Far Cry Preview #2
Far Cry has been shaping up to be one of the best shooters of 2004. Its large jungle-island environments, impressive array of weaponry, and satisfying gunplay make this game different from the rest of this year's shooters - the recent single player demo made a big splash, and we can only hope that the full game will get even more people's attention.
Far Cry is being created by German developer Crytek and will be published by Ubisoft. The current multiplayer beta test has been underway for about a month now - it includes four maps, three multiplayer game modes, boats and jeeps to fool around with, and a great selection of weapons.
The feel of the weapons is a little like what you might see in Soldier of Fortune 2's multiplayer modes, but it's the combination of these guns with the absolutely massive maps that makes it so different. Sniping becomes a true challenge when attentive players can figure out your location. How, you might ask? They can occasionally see a reflection off of your rifle's scope, but they have to look for it. This allows a skilled sniper to be successful, but not too successful; the game doesn't immediately degenerate into a full-on sniper match.
It's the huge distance at which people can fight that makes Far Cry interesting; if you're used to the usual FPS games, this will take a bit of getting used to. Counter-Strike hardly compares in this respect, and even though you can fight at long range in Battlefield 1942 or its mods, the small arms weapons never felt right to me at that range. Here, though, the small arms combat is much more satisfying - as long as I have under an 80 ping when playing online.
While the game's multiplayer does include vehicles, they simply aren't used to any major extent currently. The main reason is because driving one near the enemy usually means a fiery death within seconds; any of the game's submachine guns can take out the jeep or Hummer very quickly, and the vehicles are such easy targets to hit. Even the boats seem a bit useless, as their guns are difficult to use while steering - plus, anyone in one of these loud boats becomes an instant target. Even in Assault mode, one of the maps just wasn't built to allow the boats to do much good. This is hopefully something Crytek is working on, and it's one of only a few really unbalanced things I see after a few weeks of playing the beta.
Many of the weapons seen in Far Cry are in other games; the knife, Desert Eagle pistol, silenced submachine gun, M4, and the automatic Jackhammer-style shotgun all feel very familiar. There are a couple of rifles, though, that include grenade launchers. While these grenade launchers feel a bit too powerful right now, they're fun as hell to use.
The rocket launcher in Far Cry is a bit different than you might expect, as it has an actual scope and the projectile is a bit slow. It's a decent close-range weapon or anti-sniper tool, and you can take out unsuspecting opponents at a distance as well. Hand grenades are included, although their small blast radius makes them a little weak. Smoke grenades are interesting, but the way they roll down uneven terrain - away from where you might have intended to place them - makes them a little less useful than I'd like.
The grenade interface here is also a little like Halo or Tribes - there is a separate "throw grenade" key you set, and you don't have to fumble and switch weapons to throw one. This makes them very handy to use in mid-fight. An interesting addition Crytek has also made is the ability to throw an unlimited number of small rocks like you would a grenade. This seems to have two uses - one is to throw someone off with a sound while you try to sneak around, and the other is to trick someone into thinking you just threw a grenade. I have my doubts as to how effective those tactics might be, but it might just work in the right situation.
As well as health & armor gauges, you also get an oxygen gauge that is always active. The obvious reason for this is for an air supply while underwater, but you can also sprint which will drain your oxygen. The last usage of this bar is for sniping when in a standing position - you can press a key to hold your breath which will slow down the slightly wobbly crosshair and make your shots more accurate. When you're laying down, this doesn't affect your aim, though, and it doesn't seem to help if you are crouching either.
The multiplayer modes present in this beta are Free for all deathmatch, Team DM, and Assault. Two of the maps could be played in FFA or Team DM, and the other two are Assault-only. The first two modes play just like in other games, with weapons and ammo laying around for people to pick up and use.
Assault is a bit different, though, as it has three classes you can choose from: soldier, support, or sniper. The soldier walks the slowest and has the most armor, and he can choose from a wide range of weapons. The support class runs fast and can carry an M4, throw down healing packs for his buddies, build structures for teammates to use (or walls to block the enemy attacker's advance), and he can use special explosives to blow up enemy structures - or the enemies themselves.
The first of two Assault maps included in this beta, mp_airstrip, has the defenders trying to hold off the attackers from capturing three installations in a linear fashion. If the attackers capture the first point, then the respawn points change and they need to take the second, and then the third. If the attackers can capture everything in the time limit, then the sides are switch and the defenders get however long it took the attackers to win - but now they're the attackers. The mode is pretty fun, and the simplistic class system works nicely, as you'll need a combination of all three classes to be able to either defend or a attack effectively.
The other map, mp_dune, has a similar structure but is a little less closed-in and claustrophobic. Snipers play a large role here as there are plenty of open areas, and it means that the attackers will have to do some sneaky things just to get near the enemy base sometimes. It's an excellent map, and I find it to be the best of the bunch for this multiplayer beta.
The graphics in Far Cry are simply excellent - it supports the most advanced pixel shaders available on today's video cards, and it uses them very well. The water in this game is marvelous, and you can even see a swimmy, shimmering image of things above the surface when you're underwater. The water doesn't look so great on cards that only support Pixel Shader 1.x, but it's still respectable.
The reason that Far Cry sports such huge viewing distances without a massive impact on the frame rate is because Crytek have put together a great level of detail system - and it does this without any fancy pixel shading. You can see it change out high-quality models for the low-quality ones in the various plants and parts of the terrain pretty often. Unlike other games, though, adding up all these low-quality versions makes for a landscape that still looks pretty. Chalk it up to efficient programming or great artists, but this game is without a doubt impressive to see in action.
One of the more interesting special effects comes when you actually take damage. A really trippy kind of motion blur happens for just a second if you get shot, and there's a chance it could actually mess up your aim. If you start to drown, you'll also see this effect. It kind of reminds me of the special effects in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but this is used only sparingly and at specific times.
Since this is a beta, it of course does have its own share of bugs. Crytek are already aware of every bug I've found so far, and they're currently working on fixing the last stuff in order to finish the beta. We've already seen the single player mode in action (grab the SP demo if you haven't yet!), and while it doesn't look like we'll get stellar voice acting or a riveting story, it still looks like a hell of a lot of fun to play.
Far Cry is still on schedule for a release in the first quarter of this year. I haven't touched upon the game's very impressive editor, as it was not included in this beta, but I did see it in action late last year and it's excellent. Single player is what I question the most, but with some luck, Crytek will deliver a well-rounded game we can enjoy for months.
