Far Cry Hands-On

We assume most of you already got a chance to check out the Far Cry single-player demo. You haven't?! Well get your lazy butts over to our Far Cry demo page then. Seeing how we were very impressed with what we saw in the demo, we got on the phone with Ubi Soft and got them to send us the latest build, featuring several more levels from the game. We only had to promise that VADAR would spend an intimate night with the entire PR staff dressed in a seashell bikini and fishnet stockings. Not a bad trade-off when you think about it. The full version of the game is expected to arrive in March 2004, so until that happens, we welcome you to read what we have seen and experienced beyond the demo level. Naturally, we won't be revealing too much of the plot, so as not to ruin the experience for you guys, hence you may read on without any worries (those among you who wish to know more about the storyline, can look into our lengthy interview with the development team.

First of all, the graphics are absolutely gorgeous (but then, you should already know that from the demo, right?). At any rate, setting a FPS in an outdoor tropical environment is a stroke of genius and a breath of fresh air. It was most impressing to see such highly detailed backgrounds and a surprisingly sharp draw distance throughout huge outdoor environments. Thanks to this feature, there's an amazing sense of depth as you move through the jungle thicket. In higher resolution, everything ran smoothly (1024*768 with most of the details set on "Very High"). Although we had to reduce AA (anti-aliasing) in order to establish a rock-solid frame-rate. (Previewer's system specs: AMD 3000+, ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB DDR, and 1GB of RAM.) The background scenery is not just part of the decoration. Virtually every location is within the player's reach. Also, water surfaces look very good from above and below. The foliage blends well and is perfectly suited for the locale. Palm trees, fern, palmettos, and thicker brush can all be used for cover as you make your way deeper into the islands. The plants actually have an impact on your shots as you fire through them. Indoor levels were designed with equal care and meticulousness. Delving deeper underground, I came across some impressive-looking indoor sections, showing off brilliant use of environmental lighting. At this point of the game, translucent waters and tantalizing seashores were but a memory, as the main character marched through cavernous areas, tunnels, and underground research facilities. Textures on the walls and floors look great (we've taken a quick snap of a natural stone texture, so check out the shots for that one). Helicopters stir up dust as they come in close to the ground to drop off more of the enemy. Character models look very good, though it would be cool to see a bit more variety on the base models - for the present we saw about 4 or 5. As good as the game is, it hurts the suspension of disbelief when you kill a mercenary and see he is actually a triplet. As you stand over one corpse, you sometimes encounter what looks like the exact same guy you just killed. It's a small complaint, but like I said, it took my mind off of the tasks at hand to wondering if these guys were all clones.

The physics are good. You can move things like barrels and boxes around although not easily. During our hands-on time with Far Cry we were able to knock about cans and crates, ram bodies into fences, roll barrels down hill, disable bridges, and many other cool things. It was also a joy to experiment with various objects. When you shoot a box or barrel it reacts like you would expect an item of the same mass would. Shooting a missile at the feet of a merc sends him flying, but it is not over the top like in other games. Vehicles bump and jostle when you drive over rough terrain, and will stop short when you run into a tree (this happens regardless of the size, shape, and speed of the vehicle). It would be nice to see something put in that allows you to drive over saplings while more mature trees would halt your progress. Again, these are just minor complaints, but it makes you wonder when a tree 4 inches in diameter can halt a 4 axle truck that is driving at what seems is 40 miles an hour.

The audio was enjoyable throughout the entire game. Bugs buzz, birds chirp, water sloshes, and guns bark like you'd expect them too. Playing with headphones is nice because it helps you identify from which direction gunfire is coming from. Engine noises are deep and rumbling for larger craft, such as the HumVee and Big Truck, while sound more tinny on the outboard motor on my rubber raft at the start of the mission.

Once the battle ensues there are very few spots where players can actually find sanctuary from hostiles. As soon as enemy sentinels become aware of your presence, they'll be ready to do anything to make you feel unwelcome (fair enough, any normal person conducting weird experiments on a beautiful tropical island would do the same thing should certain uninvited guests pop in for a visit - an evident tribute to the "Island of Doctor Moreau". Hiding seems practically futile when enemies are alert. If you try to conceal yourself in the brush, soldiers will head in your general direction to investigate and clear out the area. Overall, when it comes to AI, I honestly thought I'd seen everything when we first tried the demo here at the office. We've enjoyed seeing our opponents engaging in various tactical approaches such as grouping, flanking maneuvers, rushes, and so on. Well, guess again VADAR! There's more to it than that. This tactical aspect really hit home once we got a chance to engage enemies using a variety of vehicles the game has on offer. In one particular level we got to enjoy a bit more of that sweet boat vs. boat action. (Boat on boat action?! - Ed.) The game really gives you the freedom to use any means necessary to save your skin. We hopped into a boat, and in a matter of seconds we could discern two boats on our tale closing in fast. The game leaves a huge space for players to maneuver in the game... but it also demonstrated that the AI is prepared for anything and will gladly hunt you down no matter what you try to pull off on foot or otherwise.