Played on:
Windows
Ubisoft has been on a roll for the last year or so. Even when their games don't sell (example: Beyond Good and Evil), they're still critically hailed as excellent titles. They've had a few misses, sure, but they are doing pretty well. When they decided to pick up Far Cry to publish a while back, no one had heard of the game or its German developer, Crytek. But Crytek has shown us a great first impression with its excellent engine, and the gameplay is entertaining to boot!
Crytek's custom engine made for this game is simply fantastic. Far Cry supports great special effects and can display huge outdoor terrain that can go on for almost literally miles, and it can show this with only moderate hits on the frame rate. While this is one of the most demanding games I've ever played when it comes to system requirements, the way this game looks is probably the best reason yet why you decided to spend $200-$300 on a video card.
It's not just the special effects and view distances that make Far Cry's engine so unique, though. The model detail is excellent, and the indoor areas haven't been left out either - a pseudo-DOOM 3 lighting system is included. While it's not so detailed as to have all light in the game come from an actual, tangible light source, it does a great job of a quick-and-dirty approximation that is pretty convincing.
While most players will never actually try it, the editor is where the magic really happens in Far Cry. The game's editor is extremely intuitive and makes it blissfully simple to try out new stuff. There's already a community of people busy at modifying the game, and that looks to only get better.
The biggest issue I see with Far Cry's engine is simply that many people will not be able to enjoy the game to its fullest extent on slower computers. It really is a game that requires a fast computer, and I do mean fast by today's standards - even "fast" a year ago is going to run pretty slow if you turn up the resolution and detail a good amount.
I'm also a little miffed about Ubisoft's copy protection. Not only does Far Cry (as well as a couple of their other recent games) check to make sure the original CD is in the drive, but it also will refuse to run if you have certain CD imaging software installed and/or running. The box doesn't even list what exact software they're talking about, but I'm pretty sure that both Alcohol 120% and Daemon Tools are on that list. I think this protection goes too far, and it has caused some players plenty of grief because the game will sometimes still refuse to work even after getting rid of the offending software. Let's face it: those who want to pirate this game are doing so happily anyway by means other than the software Ubisoft is looking for. Publishers need to start coming up with solutions that deter piracy without causing paying customers any problems, and right now, http://www.atomicgamer.com/admin/articleAdmin.phpUbisoft is the biggest offender when it comes to invasive copy protection.
Far Cry has a pretty simple interface for first person shooters, but it should be noted that the game does include plenty of options and key bindings that even some of the more hardcore FPS games miss out on. The menus are pretty easy to get around in, and you can do plenty from them. The in-game multiplayer server browser isn't the best I've seen, but it works well enough. If you've sworn yourself to an external server browser, this one isn't going to convert you back.
One specific thing I feel I have to sound off on is the separate grenade key. The Tribes games did this, as well as Halo and Max Payne 2, and it's very worth having that extra key. Far Cry includes this as well, and it makes grenades something I actually do use in normal play. Not having to switch weapons in order to throw a grenade feels really cool, and I suggest that those who never bother to throw them in these games actually give it a try here.
The multiplayer interface also works well, and it allows you to switch classes and the like whenever you want. Crytek and Ubisoft have taken some heat about purposely leaving out a quick save and quick load system - more on that bit later, as it really does affect the gameplay a lot.
There have been many games that have attempted to draw huge outdoor scenes, but most of them don't even make an attempt at the amount of vegetation that is shown in Far Cry. For this to work, the game needs not only an excellent Level of Detail system (which replaces high-quality art with stuff that takes up less memory when it's far away), but it also needs excellent source art. Then, the game needs to quietly slip these different models in and out on the fly without making it obvious to the player as he/she is moving around. Far Cry handles all this perfectly, with excellent source art for vegetation and world objects and a system that smoothly fades between high- and low-quality graphics.
The character models do look great, but there's quite a lack of variety here. Basically, you will find yourself fighting a standard Rambo-looking 80s tough guy through a majority of the game, and you'll come across a few guys in hazmat suits or some scientists every once in a while. Then there's the mutated creatures that litter some of the islands, which are pretty boring to look at most of the time.
The indoor scenes, while not as impressive as the massive tropical islands seen outside, are still very well done. Surprisingly, the frame rates were not as good as I expected; sometimes, I had worse frame rates looking at a single room than I did looking at a square kilometer of island just outside the door. Not that the game's ugly when inside - not by any means - but I feel that this game mostly excels at doing outdoor stuff and maybe should have stuck with that a bit more.
There are a few graphical touches that are subtle but effective. You'll see various tropical birds fly out of a tree the first time a gun is fired nearby; the sand will shimmer in an "over-bright" fashion when you look down at it; and in multiplayer modes, you can see a reflection of an enemy's sniper rifle scope when it's pointed at or near you. Some of the game's effects are based on DirectX 9 pixel shader effects, including the game's absolutely gorgeous water as well as the motion blur that pops up when you take damage. If your video card doesn't support this stuff, I'm sad to say that you're really missing out on some of this game's real beauty. Upgrade!
Let's talk a little about the game's plot: you're Jack Carver, an ex-specialist who's taking a woman named Valerie on a little trip. She's there to do some spying on some mercenaries on string of tropical islands, but you get spotted. Your boat goes kaboom and you manage to escape, but Valerie's gone; it's time to find her. On the way you'll get some help from someone over a communicator, and you start to find out about the crazy experiments going on in this island chain.
