(Played on PC with mouse and keyboard. Original published as a Steam user review. Now with 2 links added.)
The year 2004 was a time when computers were computers, consoles were consoles and ports between those took time mostly as technological necessity. Sometimes, as in the case of Far Cry, “the PC original” and so-called console version are 2 completely different games. I never played Far Cry Instinct, partially due to the player character having super human strength feels at odd with Crytek mimicking action flicks helmed by John McTiernan in their first game.
While never seen as an “auteur”, Mr. McTiernan always brought method to the madness of action cinema. Commandos observe an enemy camp thoroughly before they raid it in Predator. John McClane manages to outsmart enemies outman and outgun him by retreating and taking notes. Player shall do both as Jack Carver in Far Cry’s about 15 hours long campaign.
The story of Far Cry is standard action movie nonsense. Intentionally or not, the dialogue writing and delivery are hilariously and deliciously bad. The plot is just about bring player from one piece of action to the next. The setting at least provides fractional seasons for enemies to fight each other like 1998’s Half-Life instead of 1996’s Quake presenting the whole thing as free-for-all. The game starts with mercenaries, who would have increasingly better armor, then introduces mutants, who would have increasingly better guns, mobility (They sure jump around under fire.) and active camouflage.
There are at least 2 noticeable things that Ubi kept along with the Far Cry brand: the 4-weapon carrying capacity and sandboxes known as Camps. With those 2, the series certainly has its characters with developers change constantly.
Unlike titles after 2012’s Far Cry 3 where 3 weapon hostlers need to be crafted, one starts and finishes with 4 in the 2004 original. The manchette that yours truly never found a use for also takes up a weapon slot though, this was before Resident Evil 4’s knife always ready approach after all. With a whole keyboard to play with, Far Cry does not have a exchange weapon button. One needs to throw away a weapon, default mapped to “J”, then walk over another to pick it up.
Far Cry can certainly be marketed as “a game with only real guns”, without the sci-fi bullshit mixed in Half-Life series is known for. Though the game’s only shotgun and third assault rifle are featured in a Gamespot video about guns never made past the prototyping stage. Well, guess that’s in line with the fantasy land where combatants shoot rocket launchers in close-quarter. Other than those, you got the usual suspects like M4 and MP5. The latter sharing “submachinegun” ammo with P90 made one go “Guess Crytek knew less about guns than Valve.”
This game does put some focus on stealth, as the player character can be cut down even with full health and armor in seconds at the lowest difficulty. Sometimes it depends on a large enough land mass so the firefight on one end cannot be heard by the other. Within camps though, it’s usually when MP5, the only suppressed gun in the game, comes in. With the pistol being an off-brand Desert Eagle, the silent submachinegun became the de facto side arm much like the kit of Dutch’s crew in Predator.
Camps in Far Cry are certainly sandboxes one can toy with. There is no enemy sight indicators, one-hit stealth kills and animals in this 2004 title, but the principal is the same: kill as many quietly as possible before all hell break loose. It’s advisable to take a vantage point and observe through the binocular (default mapped to “B”) and put enemies on the radar. Between camps, there are usual optional but not that optional vehicle sections. The roads are long and full of danger, it would be fatal to walk.
Far Cry features vehicles of sea, air and land. Gun boats are the most arcade to handle of the bunch. Glider is the only type of air craft for player while enemies have 2 types of choppers. The cars can be tricky uphill and around tight corner. Overall, driving with the “W, A, S and D” skin is tricky, the triggers on game pad sure make more sense.
While the game was marketed on its stunning for its time outdoor environment, it still has entire levels set in indoors. Those has dynamic lighting that was abandoned by series like Call of Duty abandoned in those Xbox 360/PS3 games. Lamps can be knock around or shot at then the lighting changes according. Another thing the indoor emphasis is lean around corners with Q and E keys. Got to find a way to handle cover and concealment in the days before wall hugging over-the-shoulder orthodoxy.
Legend has it that publisher Ubisoft was keen on putting Far Cry out early in the early to middle aughts, namely before Valve’s Half-Life 2 and id’s Doom 3. Guess developer Crytek was not against their debut title jumping down the FPS well before those 2 highly anticipated sequels sucked it dry. Far Cry certainly has many rough edges as a result. Enemies being too well concealed can lead to many cheap deaths. The game cannot even be manual saved without bringing out the console command, the game does not even pause when one enter the code for saving progress.
Yet, it turns out to be a much better video game overall than Doom 3, in terms of both graphics and interactivity. While it’s not as good as Half-Life 2, it offers experience Valve’s last epic just cannot. One legs it according to script in HL2 while one legs it more like an immersive moment in Far Cry. The game’s first 3 quarters offer many moments one would love to reaccount to others, like how one snipers the 2 man crew of a gun boat and raids a beachside camp with it. Too bad the last quarter is linear and highlights problems like the poor vehicle control.
Nowadays titles such as 2016’s Doom reboot and 2021’s Halo Infinite would lock players out of completing objectives if they do not kill everyone in the designated arenas. In 2004’s Far Cry, killing them all and pick their camps clean is only preferable. Players have many chances to take the flight over fight. Action heroes do go places and get shit done, and Far Cry makes its player feel like the more methodical ones in John McTiernan movies naturally rather than forcing them into some too obvious scripts.