Far Cry 3 was undeniably one of the best titles of 2012. Its detailed landscape was filled to the brim with washed up pirates and hungry wild animals. It managed to breath a gust of life into a genre consisting mainly of generic shooters. With such quirky and maddening characters, alongside one of the most insane open environments in videogame history, one would expect Ubisoft to follow up with some expansion to the Rook Islands or with a side story focusing on one of the other characters.
Instead, Ubisoft pumps out Blood Dragon; a homage to 80's sci-fi flicks following the adventures of Sergeant Rex 'Power' Colt, tasked with defeating a rouge task force that threatens the cyberpunk world he inhabits, all while having to deal with giant Blood Dragons, mutants, cyborgs and corny-as-hell one liners.
Sounds mad, right? It's definitely a lot of fun.
If you're expecting a deep, thrilling story or a thick plot supported by a wide variety of likable characters, turn back now. The obnoxious characters, the wildly predictable sci-fi setting, the bizarre range of weapons and enemies to contend with - Blood Dragon has everything that would have made the perfect sci-fi VHS movie had it been released thirty years prior to its release date.
Not that its blatant homage to old-school sci-fi flicks is an issue or anything. Rex Colt regularly blurts out cringe-worthy remarks whenever he performs an action or murders an enemy of interest, all of which will make you laugh and groan at the same time. The plot involving nuclear weapons and cyborgs will make you roll your eyes in boredom, yet charm you once you start to appreciate the direction it takes. It's a lot of fun in terms of presentation, even though it shouldn't be.
In terms of gameplay, Blood Dragon is more of the same. The new healing animations and awesome weapons will definitely have you reeling with delight as you proceed to mow down the armies of cyborgs and uber-tough, eye-laser shooting blood dragons that oppose you. It's as fluid, sleek and enjoyable as the core game itself, only with less emphasis on stealth and more emphasis on sprinting across the map and surviving impossibly high jumps. Role-playing elements do return, but they're nowhere near as detailed or involving as the original game, as a great deal of the core game's abilities are already available to you, streamlined by the lack of choice this time around.
Outposts from the previous game return. Capturing them requires the elimination of all the cyborgs protecting them, although the ways in which you can secure them are definitely worth noting. You can sneak in and switch off an outpost's shields, and watch on as nearby blood dragons pour in and make short work of its defenders. My favorite method was to extract a cyborg heart and hurl it outside the walls, wait for a blood dragon to come running and distract the opposition with its deadly laser attacks, before I run in from behind and burn them all out with a flamethrower. Lots of fun to be had.
Sound design is fantastic. The generic blooping and bleeping of enemy cyborgs, alongside the roars of explosions and the pinging of bullets, is lovable in just about every way. Voice acting by Michael Biehn is suitably dark and edgy, staying in line with the crude and sly Rex Colt. Dialogue is consistently corny, which can hardly be faulted given the intentions of the game.
Graphics are as bright and gorgeous as always, only with more shades of red, green and purple than before. The environment and enemies are surprisingly varied given the smaller size of the game. However, enemy fire and the bloom effect can be bit offsetting. There were a few occasions where I almost got my ass handed to me due to an uncomfortable burst of light blinding my HUD. It's not a frequent issue, but it can be annoying when it does happen.
Main issues stem from how easy the game is. Tearing your way through armies of cyborgs is surprisingly simple, while the blood dragons themselves are painfully easy to evade. Even the hardest difficulty setting can be cleared in a relatively short amount of time if the player is dedicated enough.
Another issue I encountered was the weapons. They look and sound fantastic, but I couldn't help but feel that the majority of them performed too similarly to their Far Cry 3 counterparts. Some of the guns have a noticeable oomph to them, and some do feel a lot more powerful than before, but I would have liked a bit more variety in the gun performance department.
The campaign will last the average gamer roughly four to five hours, with another few hours worth of collectibles and side missions, most of which involve rescuing captured scientists and killing targets of interest - not unlike Far Cry 3 itself. The world is not nearly as large as the Rook Islands, but it still has enough content and locations to keep the player busy for a while. There is no multiplayer, but the way the missions are designed indicates that playing with multiple Rex Colts would have been a bit too chaotic for many players out there.
When one considers the peculiar storyline, the oodles of sly references alongside the low price point, it's hard to fault Blood Dragon for much. Yes, it can be a bit too easy in many cases, and the familiarity of the weapons is a little disappointing, but Blood Dragon does a fine job of exceeding the asking price in terms of content and entertainment value. It's highly recommended.
:)
A bright and colorful sci-fi setting
Surprisingly fun and hilarious campaign
Shooting robotic goons is more fun than it should be
Looks great
:(
Copy and paste weapons
Too easy
8.5