My FarCry Review

[VIAN]

Grade: B

Of all the nice things that FarCry has to offer, what I'm remembering right now, moments after beating it, is just frustration. I was so frustrated that the twist in the story near the end barely had an effect on me. I was about to give it a C, but I don't think it deserves that low a grade. FarCry is difficult and frustrating. I can't even imagine beating the game on the highest difficulty, considering how difficult the last 2 levels were.

The story is about an ex military dude who gets hired to take a reporter to this island by ship. Then the ship gets attacked and he escapes. But the entire Island is on alert looking for him. From there you find out about these insane monsters who, unfortunately, can kill you with one hit and can jump far and fast. They also have really long arms which makes it really easy to do their job. That's not all, you also find out that there are much bigger monster, invisible monsters, monsters that are nearly impossible to kill, and that many times, you are put in the middle of all of these beautiful creatures. Holy Sh|t! Run!

...frustrating.

In the end you face these marines who don't think before they shoot and willingly lay their life on the line to protect their master. In other words... frustrating. But enough about frustration, as that only happens near the ending levels.

This game mixes action, horro, and stealth into a nicely packaged game. There are basically two environments, a jungle and a facility. You will keep going back and forth through those, but staying mostly in the jungle. And don't worry, there's plenty of water beside you as well as lots of military bases to make your legs shake with fright.

As for the weapons, you basically have a knife, a sub-machine gun, a rifle, a shotgun a sniper rifle and a rocket launcher. The sub-machine gun and the rifle comes in different forms however.

As for graphics, they are some of the best in today. Real nice special effects and textures. Although my computer couldn't handle all of it, I was able to see it with it all on and it was pretty. They were glitchy however, polygons flickered, physics - lost touch with reality sometimes, shadows flickered - especially bad on characters around the neck, and a few other bugs here and there.

How is FarCry compared to Doom3?

I do think Doom3 was better. As far as which one holds the best graphics, they both hold outstanding graphics. At times in FarCry, it looked better than Doom3, but at times, Doom3 looked better than FarCry. The Shadowing system seems to be better in Doom3. The physics in FarCry seem to be better, but along with that are bugs. All in all Doom3 has the most stable graphics and physics engine.

 

[Navid]

Did you ever think may be there are other ways, which may be easier, for achieving the same goal in Far Cry (so that it is not so "frustrating")?

Did you ever consider the value of the game with respect to linearity? There are so many different ways to get from one checkpoint to the next in Far Cry. Can you say the same thing about Doom?

 

[biostud]

Only once did I think it was just stupid in difficulty, and that was right in the end. At that moment I had to use extra saves to finish it. Other than that I found the dificulty perfect (I played on challeging), sometimes it was frustrating (the car chase) but it was possible to do the tasks. And that resulted in the longelivity of the game. I think the vehicle control could have been better, but since it generally was better sneaking around it didn't matter that much.

What I liked about the game that if you used some tactics sneaking around the perimiter of the waypoints you could take out creatures before beeing surrounded. I like that when a path is cleared creatures doesn't just spawn in, making an illogical attack possible. Also I like that you change environment more than in Doom. I liked both game, but I liked FarCry better, because of more variation and..........what the heck I just like beeing a sniper

 

[Fern]

I played/finished far Cry before starting Doom 3 (which I am nearing the end of).

I give FC a better grade than D3 because: non-linear play in FC made it more fun/challenging for me. More oportunity to play with physics in FC too.

I was more impressed with the graphics in FC as well. Some of that can be attributed to playing FC first. Some is also attributable to the fact that I love tropical scenery. Can't get enough of it. I will be playing FC again soon.

I think there is more replay value to FC for me. I can re-try the missions with a diff strategy, and I'll never get enough of those beautiful island scenes.

I think they are both "must have" games.

Fern

 

[vapidtransit]

Far Cry was difficult, yes but frustrating...no. The storyline was one big cliche but I was letting that slide because it looked so damn pretty.

I found that knowing when to run/gun, knowing when to lay low and snipe and knowing when to start lobbing grenades and launching missiles made a huge difference. The last screen was really really tough...but contrast that with the Cyberdemon in DOOM 3. The cyberdemon was a wimp and I got no sense of accomplishment whatsoever out of defeating it.

 

[sandorski]

Far Cry = great game and Engine

Doom 3 = Great Engine Demo

 

[VIAN]

Did you ever think may be there are other ways, which may be easier, for achieving the same goal in Far Cry (so that it is not so "frustrating")?

Did you ever consider the value of the game with respect to linearity? There are so many different ways to get from one checkpoint to the next in Far Cry. Can you say the same thing about Doom?

The easy ways usually take much time to complete.

Sometimes there are different ways, but I always choose the easiest way and there is only one.

Plus, a game's non-linearity doesn't necessarily mean fun.

 

[BFG10K]

I'd probably rank Doom III and Far Cry about the same. FC had the problem of non-working quicksaves and a very high level of difficulty level, however I felt the mission design and graphics edged Doom III.

 

[gururu]

nice review. this game is superior to D3 on many levels IMO. it offered a far more rewarding and addictive experience. the challenge only brought me back. good review though!

 

[electified]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Far Cry = great game and Engine

Doom 3 = Great Engine Demo

agreed

FC I found to be much more fun due to the nonlinearity. I love the big open areas where you can take out whoever you want, as opposed to the closed quarters with monsters spawning all around you.

 

[Sunner]

I thought the difficulty of FarCry was just right, except the last level, that was indeed very frustrating.
Prior to that level I don't see why anyone should complain that it's too hard, if you're not very good at shooters, just play at an easier difficulty, that's what they're there for.

 

[trmnlprep]

i tend to agree with most of the people in this post...

Doom 3's graphics are amazing and better then Far Cry's. But since it's only a marginal difference between the two it wasn't really too shocking. Had Far Cry not came out, and Doom 3 been dropped right after Battlefield: Vietnam I'd be singing a different tune, but that isn't how it all worked out.

As far as the story, they both were cheesy yet fun to play.

The enviroments in Far Cry were FAR SUPERIOR. I don't like monsters spawning out of nowhere. I think that's stupid and very 1991. Far Cry's didn't make you go from point A to point B. There were multiple routes on most levels and the vastness of some levels was amazing.

Also that one level where you get just 10 bullets and have to make it to that downed helicopter with no ammo, BEST level I've played in any game in a long while.