Far Cry

Far Cry
Genres	First-person shooter
Developers	Crytek (2004) Ubisoft Montreal (2005–present)
Publishers	Ubisoft
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, Arcade, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Platform of origin	Microsoft Windows
First release	Far Cry March 23, 2004
Latest release	Far Cry 4 November 18, 2014

The Far Cry series is a franchise of first-person shooter computer and video games, named after the first game of the series. The first game, Far Cry, was developed by Crytek Studios in Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry received positive reviews upon release. The original game has been followed by three sequels: Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4, and spawned many spin-off games, including Far Cry Instincts, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution, Far Cry Instincts: Predator, Far Cry Vengeance and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

A 2008 English-language German movie entitled Far Cry was based on the game.

The Far Cry franchise has been known for putting players in exotic open world environments, from the Himalayas to the plains of Africa. The series has also included an immersive map editing program that lets players create and share their own custom maps for use in multiplayer.

Main series

Far Cry (2004)

Far Cry is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004 for Windows.

Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. The game's story follows an ex Special Forces operator named Jack Carver, who is stranded on a mysterious archipelago in Micronesia. He is searching for a female journalist he was escorting after she went missing when their sailboat was destroyed by mercenaries.

Far Cry 2 (2008)

The plot revolves around "The Jackal" who has turned two fictional factions in Africa against each other. The game's sandbox gameplay has been highly touted, allowing the player access to 50 km² of African terrain, complete with open savannah, forests, animals, and towns. The game was released on October 21, 2008 in North America and October 24, 2008 in Europe.

Far Cry 3 (2012)

The plot revolves around Jason Brody and his friends, American tourists who arrive on an unmarked set of islands in the Pacific and are abducted by pirates who lay claim to the land, led by the insane Vaas. Jason escapes, and must learn the ways of the jungle to survive and rescue his friends. The game was released on November 29, 2012 in Australia, November 30 in Europe, and December 4 in North America.

Far Cry 4 (2014)

Set in the fictional country of Kyrat in the Himalayas region, which is currently ruled by a despotic self-appointed king named Pagan Min.^[1] The protagonist, Ajay Ghale, is caught in a war and has to overthrow Min, when he is instructed by his late mother to travel again, from the U.S., to his homeland to spread her ashes there. The game was released on November 18, 2014 in Australia and North America, and November 20, 2014 in Europe.^[2]

Spin-offs

Far Cry Instincts

Developed and published by Ubisoft for the Xbox console, it resembles the earlier PC game Far Cry. However, the gameplay is not as open-ended as the latter. It makes up for this by including extra multiplayer modes through the Xbox Live service, alongside new abilities (feral powers) and a map creator mode which allows the users to create their own maps for multiplayer. Ports were also planned for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube, however, due to unknown reasons, these ports were never released.

Far Cry Instincts: Evolution

A sequel to Far Cry Instincts, released for the Xbox on March 27, 2006. Evolution includes a new single-player campaign, although it is considerably shorter than the campaign found in Far Cry Instincts. The game also includes new weapons and vehicles, as well as an expanded map-maker and an extra multiplayer mode. Maps that are created on the Xbox version of 'Instincts' can not be transferred to the Xbox 360 version.

Far Cry Instincts: Predator

Far Cry Instincts: Predator, an Xbox 360 title, was released on the same day as Evolution. It includes graphically enhanced versions of both Far Cry Instincts and Evolution.

It featured a map editor in which the player can create maps. Characters on online play are basic clones of Jack Carver but can be edited; the character still has the tattoo "Karma" on his shooting arm.

Far Cry Vengeance

A video game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Wii console, released on December 12, 2006 in North America. It is the second Wii game released in North America to have a M-rated ESRB. Its storyline is similar to Far Cry Instincts: Evolution, the previous Xbox title. Far Cry Vengeance has pretty much the same story as Evolution, but also features three new levels, new weapons and vehicles, and changed controls.

Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is a rail shooter arcade game port of Far Cry Instincts developed by Global VR and published by Ubisoft in 2007. Its light guns are similar to those of Aliens: Extermination. Players use stationary turrets armed with rockets and grenades as power-ups.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Is a stand-alone "expansion pack" based on the world of Far Cry 3. Although Blood Dragon does not continue the story of Far Cry 3, it shares the same game engine and gameplay mechanics. News of its development was leaked by the Brazilian ratings board, which awarded an 18+ certification based on the title's references to violence, sex, and drugs. The game's retrospective story, characters and visual style are inspired by 1980's action movies, especially the films of Arnold Schwarzenegger, such as Commando, The Terminator, and Predator, and Sylvester Stallone in Cobra, First Blood, and Rocky IV. Other film/television references include RoboCop, Escape from New York, Scarface and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among others. Pre-orders of the PC version received a digital copy of the soundtrack, produced by Melbourne, Australia-based Power Glove. Due to the success of the title, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that the game may also get a retail release.

Far Cry Primal

Announced in October 2015, Far Cry Primal will release on February 23, 2016 for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and in March 2016 for Microsoft Windows. The game is set in the Stone Age, and revolves around the story of Takkar, who starts off as an unarmed hunter and rises to become the leader of a tribe. Far Cry Primal is currently in development by Ubisoft Montreal.^[3]

History

The game's story follows a former US Army Special Forces operative Jack Carver, who is stranded on a mysterious archipelago. He is searching for a female journalist he was escorting after she went missing when their boat was destroyed by mercenaries. The game includes thematic elements relating to the dangers of weaponizing genetic engineering and the genocide of local islanders as can be seen by the deformed creatures created by a mad scientist named Krieger.

The terrain in Far Cry varies greatly. Set on a South Pacific archipelago, the landscape includes beaches, dense rain forests, towering canyons, mines, swamps, and even volcanic forests. Many of the interiors range from simple beach huts and army camps to elaborate complexes, an underground temple, and ultra-modern research labs. Several of these mazes use the remains of Japanese WWII-era fortifications and bunkers.

The unveiling of Far Cry 2 took place on July 19, 2007 in Paris, France, by head company Ubisoft. Ubisoft stated that the game had been in development by the Ubisoft Montreal team, and would be released on October 23, 2008.

The protagonist of previous Far Cry games, Jack Carver, is not featured in this game. When Ubisoft interviewed players about the original Far Cry in their research for this game, the interviewees did not find the character very memorable or likable. As a result, in the sequel the player chooses from nine different characters to play, each with a unique look and back story. The game's producer, Louis-Pierre Pharand, said that the single-player game will "potentially have close to 50 hours of game play". Lead designer Clint Hocking stated that at least 100 hours are needed to experience all of the game's content.

A pre-alpha video of the game, showcasing the visuals and 13 minutes of gameplay with developer commentary, was presented in Leipzig in August 2007. The demonstration showed off the gameplay involving gunfights and driving sequences, and unique features such as first aid and physical maps were also shown. It also showcased several graphical features tying in directly with the gameplay, such as procedural breakage of vegetation and its regeneration over time, dynamic propagation of fire, and volumetric wind effects capable of breaking vegetation and spreading fire. Man-made structures were also shown to be highly destructible.

In August 2010, PC Gamer reported that development of Far Cry 3 was in "full swing" at Ubisoft Montreal. In the same month, Game and Swedish retailer Webhallen listed the game for a 2010 release, which did not happen. In January 2011, Ubisoft declined to comment on speculation that Far Cry 3 would be hitting shelves in October after Game Informer listed the game as an October arrival in its 2011 preview feature.

In February, the Official PlayStation Magazine suggested that the game was due for release at the end of 2011 as the following quote suggested, "Start taking the malaria medicine in preparation: Far Cry 3 could be arriving before the end of the year." This statement was withdrawn in next month's edition where it was stated that the game would be shown on 2011's E3 and that the release date would be bumped back to 2012.[full citation needed] In May, the CVs of a couple of stuntmen listed Far Cry 3 as one of their previous projects.

Far Cry 3 features a sandbox editor. Furthermore, after confirmations of PC split screen on the Far Cry 3 official site as well as content delivery service Steam, the feature was dropped days before release.

The game's writer Jeffrey Yohalem claimed that the intention of the game's plot was to make a statement about "what shooting means and what it does to humanity". The game's protagonist Jason Brody is not a trained soldier, but rather an everyman who is forced to become a killer over the course of the game. Yohalem claims that as a result the game examines "what happens when that guy is put into a situation where he has to survive minute by minute and save his friends? Will he pick up a gun and how does that affect him? [...] This is a story about a normal guy who picks up a gun and that can't end well". Producer Dan Hay emphasized that the emotional "turns" in the characters were a major theme in the game, stating that "that was the emotional thing we wanted and when we first saw it, it was with Vaas". Hay further commented that the game merged the systemic feel and emotional feel from the previous two Far Cry games in order to take the game in a "very, very surprising direction".

Games and reception

Game directors and writers

Main game series characters

Spin-off game series characters

Film

• A direct-to-video-film based on the video game released in 2008 was directed by Uwe Boll, the film received negative reviews with most critics saying it does the games no justice.
• An official Far Cry film is currently in development by Ubisoft Motion Pictures along with Watch Dogs and Rabbids films.^[7]

See also

• Crysis

References

1. ↑ Shaw-Williams, Hannah (June 9, 2014). "'Far Cry 4' E3 2014 Trailer Introduces New Villain & Protagonist". GameRant.com. 
2. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (May 15, 2014). "Far Cry 4 Announced for 2014". ign.com. 
3. ↑ Hussain, Tamoor (October 6, 2015). "Far Cry Primal Trailer, Release Date, Gameplay Details Officially Released". GameSpot. Retrieved October 7, 2015. 
4. ↑ "Far Cry (PC)". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-12-13. 
5. ↑ "Far Cry Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-12-13. 
6. 1 2 Purchese, Robert (9 January 2014). "Far Cry: The Wild Expedition is a compilation". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
7. ↑ Ubisoft To Make Movies Based on ‘Watch Dogs,’ ‘Far Cry,’ ‘Rabbids’ (EXCLUSIVE)

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Far Cry

• Official Far Cry website
• Official Far Cry Community site