- Gameplay -
If you loved Far Cry 3's gameplay, you can experience it all again and more in Far Cry 4. Open world, hunting, crafting, gliding, stealthing, shooting, outpost liberating, tower climbing, it's all there. Carry out a mission however you like. You want to kill them all with a rocket launcher, go ahead. Want to stealth through it with a bow and arrows, be my guest. I personally loved the hunting and crafting system in Far Cry 4. The upgrades you could get felt very useful in many stealth and combat situations. Hence, it gave me a lot of incentive to go out of my way and hunt that rare animal. It felt satisfying.
Out of all the stealth games I've played, the Far Cry series definitely has my favourite enemy detection meter. It doesn't fill up too fast or too slow, it gives you just enough time to jump into cover if they catch a glimpse of you. This allows you to continue stealth combat, instead of being forced into an all out brawl. But at the same time, the game doesn't let you just run loose and not get detected. If you're too braise, you'll be rightfully spotted out. The system feels fair.
You can choose from a range of vehicles just like Far Cry 3. Though not too many new ones, but you can ride an elephant and ram into people. And probably one of the most amusing things is back. Watching enemies or allies getting attacked by random animals. Eagles are my favorite.
- Narrative -
The story and characters has to be what brought my rating from an 7 to a 9. AJ Ghale is a protagonist you want to fight for. He's bringing his mother's ashes back to her homeland, but there's much to discover about his origins through this journey. You uncover bits and pieces of AJ's family's past, and the influence his parents had there. It's all still a big mystery, until the very end. The game has you thinking one thing, but the ending completely turns it upside down. It's also how they presented it. In an instant, WITHOUT words, all your questions are answered. I've seen my fair share of plot twists in movies and games, but this has to be one of the best. Once I opened that door, it all made sense. I literally just sat there in my chair, not moving my character, for a good 5 minutes reflecting on every major dialogue throughout the game, and how it all made sense, the moment I opened this door. It was a surreal feeling. There's also an alternate ending which allows you to complete the game in less than 15 mins. It's amusing to say the least.
- Visual & Sound -
Another very strong aspect about Far Cry. The visuals. The lush atmosphere. The detailed environment. Instead of tropical islands this time, you're out in the mountains and peaks. Animals and people are very interactive. Though I feel the devs reused too many of the same models for the allies and enemies, they literally all look the same. Like I swear I just killed this enemy, now he's strolling around as a civillian in a village, what?
- Replay value -
There are plenty of side missions, forts, and treasures to loot after your first play through, assuming you didn't get everything along the way.
Thanks for reading.