Far Cry Instincts

Far Cry Instincts

Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Composer(s)	Paul Haslinger
Series	Far Cry
Engine	CryEngine
Platform(s)	Xbox
Release	NA: September 27, 2005 EU: September 30, 2005
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Far Cry Instincts is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by Ubisoft for Xbox. A remake of the original Microsoft Windows version of Far Cry, Instincts is less open-ended and more linear, due to the console's reduced processing power which prevents the full rendering of the Microsoft Windows version's vast islands and landscape. However, Instincts added new multiplayer modes, weapons, and feral abilities, the latter being reflected in the modified storyline. A port of the game was also planned for the PlayStation 2, but was ultimately canceled.

An arcade version developed by Global VR was released in 2007 under the name Paradise Lost.^[1]

Ubisoft has released a sequel, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution for the Xbox. Also released was Far Cry Instincts: Predator for the Xbox 360, which contains both Far Cry Instincts and Evolution running in high definition mode.

Plot

The game follows the story of a man named Jack Carver (voiced by Stephen Dorff). Carver is a former service member of the United States Navy, who was dishonorably discharged following a number of illegal actions. Afterwards, he sets up a shop in Manhattan and began supplying illegal arms to anyone and everyone, until a gang performed a hit using weapons supplied by Jack against a Mafia heir. Consequently, a price was put on his head by the Mob and he was forced to flee the United States and settle in Micronesia.

Carver purchased a used boat from a government auction and spent his time ferrying tourists and diving clubs around the area. Eventually, a woman named Valerie Cortez shows up, offering a large sum if Jack would take her to a remote archipelago known as "Jacutan". Carver accepts, albeit with caution.

Upon arriving at Jacutan, Cortez borrows a jet-ski from Jack and heads off on her own. Unworried, Jack decides to nap until she returns. When he awakes, Carver is startled to find UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters flying around his boat. They open fire on him, destroying his boat and force him to take cover inside a nearby wrecked Japanese aircraft carrier.

At this point, the player assumes control. After a brief introduction level, the player acquires a headset and is directed by a mysterious voice who calls himself "Doyle". As it turns out, Cortez is part of the CIA and came to rescue Doyle. Doyle had been on a mission to expose the works of a mad scientist named Dr. Krieger. Krieger, along with his right-hand man, an ex-Apartheid officer named Colonel Richard Crowe, were attempting to develop a serum that would enhance the physical abilities of man and "unlock" hidden animal traits.

Doyle convinces Carver to find and rescue Cortez, who has been captured by Crowe and his mercenaries. While covering Cortez, Carver himself is captured by Crowe on the orders of Doctor Krieger, who notes Carver's resourcefulness and tenacity and decided he would make a good test subject. Carver is injected with the serum and is to be transported to an observation area when he recovers prematurely and escapes and discovers, to his shock, that he has new "feral abilities", such as increased speed, night vision and a violent melee attack.

Along with the feral powers comes an implant designed to regulate the serum's effects and allows for specialized weapons to be used against Carver. Doyle commands Carver to find his way to Doyle's position, so that the implant can be removed. Along the way, Carver has to prevent a mercenary computer programmer from deciphering a pocket PC that belongs to Cortez, which would, in turn, blow Doyle's cover. Descending into an old World War II-era Japanese bunker to stop the decryption, Jack is cornered by the mercenaries as he attempts to escape. He retreats through an old underground mining complex and follows Doyle's instructions to the main research facility. Carver then makes his way to the facility, where he discovers the extent of Krieger's work and the mutant monsters he has created. While in the facility, Carver discovers Crowe is gathering the mutants for an unknown purpose and then later, he finally meets with Doyle, who frees Carver from the implant. Upon having the implant removed, Jack begins to exhibit uncontrolled evolution; in game terms, the adrenaline cost for his abilities decreases and he gains the ability to carry and wield mounted weapons like the .50 caliber machine gun.

As Jack escapes the research facility, he discovers that Crowe has taken Doyle and the mutant serum and has unleashed the mutants in a plot to betray Krieger. Jack must fight through the middle of a war between Crowe's mercenaries, the feral mutants and an elite group of special forces under Krieger's personal command, under orders to "sanitize" Crowe's troops. Rescuing Doyle, Carver discovers that Crowe has injected himself with a quadruple dose of the serum Jack received and without an implant. Assuming control of the "Alpha" creatures, the most powerful and intelligent mutants with abilities similar to Jack's own, Crowe has gone straight to Kreiger's base of operations. Jack follows and fights his way to Dr. Krieger's mansion atop an active volcano, where he battles and defeats the physically deformed Crowe. Krieger, in a last-ditch effort to use the Alphas against Jack, realizes that they now view Jack as their leader due to his victory over Crowe. The mutants turn on Dr. Krieger and kill him, viewing him as a threat to Jack, and thus allow him to escape as the volcano erupts. Jack is able to retreat onto a Black Hawk piloted by Cortez and Doyle, who promise to pay for a new boat to replace his destroyed one; Doyle also promises that they "can do one better" and slides a metal case to Jack, who opens it and laughs cryptically at the unseen contents as the helicopter flies away.

The game includes subtle thematic elements relating to the dangers of genetic engineering and the genocide of local islanders, as can be seen by the deformed creatures created by Krieger. Also, a mysterious backdrop relating to dinosaurs is revealed via in-game radios that will sometimes carry programs that discuss the history of dinosaurs and the possibility that some might still be alive. This is further developed by appearance of lizard-like animals (which resemble small dinosaurs) that reside in the jungles on the island.

The terrain in Far Cry: Instincts varies greatly. Set on a South Pacific archipelago, the landscape includes tropical rainforests, dense jungles, towering canyons, mines, swamps, and even volcanic forests.

Features

The major gameplay addition to Far Cry: Instincts that was not present in the PC version is the aforementioned "Feral Ability". There is also a trap system that allows the player to create a booby trap by wrapping a spiked tree branch around nearby foliage. When an unsuspecting NPC walks by, they are killed by the branch-whip. Claymore mines are also available, and can be set up in the paths of enemies for devastating results. These traps can be employed in multiplayer as well. There is also a map editor that allows the player to create their own maps with access to many vehicles, guns, buildings, trees; and the ability to change the landscape. Water can not be added; it is at a constant height and a player can choose whether or not water is accessible by making the land higher or lower. They may upload the maps and use them on Xbox Live to play against friends.

Sequel and remakes

Evolution

A sequel to Far Cry Instincts, sharing the same name except for the addition of the subtitle Evolution, was released for the Xbox on March 28, 2006. Evolution includes a new single-player campaign, although it is considerably shorter than the campaign found in the original Far Cry Instincts. The storyline picks up a while after Instincts. Jack is hired by a woman named Kade for an arms deal between pirates and the government in Micronesia. The deal then is under attack by rebels led by a native Chieftain named Semeru, who along with his elite warriors, exhibit the same feral abilities as Jack, who is framed for the attack. After fleeing to a safehouse with Kade, Jack is confronted by Doyle, who is here for damage-control. He offers Jack and Kade amnesty in exchange for their help in destroying a refinery under rebel hands. After successfully doing so, Doyle is wounded and Kade is captured by rebels. Jack saves Doyle due in part to him knowing the way out of the jungle, but while finding transport, Doyle is captured by rebels. After tracking Doyle's blood through the jungle and base built in the forest canopy, Jack finds Doyle dead at the footsteps of a mountain temple. Jack then makes his way through the temple where he encounters Semeru again, who taunts that without focus or devotion, Carver is just a fake with powers he does not deserve. He then captures Jack and reveals that Kade gave him the money from the deal as well as to help kill Jack. Kade then wounds Jack before Semeru attacks him. Jack manages to defeat Semeru, and kills him by impaling him on bamboo rubble. Carver then confronts Kade, who pleads that there was no other way she could save her own life. Instead of killing her however, Jack gives her back the deal money saying "Save your tears. In another time I would've done the same. It's all too... human".

Evolution also includes new weapons and vehicles, as well as an expanded map-maker and an extra multiplayer mode. It is not backward compatible with the Xbox 360, and maps that are created on the Xbox version of 'Instincts' cannot be transferred to the Xbox 360 version.

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.

Vengeance

Far Cry Vengeance is a remake of Evolution for the Wii.

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.^[1] Its light guns are similar to those of Aliens: Extermination. Players use stationary turrets armed with rockets and grenades as power-ups.

Reception