Customer Reviews

Far Cry (Jewel Case)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

2004 was a good year for FPS games. Both HALF LIFE 2 and FAR CRY were released. Whereas DOOM III and QUAKE IV came and went - mostly unnoticed, these two were here to stay. Nevertheless, whereas HL2 eventually got to my nerves with the whole STEAMed-permission-to-play-for-30-minutes blunder, FAR CRY was the game I loved the most and replayed again and again.

The graphics are just amazing! HL2 may have crisp and clear textures too, however, FAR CRY's are also realistic and detailed even at maximum resolution. The controls are intuitive and remapable - and take the character (Jack Carver) precisely where you want him. Running is fast and crawling is effectively silent. When greater distances are to be covered, vehicles are available to commandeer.

The weapons are beautiful: a mix of real and futuristic improvements. Ammo is never really a problem (well, with the exception of the Sniper rifle bullets and the RPG loads when they would really tip the balance in your favor) and, most importantly, the damage they inflict is TRULY BALANCED: both enemies and player go down with about the same amount of damage (you would be surprised on how many games this is not true - STALKLER for one...).

The story is interesting, the locales truly breathtaking and the horizon the further you have ever seen in any game! True free roaming is not actually available (try to round an island with a speedboat to circumvent same stubborn enemies and a black helicopter will chop you to pieces), however the taste is at the tip of your tongue the whole time.

The sounds and music have been worked on with care and they maximize the gaming experience.

My only (minor) objection focuses on the battles with the mutants: FAR CRY features one of the best enemy AI ever encountered. I truly savored battling human AIs - but was apprehensive when another mutant segment was coming up. The game is so realistic that it truly shines in real environments and opponents. Then again, it never lets you get bored either...

I am not an easy costumer (check out my other reviews, you will see what I mean...); nevertheless,

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

I always wait a few years to buy a game so:

1. My machine can handle it

2. I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for something I might not enjoy

As far as FPS games go, this is a great addition to an already-bloated genre.

For a quick-and-dirty review: Technically and gameplay-wise, this is a great offering, with relatively few glitches or bugs and a unique and wonderful environment. Combat can be tight and focused, or intense and frantic. If you normally have "savemygameanitis" like I do and expect to be able to quicksave at any time, you can still experiment with different play styles and tactics without feeling hampered by a lack of save points.

If you haven't played this, pick it up for a bargain game that delivers a good ride.

When Far Cry came out back in 2004 it scored top marks with virtually every game reviewer that played it. At the time Far Cry's graphics were cutting edge, featuring unheard of draw distances, particle effects, and destructible environments. The game play was, at its core - classic FPS - but what made Far Cry stand out was the mostly non-linear level design which allowed the player to roam around and find multiple approaches. Stealth and scouting elements allowed the player to track enemy movements and then pick them off one by one while the others remained unaware. A more direct approach was always available for players more interested in getting to the action, but at a price: enemies would sound alarms, call reinforcements and alert enemies in other parts of the level to your presence.

The game is not without its quirks, however. A series of patches resolved the usual rendering and gameplay bugs but did not address a few design flaws that are really irritating in a game of this caliber. First and foremost among these is the total lack of user game saves which leaves you at the mercy of the often atrocious checkpoint system. The autosave check points are simply out of place in this non-linear game and often are placed at poorly chosen spots in the level. You will find yourself running down the same path 20 times, picking up the same ammo, pushing the same button, and so on, before you get to the point where the checkpoint SHOULD have been placed if anyone had bothered to think a little bit about continuity. Other times there is no immediate autosave where one obviously is required, such as after a big boss fight and lengthy cutscenes. These are the type of things that cause gamers to put fists through monitors. Another feature that is conspicuously absent from a game with healthy dose of sneaking is any sort of silenced weapon. Not even a pistol or dart gun is offered for stealthy kills, and the only weapon which doesn't make a loud bang - the machete - invariably causes the enemies to cry out when struck which alerts all other enemies to your presence immediately. A few other unresolved glitches, like the fact that enemies can see you through certain types of walls as if they were not even there, are annoying but you learn to play around them.

Today many of the elements that Far Cry introduced to the genre (or made workable for the first time) have appeared in countless other shooters, many of which improved on the Far Cry concepts. This means that playing Far Cry today may feel very familiar, and with outdated graphics to boot. Still, this game still has plenty to offer and remains a solid and entertaining FPS, especially for the price tag.

Newer gamers may be more familiar with the more recent Crytek release Crysis (yes they have 'cry' in everything) which is essentially an updated version of Far Cry. There is no nanosuit in this game, but if you have played Crysis and liked it then you will find many of the same elements (island scenery, tagging with binocs, stealth, open level design) in this older title as well. Those familiar with Far Cry 2, which did not involve Crytek at all, may be surprised at how little the sequel has in common with its "predecessor". I have a review of Far Cry 2 floating around on Amazon as well, but the two games bear little resemblance to each other.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of FPS titles like half-life, crysis, etc. Not so much for your Doom, shoot'em up with the biggest F'n gun you can find crowd.

Yeah it's a fun. IT's one of those games where you don't want to make contact if you don't have to, the second you fire your weapon, doesn't matter what kind of weapon it is, and how far away, backup's going to be on you most riki-tik. It's an older game which I dig. The maps are huge, and fun to explore.

This is an all around excellent game. Even though its a few years old, its still an amazing play and i would highly recommend it. If using vista 64 bit, i suggest you buy the DVD version instead of the cheaper cd-rom as you'll have problems installing otherwise.

If you like first shooter games, this is a really good one. The enemies adapt to your tactics, so you have to change stratagies fairly often. There are several vehicles to drive, and they respond differently depending on their size. I didn't like the fact that there is no parking brake, so if you stop to use the guns, the vehicle usually rolls so it is hard to target anything. And usually if you spend time trying to crawl through the bushes and sneak up on enemies they see you anyway so it is a waste of time. But those are only a few issues I had with a really outstanding game. It is worth the money, especially now that it is old and cheap.

The game is fun but if you have a 64 bit system do not get this game it will not work well with a 64 bit OS system it will give you an error to run it on a 32 bit OS system and so far UBI soft has not posted a resolution to this.

Note - I am rating the product as a whole, not the gameplay.
I bought this as a sealed Jewel Case, the 5CD version. Installing it went allright until the fifth CD, when a file could not be copied. (The CD's were all new and looked to be in great shape).
Upon googling the error message, this appears to be a common issue with rewritable drives, but even my ROM drive did not work, nor any of the other 4 I tried on other machines. So alas, while this is evidently a great game judging from other reviews, I did not get past the install screen. From what I could research, this appears to be caused by the rather finicky copy protection (SafeDisc), which in my case twarted my installation as well. So - if you can install, it might be great, if you don't have the time to mess with an inoperative product, avoid this product.

Its Very Important to take Notice that this Game ONLY Runs on Windows XP!! Not Vista nor Windows 7. I wasted Money. There are NO patches or Fixes.

I am running this game on a Core 2 Quad system with a top-notch video card.
This machine is running XP-Pro, 32-bit. I cannot comment on Win 7 or 64-bit OS for this game.
I am running the DVD-ROM version (v.1.40) of this game. The CD-ROM version may differ slightly.

My system has a DVD-RW drive on it and installation of this game was not affected. It installed perfectly and runs perfectly. Maybe only the CD version of this game is affected by RW drives?

For those who complain about the lack of a game-save mechanism, fear not. You can do this manually.
Pull down your developer console with the "tilde" key <~> (right below your "Escape" key).
Type in the following: \save_game Then hit enter and bingo, your game is saved. This makes the game much more playable, and fun, as the auto-saves are just too few.

Now for the game. Far Cry is one of the most enjoyable FPS games I have ever played, right up there with Half-Life, and HL2. The game play is terrific, the graphics are terrific (for its day), and the story is terrific. With a strong video card you can crank the eye candy up to max for better visuals.

While you must accomplish dictated tasks for the game to progress, you do not have to do so as mechanically as in, say, Call of Duty. You get the feeling you can do whatever you want, and you can. Explore all you wish, the world is big, lush, and detailed. Go off into the jungle, or for a swim in the ocean, and you might discover some detail (like WW2 relics) unrelated to the story. The island is beautiful and the brightness and coloring are great. Birds, fish, hey, go ahead, shoot them if you want to, but remember, if you're told you must blow up the satellite dish there is no getting around it, you must do so before the story line will progress.

I am playing this game again right now at the hardest level (Realistic). I probably won't get past one or two places at this level but that's OK, I'll try anyway. The enemy AI seems a lot better but they are much harder to kill too as they absorb multiple body shots and keep coming. If you don't head-shoot them at this level they keep shooting back at you.

My only complaint is that the game is a little uneven. Some battles are a lot harder than others without any explanation. It's as if some mercenaries or soldiers are smarter, better trained, and harder to kill for no apparent reason. In comparison, after so many hard battles, the game seems to end with a bit of a whimper. It's a small price to pay for such an excellent, fun game.

If you like shooters with a good story line, and you're still running 32-bit XP, and your machine has good specs with a nice big monitor, you owe it to yourself to play this game before you move on to Win-7 (or 8). Better yet, keep XP installed on a separate partition if needed, just to run this game.