Player3Podcast

By: Dizzy Cooper

 

Far Cry 4 is a greatly anticipated powder keg where the spark is at the tips of your fingers. The story opens through the eyes of Ajay Ghale, a visitor in his homeland of Kyrat, equipped with merely an urn filled with his mother’s ashes and his own naivety. Nestled comfortably in the the Himalayan mountains, Kyrat’s serene beauty is in reality a hotbed for malicious and merciless acts against the refugee civilians by a psychopathic self-proclaimed monarch Pagan Min. As events would have it, the player finds Ajay amidst a tug o’war between the Golden Path’s rebellion and the Royalists oppression, even more so considering his father’s contribution to the civil war. Ajay is seen as the Golden Path’s agent of change, son of Mohan, founder of the revolution (no spoilers) and interceder between the GP’s conflict center leaders Sabal and Amita. The adventure continues towards the goal of removing the head from the dragon, meeting a grand array of characters, freeing the land of its militant squatters, and becoming the hero that the people of Kyrat saw within you from the start.

The game begins with a compelling plot and engaging personalities with excitement buzzing through the air, yet the ambitious start and slow-pacing of the story will have you plateauing early, when you see the true potential for it to ascend. I will admit, Ubisoft redefined FPS open-world games when they released Far Cry 3, but they also indirectly and unintentionally set up an incredibly difficult task that was to make Far Cry 4 equally great or exponentially better. A task that proved too difficult for the updated FC team and left me in want. I may be accusing them of too much, or even seem to down play their development, but I never thought it would ever be wrong to agree with Barney Stinson when he would say- “New is alway better.”

 

Gameplay

 

Dat New “New” Innovation 

 

“If it ain’t broke, don't fix it”- is a saying that reflects well with FC4’s identity, as it shares 99% of its DNA ‘code’ with it’s predecessor. Evolution of gameplay was not a necessity for this title as the existing engine and narrative formula proved engaging in it’s own right. However the innovation and updates made to the FC4 gameplay were subtle, but meant for ease and accessibility for the many styles of gaming. Far Cry 4 executive producer Dan Hay explained his outlook on expanding the already present flexibility in light of player freedom.

 

“There was one guy who was just running around blowing up tortoises with C-4, (in regards to FC3). "He was talking to them while he was blowing them up. Like 'hey turtle.' One time, he walks up to the tortoise, kills it with C-4, and accidentally alerts nearby enemy AI. [The player] retreats, falls into a river and is eaten by a shark. That wasn't about story or character. We had just given that player an opportunity to go out and have some fun. We really looked at that for Far Cry 4." 

 

The changes done to FC4 are gateways to opportunities and experiences that, aside from plot line, allow players to have the freedom they want and expect from an open world format. Opening even more possibilities of funny and sporadic happenings for players to look forward to. Riding elephants headlong into a fortress battle, swinging on grappling hooks like a third rate Spider-Man, careening an auto-rickshaw into an endangered feline, or even using the new bait ability to sit back and let the majestic violence of Mother Nature do the dirty work for you- letting you become the sardonic Beast Master you’ve always been called to be. 

 

The opportunity to reap ‘ammunition’ from a hunted creature and then use that meat to draw surrounding carnivores such as bears, tigers, and my favorite, honey badgers to dispose of enemies is a feature that is not purposefully looked over. I personally found myself utilizing the bait feature often, as much for its ease of combat but for its appeal as a creative and entertaining tool that was intended for FC3 but was inevitably removed, even after hyping the feature in FC3 preorder literature.

 

Included in on the enhancements is the in-game rewarding system, that weakens heavily defended fortresses by completing missions. Taking the high road by furthering the plot (which is easily strayed from) is what weakens the defenses, where slow and steady wins the race. Yet the game still keeps the door open to go Leroy Jenkins on the fortresses, again showcasing the developers desire for gamer freedom. Karma missions are, by far, the most rewarding events of the game in my very biased opinion. They seem to pop-up at random, but when duty calls, you immediately feel the obligation and the voice of your inner hero complex calling to free the captives, save the civilians, destroy the masks of bad juju, or spin a prayer wheel-thing; all in the saintly name of supply store discounts. Due to the enticing allure of the open world, developed to be explored and discovered, plot or side quests are equal in fun ways to waste time.

 

Side quests and mini missions were the highest replay-ability factor for this title. Where some may see the function of side quests, a major distraction to the main quest, as an OCD overload (http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/12/02/far-cry-4-and-the-problem-of-too-much-to-do/) side quests are the back bone of exploration and keeping interest in the game. I found myself dodging main missions most of the time. Where the developers wanted moral decisions to be the main function of the plot, they achieved ten-fold. Enter the Balance of Power segment.The reason why Ajay is the interceder to the Golden Path is because the two leaders, Sabal and Amita, have very conflicting plans on what to fight for. Sabal is a more old fashioned leader, he desires Kyrat to readopt its old customs, religion, and identity, even to the point of pre arranged marriages, as Amita is fighting for a more modern philosophy and more personal freedoms. You may say, well obviously you will go with Amita on all arguments, but word to the wise, she lacks compassion and practically sees the sacrificing of her soldiers as a tactic. Sabah on the other hand values life over information, which is clearly experienced with the very first Balance of Power. As you can see, the side quests are of much less stress and requires limited collateral damage. 

 

The amount of weaponry in this installment is stellar and is sweetened even more by the signature weapons. To unlock basic weapons the player has two options, either buy them using the abundant currency found looting the ever present crates or by liberating radio towers from Mins propaganda machines. Doing so will win favor with the shop owners giving you the weapon for free. Unlocking signature weapons are more rewarding to receive as they are reminiscent of achievement awards. Completing side missions and competing in a gladiatorial arena will help reap these benefit. Yet even with all the options, I found myself entranced by the beauty, power, and finesse of the compound bow, which I used as my predominant weaponry choice. This weapon is incredibly OP as if functions as a one-hit kill to human NPCs and also kept concealment with surrounding forces. Choosing the compound bow may have been a cop out, and kept my battles contained, but the thrill and excitement of using such an old-world weapon against sniper rifles and RPGs is quite fulfilling. 

 

The skill trees felt lacking but it would honestly be an injustice to this series if you were to set a Borderlands expectational standard. Players have the choices of two trees, The Tiger and The Elephant. This is where a person can customize the game to work as their play style. The balance between the two was well thought out, as they both had equally useful and needed skills as well as borderline useless and situation specific skills. I found myself having tons of points to allot due to the necessary expenditure of pointless abilities just to gain access to the better abilities. 

 

The AI, although improved in terms of effectiveness in combat, remain blissfully unaware of their surrounds. Instances where Min’s soldiers all seem to suffer from degenerative vision issues which slowly triggers their detection meters. Yet I am not complaining, the soldiers are actually quite the breath of fresh air, as I am not afraid to admit, that under my control, Ajay has met his demise more by the vicious attacks of Dhole triple threats than by the bullets of the Knights of Near-Sightedness. The animal AI is ridiculous, I cringe at the sound of maniacally yapping dogs knowing well that they prove more deadly than the soldiers posted atop a jeep machine gun. 

 

Characters

 

Pagan Min vs Vaas Montenegro

The initial reaction I had of Pagan Min (from the cover art) was that of a school boyish glee, as he initially appeared to me as a David Walliams cutting room floor character from Little Britain, yet I knew there was more than what met the eye. Ubisoft had set the expectation of a compelling and cynical protagonist to a stratospheric level and fans believed in Montreal’s ability to revel in their successes and own it yet again. Unfortunately, the writers did not strike gold this installment. Pagan is a character who is very "particular" about his words, but Vaas Montenegro compelled me more with his orchestrated tangents. Vaas is Far Cry 3's selling point. I found myself tweaking for more verbal exchanges with the certified son of insanity. Yet where Pagan lacks in gut wrenching speeches, he makes up for in a trait that seems even more sinister: an ever present embrace. His abrasively friendly demeanor makes him both a mysterious and inclusive party-host as much as a maniac who proudly presents an impromptu, nonchalant execution when he first meets Ajay. The pace of which Pagan progresses, not only as a protagonist but as a rounded character, was at a staggeringly slow rate, disappearing from the storyline right at a high point of intrigue. Treading up on the heels of Vaas’ heavy emotional swings and volcanic interactions left me with a major wanting with Pagan. What Michael Mondo brought to the intensity of Vaas unfortunately was a one-off, a Heath Ledger moment in the Far Cry series that cannot be reproduced.

The most engaging character is Longinus, an entirely misinformed personality whose eisegetical zeal is as equally flawed as it is charming, he is the closest character with the enthralling eloquent dialogue resembling a Montenegro-esque nature. As a militantly-Christian ex-war lord from an unnamed African country, Longinus uses Ajay as a means to gather the blood diamonds he previously exported as atonement for his sins against God. The character had a strong opening, reeling the player into his convictive malady of a theology by wondering what kind of gun Jesus would use during the Second Coming. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the game progressed, more personality came out of the woodwork, personalities like radio host Rabi Ray Rana; who plays the role of a sad attempt to be a Vice City DJ, Hurk; who reprises his role from FC3 as Larry the Cable Guy, and Yogi and Reggie, stoners whose money making schemes are incredibly counter productive. 

Far Cry series, with their previously established blend of chaos and creativity, unfortunately missed the boat on character development, a boat that Ubisoft Montreal once captained. Jeffery Yohalem, writer of Far Cry 3 was asked a question PlayStation Magazine UKs about how to make games mainstream (something that people can latch onto), he responded with: “Treating the player as an actor. If you want to get the people who watch Titanic to play games, treat them as actors. If I’m experiencing the emotions that the characters on-screen are having, that’s the next evolution. In films, the closest I can get is a close-up… in games, it’s inside me. That’s what I’m pushing for – if we’re able to nail that then we’ll have something the mainstream can enjoy.”

It was that very same experience of first hand emotions that was ever present in FC3 yet was lacking in FC4. I am not sure what direction the present writers were intending to take (most likely freedom) but the progression of games and game writers need to see emotion as the core mechanism of the engrossing story. The point of having protagonists and antagonists is to have someone you reflect with and can root for or against. They succeeded with the Sabal and Amita missions, but the overarching plot and subsequent characters could not contest with the previous title. 

 

 

Music

 

The OST arrangement is a two sided coin that merges distant aspects of the musical spectrum. From a modernized twist of traditional Nepalese chants during non cinematic events, directly to heart wrenching ambient midi work (reminiscent to mid 2000s The Album Leaf), which is utilized effectively during mission wrapping dialogue and cut scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Cliff Martinez, whom was inducted into the Rock and Roll HoF, translated the emotional complexities in FC4, adequately expressing the roller coaster of moral choice the game demands of you. The battle music is engrossing, building the right amount of intensity and urgency but I found this musical aspect very evocative of Mike Shinoda’s mind blowing work for The Raid.

As well as an impressive soundtrack, the soundscapes of FC4 is hyper-realistic to the point to where I found myself pausing the game numerous times to allow myself to distinguish if what I was hearing was in game or in my neighborhood. The ability to determine distance and direction by the subtle muffling of gunshots and yelling gave for a deep experience that opened a realm of gameplay not often seen in FPS: the option to remain unengaged during a firefight.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Was I blown away by a game that was leaps and bounds better than the predecessor? No. Was I pleased with a new installment apart of a series that continues to be successful and is able to be taken as a stand alone title? Yes.

I continue to have a blast playing Far Cry 4 and I did allow my FC fan snobbiness get in the way of a well made game. A game that in no position felt broken, unbalanced, nor glitchy. Far Cry 4 is a solid game and an enjoyable play at that. It is not wrong for us as gamers to desire more and to expect better, but in retrospect, when you play a game where you had zero qualms with, expecting perfection is not in the cards, nor in the realm of possibility. FC4 has been my favorite game to play of 2014, just not to the point where it can break my Top 3 (where Far Cry 3 is #2) and nor should it need to. I am but one voice of millions who bought, booted, and blew crap up in FC4 and had a great time, and thats what its about. Ubisoft succeeded in developing a game that makes you laugh and sweat bullets, as well as it is a testament to not apply exceedingly difficult standards set by the older sibling onto the younger brother before you ever get to see his strengths. A younger brother who stands proud and gets the job done.