Far Cry Instincts

Review - Paradise found?

In 2004 the original Far Cry wowed both players and critics alike with its unique jungle island setting and technologically advanced graphics. Despite initial scepticism when it was announced, Far Cry finally makes its way onto the Xbox with stunning results. It was originally thought of as a simple conversion from the PC game but after numerous tweaks and changes feels more like a completely new game altogether. That said, it does share a very similar jungle island theme with its PC predecessor and captures the essence of being hunted extremely well, paving way for an epic storyline.

You play as Jack Carver, a retired Navy Commander who now charters a boat to rich tourists. One day when you reach a mysterious island at the request of a character called Cortez you find yourself under attack by gun helicopters where you have no choice but to abandon boat and try to track down Cortez. However this is not as simple as it sounds as the island is patrolled by countless groups of organised mercenaries. At one point you eventually get captured by these mercs and are forcibly injected with an experimental serum which gives you superhuman strength. As the story develops you find yourself gaining more special powers such as increased speed and vision.

Far Cry Instincts stands out from other shooters because the jungle setting gives the game an added sense of stealth rarely seen in an FPS. Yeah, as you progress you get access to an expansive array of weapons such as machineguns, shotguns and even rocket launchers but the game also gives you the low-key stealth attacks such as placing a trap on a tree and attracting attention by throwing small rocks in the direction of your foes.

Despite the captivating storyline it would be fair to say the whole game has an element of choice about it. The levels are designed in a non-linear fashion giving players options between various different routes and vehicles. There are several different types of vehicle featured in the game such as Boats, Jet skis, Hovercrafts, ATVs and even Hang-gliders. Despite the touchy controls and drab driving physics each vehicle adds variety to the open gameplay formula. This we applaud.

A central part of Far Cry Instincts is the feral abilities you acquire as you progress through the single payer campaign. One of the first abilities you discover is Feral Strength, which allows you to run up to your opponents and punch them 20 meters across the map. It closely resembles Halo 2's sword attack and is activated in a similar manner. Using Feral Strength is entertaining and often comes as a welcome break from constantly using guns. Feral Vision will become an integral part of progressing through the darker levels. Towards the end of the campaign Feral Speed is often needed to jump over massive gaps, simply escape from the attack helicopters or give you the edge over enemies. Overall the feral abilities are exceptionally well combined with the level design giving an exciting new perspective to the game.

As you progress through Far Cry Instincts you will encounter a diverse variety of enemies, some human, some animal and some in between. As a whole the AI here is both tough and clever. Foes will find cover, fall back if wounded or charge after you like there's no tomorrow, all the while working closely as a team.

The entertaining single player campaign boasts a good difficulty level which isn't likely to have you stuck in one section of a level for too long at a time, however it will punish you badly for carelessness and is likely to keep you concentrating throughout its entire 12-15 hour lifespan. What does come as a surprise however is that it only has one set difficulty level, as these days it is common for shooters to have 3 or more difficulty levels to choose from.

Far Cry Instincts features a number of multiplayer modes such as Chaos, Team Chaos, Capture the flag and Predator. Predator is a mode unique to Far Cry Instincts and works on the principal that one player has all the feral abilities enabled and has to play against all the other players who don't have any feral abilities. A major part of the multiplayer possibilities the game has to offer is the Map editor. It's highly sophisticated and clearly more powerful than the one recently seen in Pariah, although it lacks the objective features seen in Timesplitters Future Perfect, some highly captivating and creative multiplayer maps can still be made using this. Community creations can also be downloaded and played over Xbox Live, meaning if you get bored of the game's existing multiplayer maps you can download endless new content.

As graphics go Far Cry Instincts showcases just what the Xbox is capable of. Its awesome foliage, water ripples, reflections and even special effects such as your eyes adjusting to light or dark rooms have been created nigh-on perfectly. The only thing which lets the graphics down slightly is the tendency for some objects to occasionally pop in the distance of the larger environments.

Similar superlatives can be uttered for the sound; it does just about everything right. You can listen in on the conversations of your enemies as well as hearing the satisfying screams of fear when you attack. Being highly critical it could be said some of the atmospheric background music can get repetitive after a while since there is no custom soundtrack option.

Far Cry Instincts offers something new to the FPS genre with its feral abilities and expertly-crafted open level design. Combined with the map editor and creative multiplayer modes it comes highly recommended. It's most probably the best alternative to Halo so far and is certainly a must buy for any FPS fan owning an Xbox.

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