Ubisoft’s Far Cry series has always been about survival and resistance in a hostile environment, filled with things to collect and towers to climb. Such a formula can get stagnant very quickly, but Ubisoft has evolved it alongside each entry which has kept things fresh for a long time. Far Cry 6 is a game of many firsts, from story elements to a new environment, and it remains to be seen how that pans out when it releases.
In the meantime, there are a bunch of Far Cry spin-off games that use the opportunity to explore interesting locales and themes, albeit on a much smaller scale. Fans who haven’t tried them yet have missed out on a lot, and should definitely try a couple of these in anticipation of the next release.
The original Far Cry was a great game for its time and a stepping stone for open-ended gameplay on a large map. However, the CryEngine was too strenuous for the consoles at the time, hence the port came in the form of Far Cry Instincts. Instead of being a direct port, the game had a different storyline from the original and the open-ended map was reduced to linear chunks to compensate for the lack in the console’s processing power.
Far Cry Instincts builds upon the basic stealth of the original, giving players more options to tackle the marginally easier enemies. In addition to this, Far Cry Instincts also added Feral Powers to the mix, such as a Night Vision mode and a powerful melee attack among a couple of others. The game also included a bunch of new features through the Xbox Live service such as player-created maps and more multiplayer mode. Two sequels released a year later in 2006, by the name of Far Cry Instincts: Evolution and Far Cry Instincts: Predator.
Far Cry Vengeance is a port of Far Cry Instincts for the Nintendo Wii. Released in 2006, the game follows the storyline of Far Cry Instincts: Evolution and adds a couple of new levels and vehicles to the mix. The biggest change comes in the form of the newer motion controls, which were received well for the most part. However, the map maker from the original release isn’t included in this version. Another on-rails spinoff for Far Cry Instincts was released for arcades in 2007 in the form of Far Cry Instincts: Paradise Lost, which saw the protagonist Jack and his partner take on multiple waves of enemies from a selection of 5 levels.
One of the most well-recognized Far Cry spinoffs, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon released as an expansion DLC for 2013’s Far Cry 3. Contrary to Far Cry Instincts, the game features the same mechanics as the original release. Instead, the focus seems to be to shake up the game’s aesthetic tone into something resembling popular 1980s action movies.
The neon-drenched map in addition to the reference heavy storytelling and Easter eggs make it one of the weirder entries in the spin-off series. Fans of Far Cry 3 should definitely give this one a shot if they haven’t already.
Based on the same map layout as Far Cry 4, the game is a completely different game than most other games in the series. Set in the land of Oros in 10,000 BC, the entry tasks the protagonist Takkar to defeat leaders of tribes Udam and Izila to bring back the light to the Wenja. Compared to previous mainline entries, the game is pretty light on the characters but makes it up with the newfound combat loop based on primal weaponry as well as the robust fictional language Wenja which is spoken by the game’s tribals.
In addition to this, the quest structure to dominate the tribes and the eagle companion was a tease to Far Cry 5‘s open-ended mission structure and Assassin’s Creed Origins‘ Senu respectively. Far Cry Primal also introduces animals into the mix, which can be tamed for a multitude of purposes ranging from traversal to combat.
Far Cry 5 received a ton of post-launch support, with a trio of expansions planned ahead of release. The first of the trio, Far Cry 5: Hours of Darkness released in June 2018 and follows the protagonist on a quest to liberate his squad and defeat the Viet Cong. Much isn’t changed in the expansion with notable changes being a new-formed emphasis on stealth and the Vietnamese war vibes.
The second part of the trio, Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars released in July 2018 and follows the base game’s Gun for Hire Nick Rye trapped on Mars with Hurk to fight alien spiders. New weapons such as the Blaster of Disaster and a laser ball shooter called Hellfire are some of the notable additions to the Far Cry 5 experience. The last expansion came in August 2018, in the form of Dead Living Zombies which features Guy Marvel on a quest to direct a high-stakes zombie movie.
Similar to Far Cry Primal, Far Cry New Dawn released in 2019 as a standalone title based on Far Cry 5’s map. The story picks up directly after Far Cry 5’s ending in a post-apocalyptic Hope County run by two twin sisters, Mickey and Lou, and it’s up to the player to defeat them.
This entry turned the standard Far Cry 5 experience into one more akin to an action RPG, with the inclusion of a tiered combat system. Many new weapons, vehicles, and mutants can be found across the land. However, it wasn’t well-received on account of its lack of innovation and considered by fans to be one of the biggest disappointments of 2019.
Far Cry 6 is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply