You can approach these bubbles any way you want, and each of them is an unscripted puzzle. The challenge is to clear all the people away and to claim the camp for the rebel army you're fighting for, the Golden Path. As you drive, sail, fly or wingsuit across the terrain, smoke stacks rise up above the horizon, each one marking a camp containing half a dozen buildings, at least half a dozen guards, and an alarm or two. That's best expressed by the game's forts, which were also the best part of the last game. Perhaps by accident Far Cry 4 is mainstream videogames' take on the same design principles that underpin a Looking Glass game. The most interesting place to point Far Cry 4's twisted mirror however is towards that old RPS favourite - the immersive sim. You might have two-dozen methods of dealing with any given situation, and your unlocked abilities might offer you new syringes to craft or a greater reserve of hitpoints, but your main mode of interaction is always from behind the barrel of a gun. There are no conversation trees, and characters with names and personalities exist almost solely in closed rooms and cutscenes separate from the broader world. Far Cry 4 takes place in the fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat, and it's a beautiful open world, hemmed-in by snowy mountains, in which you venture through forests, stumble upon secret caves, become wrapped-up in sidequests at the risk of ever doing the awful primary missions, and earn points to be spent towards skill progression with every little action you perform.ĭespite its beauty and the density of activities, Kyrat feels nothing at all like an actual world, and its mechanics are more rooted in Doom than in any RPG.
This sequel could be considered a lavishly made standalone expansion pack and, if you enjoyed the previous game as I did, its slavish devotion to existing structures is no bad thing.Īngle it over here however, to the far corner, and you'll see in its curved surface a twisted take on everything the Elder Scrolls series has ever achieved, only with its Dungeons & Dragons influence shrunk bizarrely small. Angle it one way and the first thing you'll see in its reflection the only slightly distorted visage of its predecessor, as Far Cry 3's every idea turns formula: there's an exotic setting an extravagant and verbose villain crafting by way of animal hunting a mixture of linear campaign and dynamic missions. I love pointing it in in different directions and seeing the way its design reflects the videogames around it.