After a bit of a slump in gaming (mind you, a slump by my definition is starting 1 game a month), I grabbed the opportunity called Xmas to start Far Cry 4 in co-op. And I have to say, I am impressed.
First a bit of background. The story can be compared to the previous instalments. This time situated somewhere on the subcontinent, a small country is being run by a villain and his helpers. You, as a player, are the son of a famous hero and are asked to help with the rebellion against the self crowned king. In this free roaming shooter you will find yourself riding elephants, shooting tigers, liberating outposts and hijacking military vehicles.
There is a campaign string of quests and a load of side quests. Most of them will have you go somewhere, get something or shoot something and report back for a reward. Basic stuff really. But it has been done in a very well manor. The stories fit together and part of the story is based on your own choices.
Where Far Cry used to be brilliant in just shooting and creating your own maps that you can play on-line with friends, this one has cooperative play properly integrated. Not sure why this is limited to side missions only but that only some room for improvement.
The graphics - I played the game on Xbox One - are stunning and the sound is perfect. Being not much of a shooter - i tend to hit everything but the opponents most of the time - the game is nice to play. Already done 20 hours of gameplay (most of it in co-op) and the counter still says 30% finished.
Downsides you ask ?
Yes, had a few disconnects while in a mission. But 1 or 2 glitches aside, this is a good reason to get through the Xmas period.
Have not really started the map editor but if previous versions are anything to go by, that will be brilliant. Far Cry 2 and 3 had the best and most extensive map editors I have seen and what I have seen of this one, it will be no different. Now all that needs to be improved is the online matchmaking and user created content search and validating. Will let you know if that has been done.
To be honest, Far Cry 4 is one of the first games that makes it worth it to switch to the new platform (especially playstation 4 game offerings where terrible i.e. non-existing really).
My rating so far:
| graphics | 9 |
| gameplay | 8 |
| sound | 8 |
| (re-)play value | 9 |
| story | 7 |
| total | 8.2 |
Available on xbox one, x360, ps3, ps4 and pc.
