the time. What really had the game tumbling down the snow covered hill like a big fat snowball was the second iteration of the series.
Far Cry 2 introduced to the franchise followers to a completely new world which few had anticipated after the sort of gameplay Far Cry had offered. Far Cry 2 had a beautiful – almost rustic – environment with soothing and appreciable visuals and great gameplay with realism that gamers throughout had sought for long. And it was open world. What the second game had done gracefully, the third did magically. After a little wait, gamers were feasted upon a completely new and redesigned game. The world looked gorgeous, the mechanics were stupendous and the possibilities endless. It had almost everything that we had envisaged and that an open world game could dream of. With another game set up high in the history books, it’s time to look at the next instalment in the Far Cry series and Ubisoft is not here to disappoint.
"Having beheld the wit and brawn of Ubisoft mixed with their shrewd and well thought out strategy, talks of Far Cry 4 don’t come in questions like “What it should be like.” or “What Ubisoft needs to do.”, it becomes more of discussion as to what they may do and how they may take us on unawares. "
After the success of Far Cry 2, Ubisoft had hit the right mark and they knew it. What was even better was that they didn’t get lost in a reverie or get devoid of all senses and thoughts that bask in the bright sun. Neither did they decide to go completely berserk and lose their nutcases to make something ‘out of the box’. So, in their pursuit of not subjecting themselves to any revile and snide commentary or being avarice, they stuck to the newly churned out trick and polished it.
Polished it real nice until it shone enough to mesmerise us without making us half-blind cross eyed squints. What we ended up with was an even more more exciting open world game with a brilliant combo of soothing over tones and subtly pleasing undertones. Not only was the story thought out and placed nicely in the context of the game, the mechanics employed were brilliant and the graphics were honed enough to ensnare you with their beauty.
Having beheld the wit and brawn of Ubisoft mixed with their shrewd and well thought out strategy, talks of Far Cry 4 don’t come in questions like “What it should be like.” or “What Ubisoft needs to do.”, it becomes more of discussion as to what they may do and how they may take us on unawares. Expectations will undoubtedly be there. They always have. But seeing Ubisoft’s worth and mettle and their prior deliverance, no one really wants to press and badger them with that – more often than not – useless gander talk of what everyone wants.
Ubisoft has been diligent enough to tease its fans with trickles of information and leaks. Ubisoft Shanghai is involved in the game’s development which may very well lend the game development a new perspective. Owing to the success of the previous two games, it is very unlikely that Ubisoft would want to radically or drastically change their methodology and development methods in their approach towards Far Cry 4.
Kotaku columnist Superannuation’s ‘accidental’ tweet recently revealed things that he had not intended to reveal. According to the tweet which was not meant to be a tweet, it’s much like the third game except, moving away from the tropical arena to the frigid Himalayas or proximate areas. The tweet also hinted towards some kind of monsters. Now going by the setting that the game may be in, it could very well be the fabled Yeti. Problem? Not at all. Uh uh.
"What it means to us apart from having a truly immersive story is that the baddies would be very dynamic too. From vagabonds courting trouble to military soldiers with their hounds at our heels. "
The tropical open world set somewhere between the Indian and pacific Ocean had done wonders in catapulting Far Cry 3 to success. It was widely acclaimed and appreciated for the freedom it provided in the immense and beautiful open world. What will the Himalayas do for Far Cry 4? Wonders. It sounds like the perfect sequel to a brilliant game.
Don’t think that since the name Himalayas has been mentioned you’ll be trundling through blizzards and hideous snow storms where all you can do is set up a tent and hope to stay alive. The Himalayas are home to an insanely large biodiversity. From grasslands to snow covered peaks, sub tropical forests and a whole diverse and sprawling world to make trouble and hazard.
The Himalayas are a sprawling range that would provide for a perfect backdrop for a game like this. There’ll be new unexplored wilderness with its very own customised set of “How to make living hell. Manual not included.” in it for players to go through. New world sounds like some serious fun. Why it’s so is because in Far Cry 3 apart from the fact that the world was huge and plagued with things hell bent to kill you, doing the same act again and again always had different outcomes.
In other words, getting bored in that game was nigh on impossible. Ubisoft would not like to see that go and neither would we. Being in the Himalayas would also mean new scenarios. What it means to us apart from having a truly immersive story is that the baddies would be very dynamic too. From vagabonds courting trouble to military soldiers with their hounds at our heels.
There are endless possibilities. Being at the summit could mean we could take a break from the wild chase and maybe sit and relax in our own recess to enjoy the the view and the cold. For all we know, we may be helping out or fighting drug dealers or weapon suppliers working from the mountain passes.
"The open world provided for endless possibilities. The same should go for Far Cry 4. An involving story like the previous games with ample amounts of side quests allowing not only better exploration giving the players new opportunities to acquire pristine abilities and items. "
Now the only image that is there for Far Cry 4 alludes to a lot. Is it real or a fake, we don’t really know since there hasn’t been an official announcement or release. Not conforming to ruining lives with spoilers, let’s just say that going by the picture, Far Cry 4 could be a prequel. But that’s a shot in the dark supported by the meagre and unreliable evidence.
Far Cry 3 was absolutely loved for the RPG elements that the game brought with it than just merely being a first person shooter. Far Cry 4 could definitely bring down any competition if Ubisoft focuses on those aspects of the game. With nicely laid out albeit refined and spruced up crafting techniques, skill trees and an experience point system, the game could pull off it off commendably.
Silent kills and melee moves are bound to be upgraded supplemented by using the game objects being used in combat as weapon or cover. The weapons arsenal could be expanded or at least the possibilities in it could be with giving players freedom to collect sundry items and using their own wit to craft upgrades and items. A little challenge should be welcome.
Apart from moving on in a linear way with the main story of the game, Far Cry 3 is truly defined in essence by its side missions. The various hunting quests and forays into enemy territory broke the monotony of the games if the players experienced any. The open world provided for endless possibilities. The same should go for Far Cry 4. An involving story like the previous games with ample amounts of side quests allowing not only better exploration giving the players new opportunities to acquire pristine abilities and items. Ubisoft could even include some bonus/hidden areas in the game and spread clues about the same throughout the world.
"Far Cry 4 developers should focus a bit more on refining the characters that they think to include in the next game, to make them more appealing and their demeanour more seizing than in Far Cry 3. Something which was felt to be lacking."
The thing is, with all the hot word going about the next Far Cry game, people are asking what they want to change in it? Surprisingly, it’s almost nothing. The world weaved by Ubisoft was so spectacular that there were hardly any flaws in it. Oh, all right, the main story could have done with a little more tenacious characters to haul away the dull parts that we were more often than not subjected to.
But the rest of the game compensated for it. Mostly. Far Cry 4 developers should focus a bit more on refining the characters that they think to include in the next game, to make them more appealing and their demeanour more seizing than in Far Cry 3. Something which was felt to be lacking.
Ubisoft has worked on the open world aspects enough, all they need do now is tweak and polish it and give the jabs and hammers at the right places. Linear aspects of the game will always be there no doubt, but as iterated before, they need to be honed to make the aspects more attractive and drawing.
Conclusively, players are not really looking forward to completely new concept in Far Cry 4. They rather expect a subtly modified and evidently improved version of Far Cry 3 transported to a new setting with even more possibilities and opportunities. No doubt the game will look slick with the graphics upgrade it will get. That’s something that doesn’t really concern us because the series has shown its visual capabilities with every subsequent title. It’s still all conjectural what’s been mentioned here. Fed off the meagre supply of information and news that’s doing the rounds. All we can do now is wait avidly for further revelations and until then, fabricate and discuss the possibilities and avenues that Ubisoft could or may explore.
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