The Vicar's Betrayal: Part 11

SPOILERS: The following contains spoilers for the game The Outer Worlds and The Empty Man (Max's companion quest)

‘Heard Scylla’s crawling with primals. Think we can bag a couple while we’re here?’ Ms Ramnarim-Wentworth was leaning over the railings of the landing pad as she hungrily scanned the rocky terrain.

‘If we see some, yes, but we’re not going out of our way for them.’ The captain was surveying the rocks too, through her scope, before they took the elevator down. ‘It’s clear. Let’s head out.’ She was keeping her distance from Max now. He didn’t know if it was because she was still angry with him or if the moment they’d shared on the ship was weighing on her mind.

It was weighing on his. He’d never had much time for anything other than the Equation and the Plan. He’d never let anyone get too close, finding most other people in the colonies to be dull and closed minded. But the captain had managed to waltz into his life with her open heart and easy smile. Her curious questions and eagerness to learn. He’d grown closer to her than he had to anyone. And how had he thanked her for that? By lying to her and attempting to do something unforgivable.

The captain had still gone out of her way for him. She’d apologised to Nyoka for changing their plans so suddenly, assuring her that they still wanted to visit the information broker, but that something unforeseen had come up and that they were making a, hopefully quick, jump to Scylla. Ms Ramnarim-Wentworth had shrugged it off and said that as long as the captain kept her personal fridge stocked with alcohol then the hunter would go wherever they liked. The captain had attempted a smile at that but it had been muted.

I did that to her, Max had thought, hating himself.

And here they were on this abandoned hunk of rock, chasing another story. Max felt the all too familiar anger bubbling up again but he forced it back down wearily. What had his anger gotten any of them but heartbreak? His anger had no place here any more except on the battlefield. If he couldn’t use it as a tool to help them then he had no place on this crew anymore. If he couldn’t keep it under control he wouldn’t allow himself to hurt any more of his friends. Especially not the captain. If this “hermit” lead didn’t pan out he would quit the crew. He’d made up his mind when the captain had left him after their little chat. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, risk hurting her like that again. He’d realised that he cared about her too much.

As they picked their way over the rocky surface of Scylla, the captain kept ahead of them. Max knew that, if they asked her, she would say she had the sharpest reflexes so was taking point to better keep an eye out for danger. The vicar suspected that the real reason was that she was trying to keep her distance from him. He didn’t blame her... but it hurt.

It still came in handy when she dispatched the three Outlaws on their path before Max and Nyoka had even registered them. The scrap mechanical accompanying the bandits gave the crew a little more trouble, but a few well placed shots to the glowing cores on its legs left it a crumpled heap of cooling metal in front of them in short order.

‘You and me,’ Nyoka was panting a little breathlessly. ‘We’re going to have a talk about those “reflexes” of yours when this is over captain.’

‘Not much to tell,’ the captain dismissed as she checked the pockets of the fallen for ammo and bits. ‘Was in cryo-stasis for a while longer than expected. Now I can slow down time at will. Might as well rip that plaster off quickly.’

‘What? Skip-flu? Shit captain you could'a just said. I know a guy who’s cousin’s got that.’

‘Yeah? And how did that work out for him?’

‘Err... not great cap’ I’ll be honest with you.’

‘Tell me later, Nyoka. The mining outpost’s just up this road.’ The captain scanned the buildings quickly through her scope. ‘Looks like there’s some combat drones roaming about. Maybe a couple automechanicals. Thought I saw one go round the corner.’

‘Must have been left behind when they abandoned the site,’ Max speculated. The captain only spared him a glance before heading up the road. Nyoka gave him a sympathetic grimace as she followed and Max hurried after them. They dealt with the machines quickly, hardly worth breaking a sweat over, and soon they were in front of a small, unassuming building at the back of the complex.

‘This is where Chaney said she was.’ The captain inspected the entrance to the building. ‘And it looks like the doors are unlocked. You ready Max?’ He jumped at being addressed, given the cold shoulder treatment he’d been receiving since the ship, but then he paused.

‘I must admit I’m feeling... trepidation,’ he replied cautiously. ‘I might finally get the answers I’ve been looking for but... Will they be enough?’

‘I suppose they’ll have to be.’ The captain’s voice was quiet. She stepped up to the door, knocked sharply three times to announce their presence, and stepped through the entrance with her shoulders squared. Nyoka moved through as well, without hesitation. Max was less brave, standing on the threshold, teetering on the edge of his last hope for enlightenment. The captain’s head popped back into the door frame as she realised that the vicar hadn’t followed, her eyes softening as she saw his uncertainty. She offered her hand to him and he reached his fingers out to grip hers, allowing her to pull him through the door.

A confession: I'm a sucker for animated films involving mythical realms; I'm also biased towards villain-less plots. —Which is why I adore this film.

Closing out the year with this review wasn't the plan, but Strange World is a thoughtful story that just hits the right note with me. Its characterizations mirror evolving generational perspectives and environmentalist message. At first, Jaeger and Searcher couldn't seem more different yet ultimately they want the same thing—a better future and a legacy for their sons. It's just both were too busy chasing their goals they forgot their intention.

Analogy-wise, the explorers pushing boundaries, wanting to see what's beyond the mountains, allowed them to discover the Pando plant; not unlike our pioneers making scientific/technological breakthroughs. But farming Pando—akin to drilling for oil or mining for rare resources—is harming their very home, which gives rise to the environmentalist generation. Rather than a matter of who's at fault, it's about adapting our way of life and mentality to changing circumstances.

In terms of worldbuilding, the 'solarpunk, retro-futuristic' Avalonia is reminiscent of some Studio Ghibli works yet quite unique in American cinema; composed of awe-inspiring creatures and mood-evoking landscapes, the underground realm is wonder-renewing. Side note: playing Primal Outpost would be a great starting point to convey the 'co-existing instead of conquering our environment' message to skeptics. (Someone please make this a real game!)

So was it worth my lasagna? Strange World makes me want to live everyday like a new adventure, hence it's Udon Certified!

PS The epilogue is placing a lot of faith in us as a species to be 'resilient, resourceful, and give ourselves a better chance at the future'. 'The best legacy we can leave is making a present worth opening tomorrow'? We are really bad at delaying gratification.

🎟️ 002-MP002-AN/A-2022#2 🍿 online / décembre 27 '22

Breaching Borders

Amaya x Sunfire GN Reader, sword lesbians? Idk it aint angst it aint fluff but it has a smidge of humor, if you don’t get the punny title after reading i’m coming to your home and killing u

Warnings: Kissing o0o0o, little bit of tongue ig lmfao? Some swears I believe, no blood even tho it’s literally just a sword fight

Note: If you don’t have like. hella cocky moments this fic is not for you, I’m feeling good and therefore egotistical asf enjoy reader being an emotionally charged cocky ripcord, only 1562 words

Taglist: @malibix​ @thequeenofworms​ @kokocreations​ @yagirlcheesely​

You looked to your fellow legion commander, Janai. She tensely nodded, and you pushed the poor, nervous Katolan soldier down the passage to meet with the investigative party from across the border. As he stumbled out his explanation for the late signal, Janai motioned for the archer ahead of you to prepare the shot. The majority of the human group turned away, chuckling at the hostage soldier's "incompetence". He'd been on-cue, but your blade was too fierce and his fear too great to complete his task.

One of the humans lagged, causing your lip to twitch in irritation. Couldn't they just leave? All you wanted at that moment was to seal their passage to Xadia, not chase them down. 

The archer loosed the arrow and the remaining soldier rolled in front of the hostage, the projectile hitting her shield with a harmless tink!

As the soldiers filed through the passage in retreat, your forces advanced. Those by the door cut off the party's escape, herding them back into the outpost. Sunfire archers emerged from the shadows, and with the humans cornered, you emerged. Walking side by side with Janai, you both drew your sizzling blades in tandem. Your partner pinned their leader with a hardened stare while you bared your teeth in an antagonistic grin.

Janai raised her sword, and everything began at once. Her walk was deadly serious, stance only relaxing to glare at you in amused disappointment as you strode leisurely into the fray. Back-to-back with Janai, the pair of you took down a small group of humans. You rushed forward, seeing their general brush aside one of your soldiers.

"This should be good," you thought with a smile.

The general turned to you, hardened expression slipping to mild surprise as you cleaved her sword in half. She froze for a moment, registering the clang of half her goddamn weapon hitting the stone floor.

"Oops!" you exclaimed, smile widening to display your sharp canines. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, charging forward. You dodged and swung at her in one fluid motion, but she sidestepped the blow.

She evaded attack after attack until you delivered a swift kick to her shield to kick her into the Breach wall with a loud ruckus of metal scraping stone as she slumped to the ground, winded. She rose, distracted, but ducked in time to evade your charge. The human rolled under your arm, making her way up some nearby crates and climbing up the slopes on either side of the room. You followed, not missing how quickly she disposed of a Sunfire archer with her shield. 

"I'll have to give that one some extra training," you pouted to yourself.

When you'd gotten stable on the slope, the general slid her shield onto her back. A confused look from you prompted her to raise her fists in a defensive pose. With a smirk, she outstretched one hand to make a 'come hither' motion as a challenge. You mirrored her expression, more than impressed by the human's boldness.

Both of you charged simultaneously, meeting in a flurry of strikes and swings. Her fists met your armor as you two whirled around one another. Your armor clashed against itself when she struck you, almost making it sound like a real sword fight to your elven ears. Swordplay was something you relished, but you could certainly get used to an agile opponent managing to land a few strikes all while dodging every deadly arc your blade made.

With the clang of your sword on her armor, she stepped back to examine the quickly-cooling metal, now with a large gash from your enchanted sword. You grinned once more, mimicking the human's challenge from earlier. She rushed you once again, but this time you feinted and sidestepped, catching her by the leather strap across her torso. 

Time slowed. Your pupils blew a bit watching sweat drip from her cheek, over her throat, and disappear into her armor. Without much thought, you pulled her in for a searing kiss. Her furrowed brow relaxed, her mouth meeting yours without protest. Your lips moved with hers for a moment. She drew back to quickly breathe the stuffy outpost air, her breath hotter on your skin than the lava below, before chasing your lips. Reluctantly, you withdrew, hand on her leather flipping to press against her armor. You watched her remember where she was and what she was doing with a satisfied smile on your face before pushing her. Hard. 

She fell onto the massive gear, saved from the fiery depths by one of its teeth. You leaped onto the piece of machinery in pursuit but a foot slipped. Digging your sword into the metal to balance yourself wasn't the best idea, the human had righted herself and grabbed the hilt of your weapon before you had the chance to remove it.

Growing tired of her games, you took an impulsive swing. She dodged it easily and answered your next blow with a swift kick. You went to shield yourself, then watched in dismay as her well-placed blow sent your sword soaring through the air, embedding itself in the ceiling.

She looked down at you in satisfaction from her position atop the moving gear. Climbing up the gear's large teeth, your skin began to morph. Poor human, thinking she had the advantage while standing above a river of lava. Your flesh darkened and split, veins of fiery power revealing themselves. That wasn't the only change though. A feral growl left your throat, your vocal cords thrumming with primal fire, making your voice dual-toned.

"That'll be hell to get down!" you roared, drunk on her fearful expression. You leaped and slammed into her. She fell to the ground, her stored shield protecting her from the impact. With a quick roll to her feet and a well-timed dodge, she narrowly avoided your scalding fist. It swung right past her and into the wall, but the large crack in the human stonework didn't phase you. Chasing her down the narrow pass between the gear and the wall didn't pose much of a challenge. She stumbled and fell at your feet, but in your blind, fire-fueled rage, you missed her again and again until your fist slammed into the looming gear. Your powers failed you then, the heat causing your fist to embed itself in the turning machinery. She rolled upright once more, between you and the hot metal. With a mischievous glint in her eye, she leaned and pecked your lips, catching your bottom lip as she drew back. However, before she parted from you fully, her tongue skimmed a crack in your lip, tasting the liquid power running through you. You faltered, eyes clearing for a moment. Sure, you were pissed about being bested by a human, but you couldn’t help but recognize how the smallest flick of her tongue brought you out of a blind fury. She fled, but looked back at you for a moment. With a sincere smile, you nodded at her, an acknowledgement that she was a worthy opponent and that you’d be seeing her again. She snorted a laugh when your lips quickly turned down in a pout as you tried to free your hand. 

The human woman barreled through a few troops, their swords falling to the ground. Damn it, you’d forgotten about your own sword, being it was as far from the ground as possible. How were you going to get that down? You were quickly snapped from your thoughts when the gear’s turning caused more strain on your wrist. 

“Janai! Help me get this damn thing loose!” you yelled, still angry enough for your Sunfire form to be engaged.

Your partner calmly strolled over a little bridge above the lava, letting out a chuckle at your position. Being you had ligaments you preferred to keep intact, you’d braced your legs on the gear and were now turning with it, slowly. 

“Hmm, this ‘damn thing’, you speak of, would it be the gear? Or yourself?” she teased, brows cocked in delight.

With a huff, you rolled your eyes. “Just help me, wise one. I need to be intact if I’m to face that human again,” you pleaded.

Janai’s expression shifted from smug to interested as she pulled your fist from the metal. “Even after your crushing defeat?” she asked in disbelief, almost unheard over the clang of your metal hitting the stone floor.

“Oof!” you huffed, the impact winding you a bit. You leaned back onto your hands, looking at your sword still stuck fast in the ceiling. “Hah! I’m surprised too. But believe it or not, I am nowhere near crushed. I am intrigued, she does something to me.”

“If you think I did not see that little stint you pulled on the ledge, you are wrong. Don’t go getting involved with a human-”

“Tch! I’m not getting involved. No matter, we must regroup and tell your sister of this stronghold.”

“I am not convinced, but very well. I will not press. I shall gather our troops, meet us outside when you finally get your sword. Have fun!” she grinned, the party following her with scattered laughter.

You threw a rock at her and sighed fondly, glad you had a friend like her.

Now how the hell were you going to get that sword down?

Days Gone 2 Concept Better than the Actual Writers Could’ve Come up with Because oh my God that game was so Bad:

O’Brian or one of the scientists from the Nero recorders are the main character. Starts with Goreman discovering and coming in contact with the virus, in the lab so we can see how it went down and why they were creating the virus. Switch to our scientist protag who gets a little time doing normal life things before getting called to the Farewell lab to investigate the out break but they don’t know that. They see the carnage caused by the virus, people are saved, people are killed, our scientist gets away seeing the cold calculated tactics used by Nero.

Fast forward to 750+ Days Gone, after O’Brian is infected. Story scenes to update us on the world as it is now and what Nero has been up to. If playing as O’Brian, we play him investigating Nero or seeing what he found out (could have some stealth gameplay here sneaking around finding clues.) We find out whatever experiments changed O’Brian and why or possibly, like in the Walking Dead, everyone is already infected and slowly turning into Freakers causing unrest.

O’Brian has amassed an army of mentally aware Freakers like him and plan to overthrow Nero. If playing as O’Brian, this opens up gameplay where you get to play as a Freaker that gets stronger as it mutates, use the hordes to your advantage, avoid being killed by humans, stronger Freaks and lose your sanity more and more as you upgrade your abilities.

If playing as a reg scientist, witness O’Brian and his army over take Nero and fight to stay alive and find a cure. This would make the different faction outposts different Nero and general government facilities. Your weapons and equipment vary between sci-fi chemical creations and primal makeshift weapons that you have to learn how to make. Missions are similar but more focused on collecting testing materials, observing freaks and testing various weapons and experimenting on them. It’s a fish out of water scenario where the scientist isn’t a killer and has to learn the basics. That’s why it would be cool if it was one of the pairs like Simpson and Fernandez, the soldier friend can teach you how to fight and you protect each other and maybe fall in love lmaooooo.

Anyway, we’re still in Oregon near Farewell but not too close so the environments can be different, still close enough that the protag hears rumors of a lab in Farewell that has the source of the virus. A major goal is to get to the Farewell lab to help Sarah develop a cure (though maybe there’s an endgame choice where you can choose between curing and killing) this can work with O’Brian as well, he might not want to become a monster and help reverse the process. There’s a huge horde between the new game area and Farewell and the Freakers are stronger and smarter than ever before. I think it would be cool if maybe when you’re trying to get through it the first time, either you are successful or fail, but Kouri saves you and serves to inform the player of the current state of Farewell and all the camps there.

Once you get to that lab, one of the previous main characters Sarah Deacon or Boozer ( maybe even Lisa lol) get infected or start showing signs of the O’Brian mutation so that incentivizes that team to work with you. In classic Days Gone fashion, we’ll add some filler in between these major plot points that follow common Zombie media tropes like: finding out the rest of the world is also overrun, new infected (I’m thinking moose and farm animals), the Freakers aren’t so bad (maybe another self aware Freaker you can observe and interact with), food shortage solution, finding doctors and other specialists.

In the end, O’Brian creates the biggest horde we’ve ever seen EVER and we need a bigger badder plan to destroy them or cure them and it’s a major game choice. I couldn’t say what happens next. Perhaps O’Brian chooses to die as a freaker so we can get the ‘humans were the real monsters all along’ trope, or he survives long enough to help go after Nero HQ where we get their supervillain speech before fighting their big bad creature, getting the cure and ending the game. Lots of possibilities, feel free to add on or take any of these ideas for yourselves!

What I want for Far Cry 6

Since “Far Cry 6” (or whatever they’ll call it) will probably be announced in the coming months, here’s what I’d like it to be (and not to be).

Story

I don’t mind seeing some old faces but I’d like a new story with new characters. I’m wary of direct sequels now...

If the protagonist is customizable, I want dialog options and choices that actually matter so that everyone’s story is different, even slightly. I want to feel the consequences of my actions throughout the adventure even if there’s only one possible ending. Sure, in FC5, you can choose in what order you take down Joseph’s Heralds but, in the end, it doesn’t change anything to the way they interact with the Deputy and I think it’s a missed opportunity.

If the protagonist isn’t customizable, however, choices are not necessary. I don’t mind a linear story at all.

Characters

Protagonist

I’d like the new protagonist(s?) to be fully fleshed-out, to have a voice and a personality. Having customizable protagonists in FC5 and FCND seemed like a good idea but, because these characters didn’t talk and you barely got to choose what they did in the story (which makes sense because they’re just here to fulfill prophecies, but still), they felt very disconnected from the world and the player. As I said, if FC6 lets me create my character, I think it should let me create my story too. If applicable, I want more customization options than in FC5 and FCND.

Allies

Far Cry games always have great characters and I’m confident the new ones will be as well-written as their predecessors. I hope “Guns for Hire” are back because it’s fun to explore the world with companions.

Also, I want pets. I want pets and I want all of them to be able to ride in vehicles. If I have big pets, it’s okay, I’ll find big vehicles. And if we have very big, rideable pets like in Primal, I’ll be happy too.

Enemies

The new villain(s) will probably be as good and complex as most of the previous ones too. One thing, though: in FC4, they thought about letting us join Pagan Min if we decided he was the lesser evil but they eventually ran out of time and didn’t implement that into the game. The ability to side with the antagonist(s) is something players have been requesting since FC3. In FC6, what if they actually let us do it? Risky choice but many new possibilities in terms of story!

World

I don’t care much about the location but I think it’s better if it’s fictional and “vague” like Rook Islands (“somewhere in the South Pacific”) or Kyrat (“somewhere in the Himalayas”). Hope County is fictional too but Montana is a real place in a real country and that just created unnecessary controversies.

In FC4, Longinus talked about South America. How about a Far Cry game located “somewhere in the Amazon rainforest”? With piranhas, obviously.

Gameplay

It has improved with every new iteration and should be even better in FC6. However, some features have disappeared and I’d like them to be back:

The possibility to reset/replay outposts one by one: In FC5, you can only reset all outposts at once after liberating them all. FC4 let you reset them individually (FCND too, to be fair).

Healing: Sure, in FC5, medkits do the job but if you don’t have any, all you can do is wait for your health to regenerate... or die. We should be able to restore some health even if we don’t have healing items. Let me remove bullets with a stick and pop my fingers back in place again!

In-game encyclopedia: Simply because I like it and it’s a useful source of information. Plus, in FC3 and FC4, all entries were written from a subjective point of view (by Willis Huntley and Pagan Min’s regime, respectively) which made the encyclopedia an integral and interesting part of the story.

Dynamic weather: Where I live, it rains more than 150 days a year. When it never rains in a game, it stresses me out. Please, give me rain (or snow, fog, wind, whatever) in FC6.

One feature I don’t want anymore: Since FC4, one of the four weapon slots is reserved for sidearms and, to me, it’s annoying because I rarely use handguns... I don’t want to be forced to carry a sidearm anymore.

I also hope that FC6, like FC5 and FCND, lets us be “unarmed” (armed with our bare hands, technically) because sometimes I like to just walk and look around without a weapon on my screen.

Other features

I don’t really use Co-op and Multiplayer because I don’t have friends but I’m sure they can be improved and funnier than ever before in FC6.

Far Cry Arcade is great and I hope it will be back with even more options.

Photo Mode absolutely needs to be back. I want poses, facial expressions and, this time, I don’t want characters to disappear from the screen if the camera gets too close. I would love to be able to take pictures during cutscenes like in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (best Photo Mode I’ve used) but don’t know if that’s possible in FPS games... It would be a lot of fun, though!

What about you? What do you want Far Cry 6 to be like?

Day 14: Coerthas (Final Fantasy XIV)

Final Fantasy XIV is the other Final Fantasy MMORPG. It's sort of a sequel to Final Fantasy XI in spirit, though the setting is different. The world of Eorzea is quite gorgeous and expansive, and much like the prior MMO, has a whole lot of content to get lost in. Naturally, a big world like this has an icy place or two to explore.

Today we're looking at the Coerthas region. Snowcloak is an instanced dungeon meant for four players.

Here I am, dressed for the occasion. I also have to give credit to Tatsu Kotodama a.k.a. @rexdraco​, who decided to accompany me today.

Being a Black Mage means having lots of powerful ice magic to destroy enemies with, naturally. The relationship between elements in this game is kind of weird. Fire spells deal more damage but cost more MP, then ice spells can be used to regenerate MP quickly. In theory you're supposed to switch between the two, but in practice it's more like you want to use fire as much as possible and only cast ice when you're out of MP.

The outdoor areas of Snowcloak have bitter winds that deal ice damage over time, plus some ice elementals to fight. We're a pair of level 80s in a dungeon meant for level 50 characters, so none of this was a real threat to us.

The end boss is Fenrir, a large wolf that will be familiar to people who have played other Final Fantasies.

After completing Snowcloak, the next destination is Akh Afah Ampitheatre, where we can meet the ice goddess Shiva. Normally she's summoned by Summoners, but in this game most of the summons (or primals, as they're called here) act as bosses instead.

Explosions fix everything. Again, this is a fight meant for a party of eight level 50s and we're a pair of level 80s, so not much threat.

When she reaches half health, she uses her signature move Diamond Dust to freeze everyone on the field solid, then shatter the ice with a snap of her finger.

Instanced content isn't the only icy stuff in XIV. After we were finished with the dungeons, I hopped in Rex's car and she took me on a tour of the Coerthas Central Highlands.

There's the Holy See of Ishgard in the distance. It's a large city, but access to it is barred until you reach the Heavensward expansion.

This red ice was created when the moon Dalamud crashed into the earth, causing the Seventh Umbral Calamity. This changed the Coerthas region from a temperate place to the icy wasteland it is now.

And here we found a neat little ice cavern with some plasmoids inside.

Here's the bridge to Ishgard. Rex and I both have permission to enter.

We didn't stay long in the city. It's just a brief stop on the way to the Coerthas Western Highlands.

The arrival point is the small outpost of Falcon's Nest.

Expansion areas allow us to unlock flight for mounts, like this lovely red two-seater chocobo. Again, Rex is doing the driving and I'm just tagging along.

The Ishgardians have been at war with the Dravanian dragon hordes for a very long time. This was likely one of the horde's warriors once.

This tree is probably important, but neither of us could figure out what it was for.

And this is a relic from when this area used to be more temperate. Clearly no one is sailing on this thing now.

This fortress is the Dusk Vigil, a guard post to stand against the Dravanians.

On the way back we passed by this ruined town. The large crystal is a waypoint for the teleport network, but this one fell into disuse and has become frozen solid.

Honestly I feel like I've only scratched the surface of this game, but there's a bit of Coerthas for you. Being a Final Fantasy game means it has some really good music too. Special mention goes to Oblivion, which plays for the second half of the Shiva fight.

Far Cry 5

No one must have had high hopes for Far Cry 5 since the very first announcement of the game. Fans of the series, of course, understood that in any case they would play the next part of the popular open-world shooter from Ubisoft, while ordinary users and skeptics crossed their fingers and seemed to be waiting for "another Far Cry", but at the same time did not rule out the evolution of the franchise.

After all, the setting went to a more civilized path. In place of the tropical wilderness and forgotten mountain ranges came the real state of Montana, the one that is on the border with Canada, and after a very ambiguous Far Cry Primal, it became obvious that the series just needs to change something or even change at all. Far Cry 5 was supposed to be just such a game and it did become it.

The tie of the fifth part of "Far cry" clings from the first minutes of the game to the non-existent series of gloom and excellent direction! We, in the person of a green rookie from the hope County Police station, together with the Sheriff and Federal Marshal, go on a mission that aims to capture a certain Father — the leader of a suspicious religious cult. The plan, of course, is not quite according to plan, word for word, and now the Father is already indicative of himself surrendering to our hands, thereby provoking the cultists to respond with aggression, as a result, our role of the hunter in all the action is replaced by the role of the victim, and all over Montana begins a real "Harvest". And here we are, all alone, running through the woods, hoping not to get a bullet in the back...

From an unpleasant situation, we are soon rescued by a local resident, who carefully hid us from the eyes of enemies in his bunker. We don't know where the Sheriff is, or where the Marshal and other members of our team are. We have little idea what is going on, and we learn about everything from messages left on answering machines, notes, and other sources. Fortunately, at least remember who we are: Far Cry 5 is the first game in the series, where we create our own character, choose his gender, appearance and clothing. Unfortunately, we can't choose a name, but we don't need it, because for everyone else we are just an "Assistant".

And all of the above is no accident, because the developers are pushing us to a new concept of the series: more free research and interaction with the living open world and less linearity and "wires by the handle". You are free to choose where you want to go. After a little training, the locals will bring you up to speed and tell you that after the uprising, the sect divided the state into three sectors of influence, subject to members of the Sid family. well, the head of the family, Father Joseph, manages all this mess. How to proceed is up to you. Local, anti-fanatics, of course, are ready to ask you for help and give all sorts of advice, but to help them and in what order to solve problems — you decide on your own.

And then it connects a simulation of a really live open world, which Ubisoft has been trying to achieve for a very long time. The whole world lives by its own laws and is full of a huge number of events, quests, Easter eggs and other pleasant gameplay elements. The world map itself has become somewhat smaller than in the same Far Cry 4, but this is more than compensated by what is happening around. No more monotonous races through the jungle and boring shootings of enemy groups of enemies. In the game, something is constantly happening: from banal showdowns of sectarians with residents to grandiose skirmishes of several elements in one place.

For example, a situation that occurred to me in the first hour of the game: you go hunting, there you track down a wild animal that attacks a local hunter, at the same time the sounds of fighting and shots attract the attention of a passing patrol. After I'd shot one of the two patrolmen in the head, the other would start running and calling for backup. Tied a hell of a fight and by passing the rebels stop to get involved in the fight. At this point, a passing plane scout notices the enemies and drops a bomb on you and the others. Only you and one of the resisters can survive. The latter hits you with the butt, gets in your car, and drives away.

And these situations and their combinations happen all the time. Almost every randomly encountered NPC wants to share something with you: for example, tell the coordinates of an Outpost or a survivalist cache. By the way, Ubisoft approached caches with due ingenuity: they are completely different, from banal simple closed doors with a key hidden nearby, to multi-level caves-puzzles or even installations of original references to works of popular culture. The developers creatively approached the self-irony of both American culture and the personal "merits" of the franchise and the Studio as a whole. In the game you will find a lot of Easter eggs, gags and other fanservice.

Due to this kind of world exploration mechanics, the game takes on a completely new look and becomes a cut above the previous games in the series. Far Cry 5 has become very thoughtful and plays on the fact that the user feels like a part of this world and he did not catch the eye of the obviously orchestrated parts of the game, opening from check point to check point, as it was in Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4. The consequences of your actions are reflected in the state of the world, in the mindset of its inhabitants, and after spending a dozen hours in the game, you will notice that in the regions where you were active, the enemy will act much more carefully and strengthen some borders, while the locals will get new equipment and equipment.

There is a place for story tasks, of course, in all this saturated world, only now they overtake you completely suddenly. As I have already mentioned, it is not enough to just go through the chain of quests and arrive at point A to start the cut scene. Now you can attract the attention of the cult by doing absolutely any activity aimed at fighting, filling in the scale of influence. Gradually, the enemy will overtake you at the most inopportune time and even then will be created story inserts and specially made for this case locations and quests.

And they are made at the proper level. In addition to the fact that Far Cry 5 managed to surpass its own level of staging and directing in commercials (they are great), some of the developers clearly took seriously the creation of locations, boss fights and all sorts of little things related to our personal history of relationships with the Sid family. The story is not perfect, but it is good and smoothly revealed throughout the passage.

Important changes have also affected the system of pumping and loot extraction. Now you do not get experience points at all and do not track down animals for hours in order to sew a pouch from the skins. All extensions and skill improvements are made by spending tokens that you earn by completing challenges and tasks, as well as finding instructions for survival in the world. The new mechanics feel good: on the one hand, it does not allow you to "pump over", on the other hand, and does not leave you defenseless in certain situations. The exception is that there may be an imbalance in the hunter's skills, which allow almost close approach to animals and hunts in the most sophisticated ways.

The cooperative mode deserves special mention. In it, the game appears in a very good way. You can see that Ubisoft was very concerned about the cooperative and made a big bet on it. Together, you can go through all the tasks in the game and watch all the cut scenes together, in addition, the number of your opponents and their "strength" increases somewhat, and with the friendly-fire enabled, it becomes even more fun to play! In co-op, you can use and try out those gameplay elements that you almost won't use when playing alone.

Far Cry 5 makes me miss Kyrat

Ubisoft’s latest entry in the Far Cry series is a disappointment. This time around you play the part of a deputy to the police force of a fictional american county nestled in the mountains faced with the overwhelming power of a local religious cult. It has all the shooting, red barrels, vehicles, and outposts you’ve come to expect in the Far Cry series. What it lacks however is a sense of character, place, motivation. The mechanics are a little different in this incarnation of the Far cry series. Far Cry 5 does away with the minimap, replacing it with a compass at the top of the screen reminiscent of Skyrim. The map itself is no longer laid out with outposts and towers but filled with little details that require you to zoom all the way in to see. Figuring out where you are and where you should go is a complete mystery thanks to these changes and encourages you to explore rather than go from one highlighted point to the next. The shooting feels tighter than previous entries and there’s the same tight run and gun mechanics fans of the series love with the addition of fixed wing aircraft like biplanes and seaplanes. A new system allows you to summon your customized cars, boats, and planes at certain locations. There’s certainly a lot more to spend money on but, just like in previous games in the series, you will inevitably find yourself only using the signature weapons and vehicles before you finish unlocked half of the available options. Yes, they got rid of climbable towers. Actually they did that with Primal but Primal is such an unorthodox Far Cry game in so many ways people overlook the changes. Outposts, however, are still around but this time they are harder to find thanks to big smoke clouds coming from downed planes and future mission locations. Following the billowing black smoke is no longer a guarantee that you’ll find your way to an outpost. Once you have you will find the outposts much larger and more complex than in previous entries, making them more favorable to sneaking but a real pain when you try to come in guns blazing. Ubisoft also got rid of crafting. No more hunting down dangerous beasts to make a bigger wallet or nicer loot bag. Instead fishing and hunting become a relaxing side venture whose only reward is money and maybe some bragging rights for how big a fish you got. There are a handful of hunting side-quests but no more big game hunts needed to unlock special upgrades. Everything is now locked by quest and cash. As well as unlocking and customizing vehicles you can now customize your wardrobe and even weapon skins with your money. These aesthetic elements provide no bonuses or penalties. So you can wear a bright orange vest or deep woods swat outfit without concern for stealth. If you enjoyed the sequences in the previous Far Cry game where you are captured and taunted then you are going to love Far Cry 5. Rather than progressing through a series of story missions you must reap a certain amount of “resistance points” before you can fight the regional mini-bosses. Along this bar of points are dots that signify an interlude where you are captured. It doesn’t matter if you are in a helicopter or fighting a “capture party” you will mysteriously get drowsy and pass out awakening to the regional mini-boss taunting you. You will do this twice for each of the three regions. That’s six times you are captured and escape. You would think that after the second time they would just kill you. These constant interruptions also really cut into the feeling of being an unstoppable killing machine that every other facet of the game encourages. The real heart of my disappointment comes in the form of the setting and the story. You’re a deputy who goes along to serve a warrant on a well armed cult leader and, rather than learn anything from Ruby Ridge, Waco, or Malheur, you are only one of four law enforcement officers sent to execute the warrant. So, of course, hilarity ensures and by hilarity I mean you are chased and nearly killed while your compatriots are captured. So begins a story of revenge. A story of Revenge. Instead of calling in the FBI, Homeland Security, or the National Guard you immediately start slaughtering motherfuckers. Even when it comes to the big minibosses that you are required to take down before facing the big bad is a question of slaughter. At no time am I given the option of arresting anyone. Instead you find yourself with well armed locals and a “citizens militia” devoid of any specific ideology as you cut a swath of bloody terror across this county. The fact that you are a law enforcement officer seems utterly superficial.

The stage for your best Rambo performance is a southern, midwestern, plains county somewhere in Montana and home to caricatures, rednecks, and “preppers”. In fact the new collectible in Far Cry 5 is “prepper stashes”. Everyone in this god forsaken county has a fallout shelter or a cabin. They speak with a melange of “fly-over” accents and buy their personalities pre-packaged from Dick’s Sporting Goods. In comparison to previous entries Far Cry 5 has a great deal more named NPCs with their own quests and stories. Unfortunately they are all as dull as dishwater. I can’t help but find myself comparing Far Cry 5 to my favorite entry in the Far Cry series and the last numbered entry Far Cry 4. In Far Cry 4 you play the American raised Kyrati citizen Ajay Ghale who comes to an unseen homeland only to discover it is in the middle of a civil war that his parent started. Over the course of the game you discover the story of Ajay’s father, the history of the ersatz-Nepalese nation of Kyrat, and about what it takes to make a revolution work. When I compare Far Cry 5 and 4 I can’t help but find Far Cry 5′s Hope County and Deputy Rook bland. The land is littered with modern day rural detritus that if I wanted to look at I would walk outside my door. The villains spout generic religious rhetoric that is carefully clear of any but the most superficial religious references. You have no real say on how the resistance grows and learn nothing about the character you are playing. It’s Far Cry stripped to it’s most generic elements. When the american flag rises over a recently liberated auto parts store I can’t help but think of deciding the future of the Golden path with Amita and Sabal among ancient ruins. Every deer skin or fish I sell for a couple more bucks makes me think of the bone strewn den of Gulo the honeybadger. As I pick up collectible lighters or baseball cards I miss reading Mohan Ghales journal or spinning the Mani wheels. Far Cry 5′s Hope County makes me miss the mountains of Kyrat.

Far Cry 5 thots, hoeps, and fiirs

In my post about my most anticipated games of 2018, I talked about (and by “talked” I mean “masturbated furiously”) Far Cry. As I said, I love Far Cry, I have always enjoyed the empowering feeling that Far Cry gives you as a “regular dude” as far as the later iterations are concerned. That bow in my hands is like home to me, like seeing Old Trafford in FIFA, or when you find that first 10mm in FallOut. Shit gives me chills. Crouching in your vantage point, marking targets and tracking positions. Watching. Waiting. Most missions, from this point, allow the player complete freedom to in soft and quiet, or hard and bombastic. Each a challenge in their own right and an art form once perfected. I’m a little upset I never got around to Primal, cause I heard mixed things but that was bound to be the case given the sharp pivot in the setting. At the time, in January my Marvel-loving ass was coming through Lego Marvel, and then in March I was one of the poor fucks tricked into The Division. I grappled with that game for longer than I’d like to admit, more on that at another time. 

I was going to talk about how Far Cry isn’t that unique, open world games have been in style for a long time now. How they have in some ways become the forefront of the development priorities is (to me) a good thing. I believe that a lot can be done in this setting and more importantly, it can be expanded upon greatly as technology advances. I will say, it may be getting a bit stale in the realm of third person. The Witcher, Uncharted, MGSV, Horizon Zero Dawn, Watch Dogs 2,TC: Wildlands, TC: The Divison, Mafia 3, AC Origins, Dragon Age *catches breath* what I’m saying is, there are a lot. Again, not complaining but I did list an assortment for good reason. My point is, the true first-person open world experience is surprisingly limited.   In other action games like Dying Light, FallOut 4, Dishonored, and I will count GTA5 since it does allow for first-person and when you play it on single player I do get a similar feeling (especially since the cover system is decent in that game). So I guess In a way Far Cry is more unique in its concept, as well as basic in its design. Fary Cry is safe for the most part, seldom Primal, hopefully FC5 will capitalize and push the envelope just a little further. 

Far Cry always feels like your personal action movie in a less over-the-top looney way Just Cause offers. No zombie apocalypse as fun as Dying Light is. Dishonored is fantastic but again it’s roots in fantasy have a way of losing my immersion as well as enhancing it. Weird right? FallOut 4 was the most action-heavy of the series to the point where I was referring to it as an action game with RPG mechanics rather than the inverse. In Far Cry, it’s just grounded enough to feel like you’re having fun in the real world; while still offering the off the wall fun things like animals, helicopters, and the more unconventional ways of killing people. Sidenote: watch that highlight reel cause that person is fucking godly. 

Thots

This looks like it will be the most expanded upon game in the series. I feel like this might be a “FC2 to FC3″ kind of jump and I’m not just talking gameplay. This story looks like it could really push the franchise in a new direction. The social commentary is almost jarring. It’s just not what I expected from the series even with the semi-political FC4. On top of that, they are finally abandoning the essentially faceless protagonist. 3′s is barely there, and 4′s protagonists story was good and clever in a handful of ways. He was just a blandybland frontman of the blandband. It’s about time they just let us make our own character. The arsenal looks varied and deeper than games before, with an emphasis on melee. The animations themselves for melee kills looks pretty good, I’m hoping Ubisoft put more of those kinds of weapons in forced them to mix it up a bit. The same knife kills, over and over, and over again. It actually will make me want to use them I think, given they were sparsely found across the whole series if you ask me. I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about “player agency” which focusses on the players' relationship with the world and how they directly affect and change it with their actions. As far as I’m concerned that might be the other shot in the arm this franchise needs. If I’m gonna take a fuck ton of towers and outposts, I want to see how each one changes the landscape in the battle against the cult. Not just new map areas and fast travel points. 

Hoeps

I hope this game can break new ground in the terms of what the franchise is known for doing. The story-centric approach is interesting, FC has always featured some kind of attempt at a compelling story. This is, however, their first attempt at something so politically driven. FC4 had some politics but no one batted an eye at them. Clearly, 5 features something tangible despite how removed it is from reality. So much so there was an uproar against this game by people who would probably refer to me and people like me as “snowflakes”. The irony is not lost on me, I have it right here next to my vicarious embarrassment. I hope they can use the story to drive the player and push them towards freedom, not fence them in. I hope the gameplay and events are more than story mission, towers, and outposts with the occasional hidden secret thingy. This game has every reason to be the Phantom Pain of the Far Cry series, nothing compares but you get what I mean. Maybe Splinter Cell Conviction is a better one to use. 

Fiirs

After The Division pre-release fiasco: involving the trailer they put out vs the game that was given on release. I doubt I’ll ever take anything I see without more than a grain of salt. I’m also worried this game may not ship in the best condition, two poor moves Ubisoft has made many-a-time in the past. Aside from those arguably large points, I feel good that I don’t have too much to worry about. Ubisoft has their fair share of faults, I just hope they can learn from EA and use their slip-ups to really push their product quality. 

Far Cry New Dawn - Peak Far Cry

After playing Far Cry New Dawn I have to say it is the best of Far Cry, and it is also the worst of Far Cry. Let's unpack that. First the good. This is undoubtedly the most fun I've ever had with a Far Cry game.

"Why?" You ask. Well, it's because of the setting. New Dawn takes place after the bombs fall. So there is no money in this game. Instead you have a handful of different materials you trade with. Things like wire, titanium, circuits, and ethanol. It can be a bit ridiculous running around with 100s of titanium bars in your pocket but it's Far Cry.

With all these new materials they added crafting and a bunch of RPG mechanics. And they doubled down on the RPG mechanics hard.

There are 2 major reasons you want materials. The first is to upgrade your base. It's basically like Far Cry Primal's base upgrades just like actually good. Your base (Prosperity) has a few different places you can upgrade. You can upgrade the medical place for more health, you can upgrade the garage to get better vehicles, you can upgrade the weapons place to be able to craft better weapons, you can upgrade the cartography place to be able to buy maps, etc.

There's also weapons. There are actually 4 tiers of weapon. Level 1, level 2, level 3, and elite. This 4 tiered ranking system is used everywhere in the game. Enemies appear in these levels. Also missions and outposts use them although not the elite tier. Elite tier enemies can also only be tagged until you lose line of sight on them for some reason. You can't attach components to weapons like suppressors manually like in previous games. There is an upgrade mechanic but it only upgrades the firepower by 5%. And the overpowered suppressed sniper rifle is a level 3. It's even more overpowered now because enemies will not know where you are even if they get shot.

Then there are 2 ways to get materials. First there's raiding outposts. You can also reset outposts. Resetting outposts gives you some ethanol and allows you to retake it meaning more ethanol but enemies come back stronger until the outpost reaches level 3 (it starts level 1 then goes 2 and then 3). You can also get armour pieces which are just aesthetic. Not really sure why you'd want them as you hardly ever see your character.

Also there are the raids. Basically they're sort of like giant outposts at certain locations. A bridge, an aircraft carrier, an amusement park, Alcatraz which I suspect is a modified Watch Dogs 2 asset, etc. So you fly there with a crazy french dude, locate a package, and signal for extraction by helicopter while waves of enemies come after you.

It's pretty fun. The only problem is there's no real reason to do it. I had low level gear until almost the very end. It was just this boss fight that was too hard so I had to upgrade my gear. If the missions were harder then it would give me more incentive to actually do the cool stuff. I know people will complain that Ubisoft is forcing us to buy the microtransactions just to progress. And those people need to just shut up and do the side content.

So that's the good. Now the bad. It's the story mostly. The story is just not good. Far Cry is known for having its ridiculous villains. So the New Dawn villains are quite a shock to say the least. They're just evil. Why are they evil? Dunno. They just are.

And the protagonist is no better. You play as the 'Captain of Security' and they are just the most generic character. It's basically the same premise as in Far Cry 5. But in 5 you play as a rookie (rook) and you sort of understood the character. You have this team and you went through this disaster. In New Dawn the game opens with your train derailed, and you're thrust into Hope County not really knowing anyone or having any reason to be there. You're just there. No backstory. No friends. Well, one friend. This guy called Thomas Rush, but he hardly talks to you so it doesn't really count. And there's no reason to keep going. It's just 'do this for us' and 'do that for us'.

All this makes the game feel super generic. Every other game has a hook. Like 3 it's tropical islands. Blood dragon it's the future. 4 is Napal. Primal it's the stone age. 5 it's this American location. And all the music and stuff was always themed like that. But New Dawn has none of that. It's set in Hope County but it could literally be set anywhere, well apart from the occasional US flags. It's not as bad as Odyssey's super repetitive locations but it is pretty generic.

As for the plot itself it is just stupid. Remember all the crazy supernatural stuff from 5? Well, we're going to do it again just it's even more crazy. And the things the protagonist does just for one hostage. It's so stupid it made me want to facepalm so hard.

Other than that it's basically an extended version of the Far Cry 5 experience although without any planes oddly enough. There's pepper stashes, convoys, and tasks (kill this animal, use this weapon, etc). The usual.

And you better get those pepper stashes quick because you start off with nothing: 2 weapon slots and not even a grapple which is essential at some locations. But once you do a bunch of tasks you'll have like 50 skill points and just keep on upgrading the same thing over and over. Yeah, some skills can be unlocked multiple times.

Also there's a new random event where a supply drop appears. Supply drops: they're going to be the thing in 2019. And all the enemies have healthbars now. Pretty unnecessary. They just highlight how absurdly bullet spongy some animals are. But I guess it makes sense if you're going to have 4 tiers of enemies.

Also new is your AI companions can drive you. You can even use the mounted gun while driving. You can also only have one companion at a time and when they die you need resources to revive them. Which is a pain when they die due to a physics glitch.

There are also resources to collect at locations. It's a reason to explore them, but not a good reason as those crazy french guy's quest give you far more resources. And outposts are clearly visible on your map by their smoke trails even if no one pointed out their locations to you yet which was a major annoyance I had with the previous game.

You know I was playing the Division 2 open beta and it actually made me realize how good Far Cry 5 is. With respawn locations that are actually close by and fun shooting mechanics and missions that don't constantly kill you. I think looking back New Dawn will be when Far Cry peaked. Not to say that it's perfect. They could definitely add more to it, but no other Far Cry game will be that much better than New Dawn. I probably won't be writing anything on The Division 2, but if I did it would be titled: Division 2 - Hold F To Open Doors.

Review Game Far Cry 5

Ever since Far Cry 3, sneaking my way through outposts eliminating enemies one by one has been one of my favorite things to do in video games. I’m happy to report that systematically taking down murderous thugs is just as fun in rural America as it is in the Himalayas, and that Far Cry 5 is another great game in the open-world series Ubisoft seems most willing to have fun with. It may be playing a familiar tune, but all of these combat, physics, and wildlife systems all mix together to create unexpected moments of intense and hilarious action.

This time around you play as a sheriff’s deputy, part of a task force sent into the fictional Hope County, Montana. Rural America may not be quite as exotic or exciting a playground as a tropical island or a secluded mountain, but it’s a gigantic open world where things are constantly blowing up, wild animals are pouncing, and a never-ending supply of cultists are lining up to be your target practice. The mountains, valleys, plains, forests, rivers, lakes, and caves of Hope County make it a place where there’s never a dull moment.With all of that scenery and action, Far Cry 5 is a nice-looking game, but it isn’t on the same level as, say, Horizon: Zero Dawn. Even comparing it to another recent open-world Ubisoft game, it’s not quite as attractive as Assassin’s Creed Origins. It’s generally good enough, but I was sometimes distracted by the pop-in caused by the density of the landscape. Even on the PS4 Pro, it’s hard not to notice all the magically appearing trees as you stroll through the wilderness. In fact, other than resolution on a 4K TV, there isn’t a stark difference between the PS4 and the Pro at all.

You can also count the number of unique cultist goon faces on one hand, so expect to be shooting the same faces over and over. Rounding out my technical complaints would be long load times – upwards of 60 seconds – on both PS4 and PS4 Pro, a couple glitched missions I had to restart, and the one time Far Cry 5 completely froze on me.

This dark corner of Montana is controlled by a man named Joseph Seed, a zealot leader who hasn’t left quite the same impression on me that Vaas or Pagan Min did in the previous two Far Cry games. He doesn’t have any particularly memorable lines, and his motivation for wanting to end the world is murky. But the story ends up in an unforgettable place, making this an open-world adventure that is worth seeing through to completion.

Play now Treasure Hunter

More game Diggy 2 Hacked

I like that, for the first time in a Far Cry game, you can choose between a male or female protagonist and do some light customization. Alas, it’s merely a cosmetic decision, as either way your character will be mute (so there’s no custom voice acting) and most people will refer to you as “The Deputy.” And for a series as bonkers as Far Cry, the customization options here are a little conservative. You unlock more as you progress, so it’s not as dire as it initially appears, but they are few and far between and rarely much more than a shirt or jeans. The one exception is a Far Cry Primal-style caveman/woman outfit, which is fun – I wanted to see more of that. But this being a first-person game, you won’t see much of yourself in the campaign anyway... unless you die a lot.

To complement the combat, some light environmental puzzle solving is required to find lucrative treasure stashes. On one of these sidequests, called Long Shot Lockpick, the goods are locked away in a shed high up on stilts overlooking a lake. The name of the quest is the clue, and after swimming to the other side of the lake you’ll find a sniper perch placed just right for peering through a back window in the shed at the lock which can be shot off, providing you access. It’s not The Witness, but these simple challenges allow for quiet moments of thought amidst all the chaos.

While Far Cry’s emergent gameplay recipe remains addictive, there is a certain amount of sameness to it. The tasks required of you, the weapons at your disposal, and the now-cliche supernatural dream sequences are all so similar to Far Cry 3 and 4 that there isn’t much by way of surprises in store. It’s still a blast to play, and the brutal combat remains ever so satisfying no matter where you are (thanks in part to the amusingly unrealistic ragdoll death animations) but Far Cry 5 doesn’t feel like a revelation because it doesn’t do a lot to set itself apart.

The structure of the main quest is a little different, in that in order to get to Joseph Seed you need to draw out and eliminate his three lieutenants (his siblings) first. Each rules over their own area of Hope County, and to get to them you’ll need to build up Resistance Points by liberating outposts, freeing captives, and otherwise killing their vibe. It’s a fun progression system that gives you a constant visual cue of the progress you’re making as you watch that resistance meter slowly fill. It also provides a very “video game” path through several bosses on your way to the final boss. Hope County is truly open, and you can make your way through the three different areas and bosses in any order you like.

The four cult leaders all have unique personalities and recruitment tactics, and make for perfectly suitable villains. Faith Seed, the one female boss, is probably the most interesting, as she employs a drug called Bliss to cause hallucinations in her victims, and those end up being some of the most visually interesting moments in Far Cry 5. Jacob Seed also won me over by the end of his arc. He’s an ex-soldier who doesn’t necessarily believe his leader actually talks to God, but who is happy to cull the herd and exterminate anyone he sees as weak. But I don’t expect any of these leaders will end up being remembered like Far Cry 3’s Vaas still is today as they’re not that visually interesting and, while much of the writing is good, the villains don’t have any real quotable zingers.

The entire story can also be played cooperatively with a real-world friend, and that’s when Far Cry 5 achieves a whole other level of crazy. Two players generate twice as much chaos, and it’s really fun to galavant around Montana with a buddy leaving destruction in your wake. It’s a drag that only the host player will get credit for completing missions. The guest will have to finish them again on their own (or go through again as host).

Further enhancing the replayability of Far Cry 5 is Far Cry Arcade, an entirely new mode separate from the campaign where you can create your own levels. It aims to keep you playing long after you’ve cleared out the Hope County map, but in its current state it’s a bit of a disappointment if you’re looking to play rather than create. The editing tools are very in-depth and a handful of different mission types can be created, but this isn’t something you can casually sit down with and whip up your own level. Creating something worth playing will take time, patience, and actual level design skills.

Far Cry 5 PC Review - Fear and Lore in Hope County

By the time my law enforcement colleagues and I arrived to take The Father, Joseph Seed, into custody, Hope County, Montana, had been consumed by his Eden’s Gate followers, known to the locals as Peggies. The situation was dire, and I felt a chill the first time I saw his compound. The Father, the game’s main antagonist, reminded me of David Koresh, who was the leader of the real-world Branch Davidians. It was a narrative tone that I wasn’t expecting, but it was welcome. Soon, however, the unsettling mood set by the prologue gave way to the fast-paced, non-stop action that open-world Ubisoft games are known for.

Welcome to Hope County

When I was eventually set free in Hope County, I spent about half an hour being introduced to the various concepts and mechanics of Far Cry 5. I found a prepper stash, had the chance to swim, used a zipline, and even hired an NPC to help clear the game’s first region, Dutch’s Island. Once through that, I was free to go where I wanted and do what I pleased.

After clearing Dutch’s Island, I picked up a quest to liberate a lumber mill, so I set off on foot with my hired NPC fighter in tow. I generally don’t like to fast travel in open world games, but I didn’t even drive to this mission. My immediate goal was to get a feel for Hope County. It looked gorgeous on my PC in 2K, and I wanted to get lost wandering around the woods and mountains. 

The first thing I noticed beyond the beauty of Hope County were the sounds that brought the world to life. Be it the burst fire from assault weapons over the hill, the creepy voice of a cultist over the radio, or the hissing of a snake I couldn't see but knew was close, sound was as essential to survival in Far Cry 5 as it was to my enjoyment in the game.

Unfortunately, the temptation to enjoy outdoor life in Far Cry 5’s stunning environment was contradicted by the density of the game’s dangers. I couldn’t go five feet without being fired on by Eden’s Gate, or mauled by a bear. This sometimes lead to hilarity, but there were few, if any, quiet moments in the early going where I could stop and enjoy the world. My first attempt to go fishing was met with violence, and hunting isn’t really hunting when you need an automatic rifle to defend yourself from your intended prey. I used both activities almost exclusively to earn money in the early going, but eventually I was swimming in cash and had no gameplay incentive to return to either.

The lumber mill mission also turned out to be my first outpost, and those generally worked the same as they did in Far Cry Primal. Each one had numerous enemies, an alarm or two that needed disabling, and some loot and lore could be found once the baddies were gone. Liberating these outposts gave control of it back to the non-cultist citizens and opened it up as a base that I could operate out of. There was always a shop to buy guns, ammo, and items, and usually a vehicle bay or two. Liberating an outpost also presented additional side missions and allowed me to hire wandering NPCs to fight by my side.

I enjoyed everything about outposts in Far Cry 5. The fighter I hired on Dutch’s Island helped me clear the first one, and I was pleased to see that I could give him orders with a single button press. If I tagged an enemy and then sent my fighter after them, he’d try to use stealth to take them out. We cleared the first outpost without being detected, and it was nice to see that the area was now back in the hands of the good folks of Hope County. The more outposts and locations I cleared, the less influence Eden’s Gate had, which led to a true feeling that I had liberated the region.

Lock and Load

As satisfying as clearing an outpost was, though, a major mechanic was missing. Far Cry 5 doesn’t have the option to go prone, and it worsened my experience with stealth gameplay. Ubisoft perfected going prone in Ghost Recon Wildlands and Rainbow Six Siege, and I think that made the lack of a prone mechanic here sting even more. I realize it wasn’t an option in previous Far Cry games, but I don’t get the design decision.

Prone notwithstanding, combat was enjoyable. I used a DualShock 4 controller even though I was on PC, and I never took issue with the button layouts, even with vehicles. The control scheme always felt intuitive, and this helped to keep the flow of combat moving. I was never fumbling around trying to figure out what to press. Switching weapons and tossing explosives was effortless, and all of this tied into the weapons and perks in Far Cry 5.

Getting weapons and gear in Far Cry 5 wasn’t satisfying. Beyond the Compound Bow I found during my time on Dutch’s Island, everything was purchased through vendors. I felt robbed of the need to look for a sniper rifle or assault rifle. Gear acquisition became boring. Some weapon upgrades were locked behind progression, which was fine, but for the most part I found the system unrewarding. Even finding the bow was less exciting once I realized I could have just paid for it.

Perks also fell a bit flat for me. There were a few that were useful, such as the Grappling Hook or Lockpick, but beyond that most were forgettable. When I finally finished with everything I wanted to do I was only missing a couple, and I didn’t bother to read their descriptions before spending the points to unlock them.

Earning the points to unlock the perks was the best part of the system for me. Perk magazines (each worth one perk point) could be found in prepper stashes and unlocked through gameplay. The few times I needed a perk I knew I could quickly earn the required points by catching a new fish or using a weapon I’d been ignoring. Perk points were also awarded for kills that fighter and specialist companions racked up, which pushed me to give each one a try.

Good, Hard Working People

Fighters and specialists enhanced the combat experience of Far Cry 5. The former are regular NPCs that you bump into. They each come with two unknown perks that are revealed and unlocked after they get a certain number of kills. They can be hired or let go as desired, and you can have three on your roster at any one time. I ended up with two I found useful, but the third spot became a revolving door of fighters who didn’t fit in. Since I could mix and match specialists and fighters, and can only ever bring two at a time, this wasn’t a huge deal.

The nine specialists were all unique characters that unlocked after the completion of their related mission. Each comes with different perks and personalities, and it’s when they start to interact with each other that things got fun. Nick would compliment Jess, while Hurk would tell her stories and call her “lady girl” constantly. Jess would insult Hurk. These interactions were a subtle touch, but they made me want to try different combinations of specialists to see what crazy things they might say to each other. My favorite was when Nick and Jess would be tagging along, and because Jess favored the use of a bow, Nick would chime in with, “I tried hunting with a bow once. That shit’s hard.”

The main appeal of a companion was the violence they brought to the table. In the early hours of my playthrough I would take Jess and Boomer with me. Boomer (the dog) would mark enemies, and Jess (killer with a Compound Bow) would take them out silently. It worked well with my preference for stealth, and it was also effective for hunting wildlife. Slowly, though, I found myself preferring to travel Hope County by helicopter. I grew tired of violent encounters every few steps and used air travel to avoid distraction. This is about when I switched to Nick and Adelaide as companions. Nick flew a plane and could strafe or drop bombs, and Adelaide provided the comedic tone and overwatch in her chopper. Together, we decimated Peggies and could clear outposts and missions in minutes. This built up the resistance in each region and progressed the story at a good pace.

Give Me Lore, Give Me Lore

The concept of clearing out Peggies and building a resistance in each region worked well. What didn’t work was how often Far Cry 5 interrupted me and dragged me into a story mission. The moment I would level my resistance in an area, one of the Seed siblings would capture me, ripping me from whatever I was doing. Once I could handle, but this occurred half a dozen times. It annoyed me enough that I logged out after leveling my resistance one night. I was exploring prepper stashes and had no desire to be dragged into another mission at that moment, so I put the game down in frustration.

It wasn’t that I didn’t find myself invested in the narrative, but collectibles and getting into prepper stashes were my favorite parts of Far Cry 5. Prepper stashes were usually bunkers that required me to solve a small puzzle to gain access. I was addicted to these from the moment I realized they existed and managed to find each prepper stash long before beating the game. My only issue was the use of waypoints everywhere. There was one prepper stash that gave me a waypoint that said “Find.” That sort of sucked the fun out of things. I did discover that I could tweak the HUD and gameplay settings, but this was long after it would have helped me.

Some prepper stashes, bunkers, and buildings in Far Cry 5 reminded me a bit of Fallout 4. In that game, each destination told a story that I could easily overlook if I wasn’t taking my time. Far Cry 5 had the same feel at times, which is the highest compliment I could give it considering how much I enjoyed Fallout 4. I’d often find that, when I slowed myself down and really paid attention, there were stories being told in Hope County that I could have just as easily walked right past. Hope County was full of lore, but I often found myself too busy ticking the boxes on the waypoint checklist to notice.

Not the Arcade I Remember

Far Cry Arcade was the last mode I tried. I loved the idea of designing single player, co-op, and PvP experiences with assets from previous Ubisoft games. However, I was quickly overwhelmed with what was before me and lost interest in building anything. This was more a reflection of my lack of creativity, though. The concept of building new gameplay levels and scenarios by using thousands of assets is interesting, and it could add longevity to Far Cry 5. Next, I jumped into some Far Cry Arcade PvP. Through my five or six games, I was underwhelmed by what I found. Weapon loadouts were limited, the gameplay didn’t stand out from anything I’d played in the past, and I couldn’t find a reason to want to return. It could have been fun with friends and chatting on the mic together, but I played with random gamers. Nothing about the PvP experience sold me on coming back to it. PvP just doesn’t interest me much these days, and nothing in my rounds of PvP threatened to pull me back to it. I’m a co-op man at heart, which brings me to my biggest complaint.

Co-op in Far Cry 5 was amazing to play but terribly implemented. I loved playing with a friend and seeing how combat evolved. I recall cruising down the road, him driving and me hanging out the window with a baseball bat, crushing the face of anything that got close. It was mailbox baseball with a twist, but the fun in co-op never stopped as long as we were insane enough to try something.

The problem was when I left his game and returned to my own. I kept my perks, cash, and weapons, but story progression was lost. We probably went through a dozen missions, only for me to return to my game and have to do them all again. How this slipped by the game’s designers or was considered a good idea is beyond me. Co-op was the single most anticipated feature for me leading up to Far Cry 5, but I began avoiding it because I didn’t want to repeat quests in my own instance.

Just Say Yes

Far Cry 5 was a good game that could have been great. Had Ubisoft not been so concerned with holding my hand, or overwhelming me with clutter to keep me from getting bored, Hope County would have gone down as one of the better open worlds I’ve stepped foot in. The  game’s narrative was a great idea that turned out better than I expected, but the value for me with an open world will always be in how much I enjoy existing in it. How motivated am I to explore and discover? With Far Cry 5, there were hints of that, but all too often I was shown the answers. This left me feeling slightly robbed of how I experienced things.

At the same time, Far Cry 5 met all my expectations for exciting combat and hilarious moments. Whether grappling from my helicopter because a random NPC jacked it, or hearing Adelaide discuss why she stocked up on olive oil before Eden’s Gate took over, there were more moments of hilarity and brilliance than not. A few things missed the mark that shouldn’t have, but I generally got what I expected from Far Cry 5; a fun, open-world game worth the price tag and not to be taken too seriously.

Far Cry 5 PC Review - Fear and Lore in Hope County published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

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What I'm Playing Now: Far Cry 4, Zelda Wind Waker and Sports Champions

This week, I dove into Far Cry 4, exercised my mind with Brain Age (I know, I’m about ten years behind on this one), started The Wind Waker HD, and played my first PlayStation Move game in Sports Champions. Let’s take a look at what I’m playing now! Far Cry 4 My backlog is rather extensive, and with an abundance of new titles releasing in the coming months, it goes without saying that I need to be efficient in choosing which games to play, to manage my time and have the most possible fun (for as much as I’d like to, restarting Fallout 4 with a focus on melee wouldn’t make much sense at the moment; there are just too many other games to play). However, Far Cry 4 wasn’t among these games—those which I hoped to clear from my backlog ASAP. I purchased the Kyrat Edition some time ago for $30, and until the realization that I’ll detail next hit me, I didn’t really plan to play it anytime soon. As I was choosing my next game, though, I noticed something odd:  a sizable stockpile of new Assassin’s Creed titles waiting to be played. AC 3, 4, and Unity were all purchased for next to nothing, and it hasn’t slipped my attention that Syndicate is rapidly dropping in cost. Also, another new title is coming out sometime next year! Ubisoft’s affinity for releasing yearly installments and my affinity for good gaming deals has created quite the conundrum—one that may never quite be repaired (the odds of me playing all four of these AC games before the next title’s release are close to zero). With Far Cry: Primal plummeting in price as well, and history indicating that Ubisoft won’t delay in crafting another entry, I realized I didn’t want to find myself in the same situation with another series—or at the very least, I didn’t want to find myself in a situation that was this bad with another series. So, somewhat begrudgingly, I began Far Cry 4 on the PlayStation 4. My first impression was that the game looks technically impressive, in terms of its graphics, and that Ubisoft has dedicated quite a bit of newfound energy to developing the story and character of this entry. Both impressions were true. From the enemies to the animals and even the aerial views, Far Cry 4’s graphics are beautiful. In terms of adding personality to the game, the characters speak for themselves (two hippy stoners trapped in Kyrat and occupying your parent’s home, the main dictator antagonist, a gun-toting warlord-turned-priest with a knack for righteous justice, a surprisingly funny and interesting radio host, etc.). The player choices found in the game also add to this personality, as completely different main-story paths can also be chosen from. Furthermore, even relatively minuscule details—like some one-line item descriptions—earned a chuckle from me. The lush landscapes and never-ending supply of exotic animals—especially elephants, which can be rode and used to trample enemies—are also of a very high quality. Moreover, the numerous vehicles, main quests, side quests, capture missions, and the sheer amount of things to do in the game are impressive—for new players, that is. For those of us who have played previous entries, the laundry list of tasks to complete in Far Cry 4 will be an annoyance more than anything else. Climbing up and liberating radio towers to change their propaganda frequency to a pro-democracy message is all well and good, but I did so in Far Cry 3 (and something similar in 2, if I remember correctly). The same can be said of the races and outpost missions! Even the involved healing procedures, where the character removes a bullet from his body, puts out a limb that has caught fire, snaps a finger back into place, or performs another healing action based upon the specific damage incurred is getting old! It was appealing when I saw it for the first time in Far Cry 2, cool in Far Cry 3, but now, it’s just a bit worn out. Therein lies the problem with Ubisoft’s quick-fire release schedule: they continually come-up with an exciting concept, revolutionize it (Far Cry 1 to Far Cry 2 saw massive improvements, as did Assassins Creed 1 to Assassins Creed 2) and then replicate this revolutionized product with minor variations through each new release. For as intriguing as the healing system is, it first made its debut in 2008—nearly a decade ago! This point is further illustrated in Far Cry Primal. It took me about an hour to find that the animals were the coolest part of Far Cry 4—throwing bait (it helps that your character is equipped with the launching power of an MLB pitcher) and watching as a ravenous predator attacks your enemies is awesome, as is riding elephants and trampling all who stand in your path. This unique, albeit relatively minor in terms of size, bit of creativity appealed to other players as well, and Ubisoft in-turn developed an entire game around the theme in Primal. The point is that, if Ubisoft delayed releases and focused on further innovating titles, their games wouldn’t be stockpiling in my collection. While it’s true that I don’t represent the whole of their sales community, it’s important to note that I’ve been playing Ubisoft’s games for years now; new players will be in the same boat as I am in no time at all. The long-term implications of this development style aren’t purely financial. Sure, Rock Band and Guitar Hero were beat to death, but by then, Activision had made boatloads of money. Call of Duty sales are continually slumping, but once again, the profits are already there. The real long-term implications of this quick-pace development style are simple: their games will be played because they are technically sound, but they won’t make history. When Rockstar releases a GTA title (or any other game), Naughty Dog creates games like The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, or Nintendo launches a new Legend of Zelda or Smash Bros entry, for instance, they are able to make history, capture the attention of the entire gaming industry, and still turn a massive profit. Brain Age While I’ve played a lot of DS games, I haven’t quite experienced everything the system has to offer—mainly because I focus primarily on consoles. Brain Age is one of the DS’s most notable titles, and because it’s been sitting in my collection for well over a year since I bought it for fifty cents at a yard sale, I figured I’d give it a go (sound reasoning, right?). I’ll keep this brief, as I’m sure you don’t want to hear too much about it, but this is an awesome game! Admittedly, I thought it was purely a collection of mind-bending mini games before playing. While these mini-games are present (and very well made), I’m finding a lot of use in the title’s one hundred Sudoku puzzles. Performing one per day is a lot of fun, and they make me wish I’d enjoyed Brain Age a while back. I’ll keep my eye out for a cheap copy of the sequel. Sports Champions I bought a PS Move bundle from an FYE store for 75% off, bringing the cost down to about fifteen dollars. I’ve wanted to try Move for a long time, and with two new games as well, I thought the bundle was worth it for the price. Sports Champions is another one of those titles that I imagine you’re not interested in hearing too much about, so I’ll keep this brief. In fact, I’m not even that interested in playing it—while it’s technically sound and well-made, I think the lack of another player (the bundle only came with one controller) and my Wii Sports days have burned me out on motion-controlled sports video games. I really wanted to comment on the Ping Pong portion of Sports Champions. While I breezed through the opposition in the title’s other sports (and had fun doing so), I can’t seem to find much success at all in table tennis. To be fair, I suck at Ping Pong in real life, but the way the CPU players return my serves and hits repeatedly seems to be a bit much! Has anyone else had the same experience? Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Finally, I began The Wind Waker HD on the Wii U (or more specifically, my brother did). While I only played for about twenty minutes and watched for an hour or so, I was reminded of what makes the game so incredibly special—this is a great example of a title that truly deserved to be remastered. The HD graphics look spectacular (the pigeons on the side of the telescope your sister gives you at the beginning really made this clear right before the landscapes and characters did), the gamepad works impressively well (in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been an outspoken proponent of the gamepad for a while—I thoroughly enjoy playing with it), and the game had aged outstandingly overall. Now, if only the fun I’ve had with the Wind Waker HD (and will have when I play it myself) didn’t remind me of Breath of the Wild’s delay! Next week, I’ll dive into one of the many downloadable games I have on the PS4 from Sony’s numerous sales, as well as a new title altogether (retail). I should be finished with Far Cry 4 soon, and I’ll record my final impressions of that too. Until next week!

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Far Cry 5 - Thank God I Don’t Have To Press E To Open Doors Anymore

Far Cry 4 is basically a clone of Far Cry 3. So much so that some people recommend buying Far Cry 3 over 4. I don’t agree with that. Far Cry is definitely better than 3. But not that much so.

No one will accuse Far Cry 5 of being too similar to Far Cry 4. Because Far Cry 5 is a fundamental reimagining of Far Cry. The game it most reminds me of is Just Cause 3. Just like Just Cause 3 the world is much smaller but it is also much more focused. This is also emphasized by the new diorama sort of effect for the map. Although I’m not sure how accurate it is, especially when it says: there’s supposed to be a quest here, and when you go there it’s in the middle of the forest (this always happens during companion missions). It doesn’t pull it off as well as in Just Cause 3. But unlike Just Cause 3 it doesn’t crash every 5 minutes.

Although with the smaller map I want a way to get around faster. Something like Just Cause 3’s grapple/parachute or Saints Row 4’s super speed or even Mad Max’s instant car. It just feels so unnecessary to have to hijack a car, especially with no clear indicator for where the nearest car is. You can actually call in one of your companions who has a helicopter but this is rather cumbersome and takes a bit of time to do. Plus I only got it to work once in my playthrough.

In previous Far Cry games there’s two major parts of the map. The radio towers and the camps. FC5 still has camps but no radio towers. But this time the camps are not displayed by default. You can still find their locations by going near them or encountering certain characters, more on this later, but the map that’s covered in red with tons of objectives on it is gone. You know, I don’t really like it. It feels emptier. I’d rather have all the camps marked.

There’s also a lot more stuff to do though. In Far Cry 4 there were side quests such as rescue the hostages and hunt a certain animal. BTW skinning animals now plays a much smaller role in 5. Although you can skin them they only give you money and the lovely animation is gone.

So quests. There are a lot of quests in 5 and they are mostly all distinct. There are some repeats and very similar quests but they are few and far between. Some quests are actually really interesting like the one on Far Cry Blood Dragon. I like the new quests. Definitely better than the ones in 4 which I only rarely did and it felt like a chore. I just wish there were more like in Assassin’s Creed Origins. Oh well.

There are also story quests. But they aren’t very good. In fact I’d say they’re even worse than the previous games. You might have already heard that you get interrupted too much. And you definitely do. There are 3 small villains plus the big bad. Each small villain will interrupt you at least twice, and usually more.

They’re really annoying. Especially when I’m going somewhere like a quest start or a camp and out of nowhere you’re kidnapped and have to do some random mission. Then to make things worse when you finish the quest you’re spawned at some completely random location.

But this is just a symptom of a much worse problem. That the story is just trash. The story could be so much better. But it’s not. The three mini villains are like card-board cut outs. Yeah, they’re evil but they’re so poorly defined. I don’t even know what they do. They could have just said something like, “Minibad 1 controls this aspect of the operation” but it never happens. And the big bad hardly ever appears. Except from some brief cutscenes you could have forgotten about him the entire game.

You know I thought Far Cry 4 had a good story. I mean like a bad story, but good. In 4 there are the same number of min-bads and big bads. But it does it so much better. At each enemy you have some story missions to flesh them out. They don’t have to be very big. In fact one in particular villain I thought could have been done better. But you never questioned why you were fighting them. They were bad.

In 5 I really didn’t know why I was fighting. Yeah, the locals are bad but I’m a Deputy. Shouldn’t I, like, call for backup instead of murdering anything? If I do get out of this I’m so fired.

Let’s also talk about the companions. They’re overpowered. It feels like they want you to think of them as real people but it just feels fake. They can revive you which makes them so overpowered. In fact everything about them is overpowered.

Take camps. Oh, I should have mentioned that money is harder to get in this game. I mean the currency is US dollars which are a bit less inflated than rupees in the last game so it should be expected but it just felt like there was less money around.

Part of this is in Far Cry 4 there were like random stashes of money all around which made you feel like you had an effectively infinite amount of money. There’s none in 5. In fact money is quite difficult to get. You can get a few dollars by looting guys you kill but that’s just peanuts compared to the cost of the weapons and attachments. To really get money you need to do quests and clear outposts.

So back to the outposts. You don’t get any money for clearing outposts. You only get money if you clear it without alarms going off. And you get more money if you clear them without being detected. This was here in FC4 as well but you got XP instead of money and a pretty trivial amount at that.

There is one catch. If you send in companions they will not trigger the alarm. This was in Far Cry Primal as well but in Primal your companions were animals and pretty weak at that needing to get revived every one or two kills. It felt like it was far more effective to go in stealthily.

In Far Cry 5 you can just call in Nick Rye to carpet bomb everyone, but look: undetected. It’s pretty ridiculous actually. For those that don’t know Nick Rye is one of the companions. He has a plane, I know it’s a first for the series. Although I don’t like the fact that if you’re getting attacked by planes your only option is to call in Nick Rye to take care of it for you.

So anyways I felt like I was being penalized for attacking outposts head on. It seemed like the superior method of fighting them is just calling in your companions because that’s how you get undetected. Sort of a shame really. I hate it when it feels like the right way to go is the least fun.

Speaking of companions there are a few more. It sort of reminds me of Fallout 4. And not just because they block doors (come on guys, Tales of Zesteria got this right). You can actually have 2 companions equipped at a time and they can actually talk to each other while they’re both equipped. They don’t have a ton of things to say but they are pretty entertaining.

Although I must say it’s hard to tell if they are dying. I mean they’ll say something but it’s easy to miss. Especially one of the flying companions. “Where is my companion? Oh, he’s dead” Also some story sections will remove companions randomly. they really should re-add them when you’re done the mission.

So let’s talk about skills. A lot of people say you get skills from completing ‘optional objectives’ which is true. The optional objectives actually remind me of Mad Max as in some are like, “who cares?“ but some of them are worth getting. There’s one for killing guys with each enemy type but apart from that they’re not really that great. I like the level based system of 4 better.

But also there are perk magazines. You can occasionally find one or two around the map but the loot caches always have 3. These are places around the map that are puzzles to get in. I actually really like them. Way better than in Far Cry 4 where the camera would just randomly fly around showing various locations after clearing a radio tower.

For the graphics section it’s not quite as nice as the previous Far Cry games. The forests give me an Alan Wake vibe and they’re nice, but they’re nothing compared to the breadth-taking vistas of Far Cry 4.

There’s also a chromatic aberration effect that is way overused. It’s used when you go through the drug flowers which is fine. But it’s also used when you come out of water. Like seriously? And there’s a compass which I really like. In previous games there was a minimap and I liked to disable it because I hate minimaps. But some missions assume you have a minimap and are harder to do. But now that doesn’t happen. Except, maybe, the hostage missions. It still takes me forever to find the hostages without the minimap.

But you know, for all the improvements it’s still Far Cry. Which means some ridiculous things still happen. For example animals will attack NPC’s for no reason. Which is especially annoying while you’re talking to them. And in this game you’re going to have to talk to them more often because they give you information such as mission locations. Oh well.

The loot and take weapon are still the same button which drives me up the wall. But now there’s no looting animations. Which I totally get for humans. But not for animals. I miss that skinning animation. And there’s a bit of a more in depth crafting system. But I never used it as random loot I found lying around was sufficient.

So that’s Far Cry 5. When I played Far Cry 4 I knew it was a definite improvement over 3. But 5? I’m not really sure anymore. Yeah, it’s smaller and more focused. But I also think it lost some of what made Far Cry Far Cry. Still a great game. But 4 was better.