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Far Cry (video game)

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Far Cry
Far Cry box art
Developer(s)Crytek
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Designer(s)Crytek labs
EngineCryENGINE
Platform(s)PC (Windows), XBox, XBox 360, Wii
ReleaseMarch 23, 2004 (NA)
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Far Cry is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Crytek Studios and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004. Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release[1]. The game's story follows an ex-Special Forces man 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.

On April 8, 2004, CryTek announced Far Cry Instincts for Xbox and PS2 systems. The PS2 port was later cancelled because the system was not powerful enough. Far Cry Instincts is now exclusive to Xbox and was released to wide acclaim on September 27, 2005 in North America. Another version, Far Cry: Instincts Predator is also available for the Xbox 360. On March 28, 2006 Ubisoft released a sequel, Far Cry: Instincts Evolution for the Xbox, which was met with less enthusiam than the first version of Far Cry. An enhanced version has recently been announced as part of Ubisoft's launch lineup for the Nintendo Wii.

Graphics

Crytek developed a new game engine called "CryENGINE" for Far Cry. Reportedly, the game was born out of a technology demo called X-Isle: Dinosaur Island made by Crytek to showcase the capabilities of the nVidia GeForce 3. The game features relatively long view or draw distance, similar to Operation Flashpoint, but has a better rendering system for vegetation. Also, all of the level territory is accessible to the player without loading pauses. The game engine features seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor areas (that utilises slightly different lighting and rendering models).

Graphically, the game makes extensive use of pixel shaders. For example, water shaders are frequently used throughout the levels and have a significant effect on visual quality.

Character detail is also improved thanks to Crytek's Polybump normal mapping technology. These effects are used extensively in both indoor and outdoor levels.

File:FarCry0017.jpg
Standing on a beach area with a Desert Eagle

The release of the 1.3 patch saw the introduction of HDR (High Dynamic Range) in the CryENGINE. It can only be enabled on a graphics card that supports Shader Model 3.0.

Artificial intelligence

Human enemies in the game have advanced artificial intelligence (AI), which favourably compared with other shooters (though its capabilities made minor glitches more apparent). The enemies are capable of navigating the large levels, using vehicles when necessary. They are frequently visible patrolling, chatting with each other (CryTek wrote a lot of humorous dialog for mercenaries that provides a backstory, showing how players' actions affect the archipelago population, although some people complained about the quality of the voice acting), idling, fishing, fixing equipment, etc. They can call for reinforcements and execute coordinated attacks, outflanking and surrounding the player.

The tropical jungle provides a lot of concealment and the game allows the player to use it to hide from the enemies. These enemies don't know the position of the player unless they see or hear him, but notably, they can remember his last known position and go there to investigate. The enemy's actions are generally not scripted, although scripts are used to time sequences, eg. spawning enemies to populate a base when the player entered the area. After the start of a sequence, every enemy is driven by its AI.

AI movement area and cover are defined in the level design. Without this definition set by the designer the enemies are far less effective against the player. They will also not move as realistically as would otherwise be expected.

Gameplay

The game was notable for its open ended structure, providing a multitude of ways to complete a given objective. It incorporates a mix of arcade-like and realistic gameplay, forcing the player to effectively use cover while still allowing an upfront approach. For instance, there are no forced stealth segments and setting off an alarm would not result in mission failure.

However, many players found Far Cry to be poorly balanced. The difficulty increased sharply in the later levels with the introduction of incredibly tough creatures created by the game's villain, causing many problems when combined with the game's "checkpoint" saving system, which eliminated manual saving. The increased difficulty required stealth and precision to even up the odds against the player, but many found being forced to replay the same sections over and over tedious or frustrating. The promised quicksave-update was never released.

German release controversy

Although the game was developed by a German company, it was subject to one of the most heated controversies about video games in Germany. Upon release of the demo version in March 2004, the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien found the violence level of the game (including gore and ragdoll physics) to be too high even for adults and quickly indexed the demo. The full version had most of that violence edited out (e.g. removed ragdoll behaviour of corpses), nevertheless it received a "Not suitable under 18" rating. A storm of indignation broke out, however, when German gamers found out only days after the release, that a slight modification of some files in the game's directory brought back most of the original gore. The first issue of Far Cry was also indexed, and several weeks later a new version followed with the same censored content but without the possibility to revert the changes. This version (also rated "Not under 18") is now free for sale and can be recognized by the note on the cover saying "Deutsche Version" (German version).

Vehicles

Several vehicles exist that can be used in the levels. Some of them are:

The island mercenaries also fly around in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, although these are not available to the player.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is available in 3 different modes.

  • FFA or "Free For All" - score points by killing other opponents
  • TDM or "Team Death Match" - score points by killing opponents in the other team
  • Assault - a type of game where the attacking team must capture 3 enemy bases, one after another. The defending team must repel the enemy until the timer runs out. Victory is awarded to the team who fullfilled their mission. Note that in this mode it is important that there are not too many and not too few players. If there are too many players the game will become a stalemate, the attacking team having no chance to overpower the defending team (similar to WW1 trench warfare).

Multiplayer classes

Grunt: Has the most health and carries the biggest weapons.

  • M249, G36, XM-29 OICW, Pancor Jackhammer, P90, grenade, Machete and the Desert Eagle.

Sniper: Best for taking out targets at long range.

  • AW50 Sniper Rifle, Rocketlauncher, Desert Eagle, smoke grenade, binocular and Machete.

Support/engineer: Builds barriers and other equipment as well as laying bombs on the enemy base. Can also carry medikits to heal wounded teammates. Also, the fastest of the classes.

  • M4 Carbine (or) medikits, explosives, smoke grenades, Desert Eagle and the Wrench.

Level Editor

The game engine features a built-in real-time editor that makes creating large outdoor levels easier, circumventing the need to load the game to test a custom level, or to see the in-game effects of any changes. This enabled CryTek designers to add much detail to levels, creating many different paths while reducing the time spent on level design. This allows the player to choose more approaches to solving goals, providing a more open and non-linear experience.

Game-to-film Adaptation

Main article: Far Cry (film)

Far Cry is the film adaptation of the video game. The game-to-film enthusiast Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark, House Of The Dead) gained the rights to a Far Cry movie, purportedly even before the game came out.

System Requirements

Minimum:

Recommended:

There is also a free patch for the game to upgrade to the 64-bit edition. This version only works with a 64-bit CPU and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, although an aftermarket patch has been released to convert the 64-bit features to 32-bit systems. The 64-bit enhancements include bumpmapped rockface textures, increased environment activity (extra birds, insects), as well as some 64-bit-specific improvements. Several new maps were also added.

Weapons

  • Machete — Kukri knife
  • Jungle Falcon — a fictional Desert Eagle clone
  • Jackhammer Shotgun — semi-auto/auto shotgun
  • FN P90 — fires 5.7 mm rounds (in the game, shares ammunition with the MP5SD)
  • MP5SD — fires 9 mm suppressed rounds (in the game, shares ammunition with the P90)
  • M4 Carbine — fires 5.56 mm rounds
  • G36 w/ AG36 — an assault rifle firing 5.56 mm rounds, with an underslung 40 mm grenade launcher and 4x optical scope.
  • XM29 OICW — an assault rifle firing 5.56 mm rounds as well as 20 mm airburst fragmentation rounds with a scope.
  • AW50 Sniper Rifle — an extremely accurate sniper rifle that does a large amount of damage which is based on Accuracy International's 'Arctic Warfare' sniper rifle.
  • M249 — machine gun, fires 5.56 mm rounds
  • Rocket Launcher — firing unguided rockets.
  • Mortar (Stationary)
  • M134 minigun (Stationary) — Fires 7.62 mm rounds
  • Hand grenade
  • Flashbang (non-lethal)
  • Smoke grenade (non-lethal)

References

  1. ^ "First quarter sales : €62.5 million publisher=Ubisoft". Retrieved 2006-08-02. {{cite web}}: Missing pipe in: |title= (help)
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