Far Cry Review

We all know by now that the visuals in Far Cry are certainly on a par with most of the stuff that Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 will be able to dish out, but what really struck me as quite amazing is how well the sound effects work. The positional audio is superb, and that especially goes for the rocking explosions and gunfire. Ambient sounds in the jungle are just as good, and the only thing that really bugged me about the audio effects are the rather silly taunts by the enemy soldiers. Hey, Ubi, very few people say "mofo" in casual conversation. If you're not gonna go around saying "motherfucker," then don't mention it at all, instead of putting in silly lines like: "Suck this, mofo!" and crap like that. (Ed. - Fucking A.) I like to pretend that "black ops" soldiers are a little more mature than 15-year old computer geeks.

Oh man, no way am I going down there!

Crap, it's stuck in first gear! Arrrgh!

Far Cry generally feels very polished and there's not a lot to complain about in terms of the technical side of things. However, I did have some issues with the AI, even though I had the auto AI balance off and I played on the third level of difficulty (there are five in all). First off, the AI is definitely too environmentally aware at times. There were a few occasions I was lying in wait in very thick undergrowth and not saying a goddamn word, and the bad guys still spotted me! Do I have a radar up my ass or something?! (Ed. - Uh, yeah, sorry about that; Vadar, Smap and I thought we might lose you, so we had Lo-Jack installed when you passed out at the Xmas party.) Besides that, in earlier stages of the game especially, the AI grunts would needlessly run for cover, and sometimes even neglect the fact I was there, even though I was like a couple of feet away from them! Fair enough, these were only sporadic incidents, and the situation improved a lot when I started facing the "black ops" dudes. On the other hand, some of the AI routines in this game are truly amazing and it will blow you away. As most of you know by now, the AI is very good when it's working in groups, trying to flank you and distract your attention while their teammates are coming up from behind to cap your ass. What really struck me as first-class though is how some of these "black ops" dudes were able to navigate through like a couple of hallways to ambush me from behind. Believe me when I tell you that I did not expect that to happen in a video game. Overall, the AI does have its shining moments, but it also exhibits some obvious flaws that at times managed to thwart the gameplay experience for me, more so than any other aspect of the game. Hopefully, this will be corrected in a patch or something.

Finally, I've had a few other minor gripes with the graphics. For one, what's with the shiny skin on all the game models, and especially our lead character Jack Carver?! I mean, one way to explain this is that Jack fell asleep on the beach and a mutant with a wicked sense of humor dipped his face in a rather large bucket of tanning oil, but how plausible is that scenario really? The other minor gripe I've had is with some of the low level mutants. A few mutant models look bleak, simplistic and uninspiring. Even though CryTek clearly emulated the visual identity of id's monsters, they didn't do a very good job at it.

But let's end this review on a positive note, as this game surely deserves. As a game critic, I can analyze and argue all I like, but that's not why either you or me will like this game. Bottom line is that CryTek has managed to make Far Cry work. It will impress you, thrill you and fulfill enough of your free time to surely warrant a purchase. As a huge shooter fan I couldn't live with myself (well, yeah, I'm allowed to exaggerate you know) if I didn't wholeheartedly recommend this game to you. It's like being stranded right smack in the middle of an action-packed B grade movie, and while I'd probably fall asleep half way through the flick, I stayed wide awake and my adrenaline was pumping as mad while playing Far Cry.

Oh and another thing, I'm sorry for mouthing off about how the chums at IGN gave this game a glowing review, because I went ahead and did the same thing! DOH! All right, guys, you're allowed to spend one night with VADAR as a sign of good faith. (That's a reward??!! - Ed.)