A Derivative Guilty Pleasure

A solid game for those new to the series, but may be too much of a rehash for veterans.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

A solid game for those new to the series, but may be too much of a rehash for veterans. 

Far Cry 5

As somebody who’s played every iteration of the series, Far Cry 5 is too much like Far Cry 4 and Primal to feel worthy of being called a sequel. It’s more of a refinement of the ideas from past games brought together in a whole new package.

Far Cry 5 takes place in the fictional Hope County of Montana, US. Playing a Sheriff’s Deputy, the game starts with you accompanying a posse to arrest Joseph Seed, the leader of Eden’s Gate, a cult that’s taken root in the area. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned and you soon find yourself trapped. From there, it’s a rather predictable ride of taking down the members of the Seed family controlling different areas of the county.

The characters here aren’t as memorable or interesting as Pagan Min or Vaas, though the Seed siblings do provide enough incentive for you wanting to kill them.

Unlike past games, the whole world is pretty much open after the tutorial, letting you pick which Seed family member to go after first. You still need to take them all out in the end, but the freedom to choose can give your playthrough a different experience from others.

Progression in each region is represented by a Resistance Point (RP) meter. You fill it up by doing missions, assaulting cult strongholds, saving hostages, and a variety of other Hardware Please sign: Name and Date: activities.

This whole cycle continues until you’ve liberated the area, which can turn into a boring grind for RP.

If you’ve played any of the last three games, you’ll have déjà vu playing Far Cry 5. There are animal companions (Fangs for Hire) like Primal, and human sidekicks (Guns for Hire) like in Far Cry 4. The good thing is that the AI isn’t half bad; they follow orders most of the time, kill intelligently, and can even aim!

It’s awesome, especially with the animal companions, but I wish the system had more depth. Right now, they just unlock two hidden perks after a certain number of kills and that’s that. On the subject of perks, your character gets a boatload to unlock. They use the points you’ve earned from completing challenges, and come in multiple categories such as Survivalist, Renegade, Assassin, Prepper, and Leader. There’s nothing radical, and most will seem overly familiar. There’s a grappling hook for Assassin which sounds promising though, but it only works in certain areas and doesn’t see much use.

Far Cry 5 has plenty of customization options. There is an astounding amount of clothes to unlock, and guns have an array of parts including suppressors, extended clips and scopes. Then there are the vehicles. 

Boats make a welcome return, though with the open world the best way to navigate is by flying.

Here you can pick between choppers, planes, or a straightforward airdrop. All three are feasible and fun to use, though my personal favorites have to be the armed planes. There’s no greater joy than dive bombing a cultist outpost and then making strafing runs as they scramble for cover.

Ironically, the best part of Far Cry 5isn’t the main game, it’s the optional multiplayer mode. The Arcade lets you create maps for solo, co-op, or competitiveplay, and is a damn fun way to pass the time. You can upload your maps or download community creations, and I foresee this being a big part of Far Cry 5’s popularity down the road.

What’s already certain is that this is one mighty fine looking game, especially if you’re on the PS4 Pro.

Far Cry 5supports Boost Mode and supersampling, which makes everything run smooth and nice. Things can get a little choppy when there’s a ton of action onscreen, though thankfully most firefights are fine. There are weird glitches like enemies flying straight up when hit by cars or getting stuck in walls, but so far, I’ve not encountered anything serious like a borked save or other crashes. The whole experience is pretty stable.

If you’ve missed out on the previous games, then Far Cry 5will make an awesome romp. Those expecting an overhaul from previous games, like what Assassin’s Creed Origins did, should avoid it. Hopefully, the incoming trio of DLC packs would change that, just like whatBlood Dragondid for Far Cry 3.

My Reading Room
A large open world map means a
lot of traveling. And the most fun
way is definitely by air.
A large open world map means a lot of traveling. And the most fun way is definitely by air.
Fishing is hands down the best new
optional activity.
Fishing is hands down the best new optional activity.
AT A GLANCE
DEVELOPER
Ubisoft Montreal,
Ubisoft Toronto
PUBLISHER
Ubisoft
GENRE
First-person shooter
PLATFORM
Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
PLAYERS
Single, Multi 
By Salehuddin Husin (GameAxis) Pictures UBI SOFT
Read more at  Gameaxis.com