Far Cry 4 lands at that time of year where game critiques put our heads in our hands and wonder how many more games can possibly be released in the space of just a few weeks. The answer it would seem is always more and the reason that matters is that games especially at this time of year need to do something different to stand out.
Far Cry once again comes to us from Ubisoft, hot on the heels of a disastrous launch for their latest Assassins Creed game. Thankfully Far Cry 4 has none of the technical hangups that Ubisofts other key franchise has. While it’s a relief that everything present works, the question I found myself asking was: do all those oh so familiar gameplay hooks excite in the same way they did two years ago?
You are Ajay Ghale, a Kyrati raised in America who is returning to his homeland to disperse his deceased mother’s ashes after leaving with her at age three. While it’s fantastic to not be playing as yet another white dude bro, as you were in Far Cry 3, Ajays lack of characterization means he is barely a cypher. The developers intent is clear, they want your choices and actions to define who you are, so really the game wants to put you in the starring role. In some ways it made me miss Jason Brody from the previous game, while he was a douchebag in a poorly written narrative, his Heart of Darkness inspired story arc was at least moderately interesting. The villains of the piece are barely worth mentioning, while the evil king Pagan Min looks striking he is barely in the game, though those moments are quite engaging.
The rest of the review can be found here.