Spook’s Review, Far Cry 5: The Good.

 It’s an unfortunate thing that when you review stuff, the worse stuff stands out more than the good. I think its partially because it’s fun to complain. Also, most people can agree when stuff goes awry, when stuff is on track, is a bit harder to connect.

Now, I don’t rate multiplayer experience when I talk about Far Cry games, because I don’t play them multiplayer.

Anyway, the good..

The Combat in Far Cry is extravagantly fun, smoother then 3 and 4, and encompasses a wide variety of weapons and styles.

The fact the game has its quick, forced pacing, means that weapon upgrades and equipment come down the line at reasonable times, and feel like genuine rewards. In general Far Cry 5’s system of having you constantly be chased by the main plot, also contributes to a sense of verisimilitude. No longer do the bosses of a given area not recognize that you’ve been blowing up their monuments, wrecking their stuff, and liberating outposts. In fact, they are very responsive, to the point of occasionally commenting on your actions specifically, or mentioning stuff you’ve done in the past.

Clearing areas, clears them. I kind of dislike this, because it essentially puts a time limit on the game, but when you fight through an area, defeat its boss and burn down their stronghold, the amount of enemies you encounter drops off precipitously, giving the actual genuine impression that you, you know..cleared the area.

In that, Far Cry 5 is superior to 3 and 4, where you essentially liberated areas, but the enemy forces there remained entirely unchanged.

Basically my complaint is I want to keep playing the game past the point where the game lets me play it. It’s got me hungry for more. So I put this in the good column.

The NPC system is also well thought out with the NPCs contributing to you without overshadowing you, and they have skills and personalities that tie them to certain playstyles. They also interact vocally with the plot and environment.

The ‘minigames’ such as fishing and hunting, are really fun. I’ve commented to my friends that after beating the game, it transforms from Far Cry into Montana Simulator 2018, albeit with angry people trying to shoot you.

The story, except for the ending and the monologues, is also well fleshed out, and I found I liked pretty much every character we really spent time. The NPCs give you a genuine reason to like or dislike them, and as you explore you find yourself organically disliking the cult if you pay attention to what’s been happening.

I also really love how America gets portrayed in Far Cry 5. The people fighting against the cult are a diverse bunch, but they’re all Americans. Truckers, scientists, bearded mountain men, conspiracy theorists, businessmen, patriots, perverts, weirdoes, goofballs, nerds, chefs and all sorts of people, forming a genuinely diverse collection of people motivated and united by their desire to be free and to live their lives. Even your followers get into arguments with one another, but seem to respect each other’s differences (Hurk’s dudebroisms, Jess being a mild sociopath, etc).

Don’t let the multiple posts about the bad taint this. It’s a good game. It’s a fun game.

Far Cry 5 has ‘I like it, but..’ like all of its predecessors, but the first thing to take away, is that I like it.