Reader Reviews
Far Cry, Unreal Tournament 2004, xSokoban, gaming itself, and Final Fantasy XI all catch your attention as we catch up on the backlog. More submissions please!
Far Cry (PC)
by Talha
In a year that was arguably the best in gaming history, Far Cry seems a long way back. Believe it or not, it came out in 2004! And believe it or not, it is the paradigm-shifting, genre-redefining PC FPS of 2004, not Doom 3 and not (gasp!) Half-Life 2. Just tell me this: how can you NOT think shooting and hiding and destroying everything in your path, amidst the prettiest tropical flora and fauna, as revolutionary? The game has several firsts which are yet to be bettered. The first one is the tactical stealth element which becomes a necessity in a game consisting of open environments and draw distances of a kilometre. The second is the graphics and the setting: simply stunning and gorgeous. HL2 and Doom 3 maybe topped the graphics in the technical aspect, but tell me, do they look prettier?
The third and the most talked about is the truly open gameplay. By this I mean that every level is virtually limitless and there are at least three ways of doing everything.
The gameplay itself is fairly conventional. I would place it certainly better than Doom 3 and a little worse to HL2. What sets this apart is its setting, which makes even the most conventional, er, conventions in the game something unique.