REVIEW : Far Cry 5 (PS4/ PS4 Pro)
Far Cry 5 is breath of fresh air compared to past entries. Far Cry 5 is the exception to the theory that all Ubisoft games are the same, climb towers, take over territories and near identical open world mechanics.
After Assassin’s Creed Origins making serious changes to age old formula, Far Cry 5 tries the same and it is really successful at that.
Far Cry 5 features a completely new setting as compared to previous titles. Where previous titles explored Jungles and mountains, this features Rural North West America.
There is no mini map filled with icons, instead just a compass which will point you in right direction. No more climbing towers to get access to new missions in an area, instead you get missions when you stumble across them. This change is so welcomed as stumbling onto action is more entertaining than getting to action.
Far Cry 5 has 4 major antagonists John, Faith, Jacob and Joseph Seed with the fourth one coming into picture much later. The first three antagonist define a region each with its own personality. Your fight against each of them leads you to interesting arcs with each region having its own style or kind of enemies. You are free to take on missions as you like.
Far Cry 5 depicts the cultist villains as doomsday messengers which are balanced by patriotic militia who are force of good.
Far Cry 5 is among the most beautiful and detailed open world games yet. The Mountains, lush vegetation and atmospheric volumetric lighting will take your breath away. Firefights are a sight to behold.
There still are some repetitive activities from time to time but most of the new mission structures is amazing and the set pieces in them is outstanding. Most of your time would be spent on taking over outposts, destroying the roadblocks and freeing the citizens from the cult. Since, there is no mini map, you will be going from action to action till you reach an area where you really want to go.
Stealth now takes more priority as the game offers much more freedom as compared to its processors. The AI has been vastly improved too which makes each fight much more satisfying.
Far Cry ally system has evolved too with humans as well as animal companions helping you out through the missions. Civilians can be recruited as soldiers which level up and gain abilities. Story missions unlocking special allies which can snipe, use airplane or the animals like dog Boomer who will sniff out enemies and attack them.
Far Cry 5 features lot of variety in vehicle department too. Jeeps and trucks form the usual vehicles and you can also use tractors to cause some havoc. The game also offers great race challenges. Don’t forget the wing suits, parachute and grapple. The game is a blast with so much variety to approach a mission any way you want.
Far Cry is among the best sandbox shooters. It’s the most engaging in the series. The antagonists are nothing short of crazy with pulling of acts which define the word insane. The game does not let the crazy drop too, with regular shots of jaw dropping acts from the seeds.
Faith leans you towards madness with all the soft talk, John throws gruesome confrontations at you and Jacob launches brainwashing attacks at you. These actions keep you occupied and move the game forward at steady pace.
Far Cry 5 finds balance in story and all the busy work missions to get to the next part of the story. Whenever you start feeling bored the game throws a curve ball at you. This is very good pacing as the game is quite long, minimum 30 hours.
The game is playable in co-op and it is very enjoyable with a friend. Far Cry Arcade offers something new, it is an evolution of the old map editor. It enables you to build your own missions which you can play solo, co-op or in multiplayer. I have seen people build counter strike maps in the game. This feature will only get better as player count rises.
