Retroview - Far Cry

I think I'm quickly becoming a Far Cry Fan.

Source: Youtube Channel hankmanGTA

Far Cry is a First-Person Shooter with sandbox elements released back in 2004 exclusively for PC.  I didn't care much for it back then (mainly because I didn't play much FPS games back then and I also didn't have a computer that could handle anything other than Delta Force 2) and so I never bothered to try the game out.  It was recently on sale for $2.50 on Steam with Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition for $5.  I missed out on a LOT of great games that many gamers talk about but I never bothered to try (Deus Ex which I finally did, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, F.E.A.R., Hitman, Brothers in Arms, Call of Duty the original, etc.) and so I've been getting them all now that I finished my academics and can afford to buy and play games.

I bought both Far Cry 1 and 2 and decided to start with the original first.  The game surprised me in that the levels were huge and completing an objective didn't have to be completed by going through one path.  I like the option of being able to choose how to approach a fight and having that non-linear pathway to complete an objective.  The graphics are better than I had expected seeing how it's a game from 2004.  The loading takes forever though for some reason, but it's very fast after the initial load.  I'm not entirely far into the game, perhaps 3/10 of the way to being completed, but I'm really enjoying the game so far.  The game provides a fair challenge and different scope in the FPS genre that I am used to, so it feels very fresh even though it's 7 years old.  I feel very immersed with the environment and the whole situation that the character Jack Carver got himself into.  I think it has something to do with being able to explore around that makes it feel like I'm part of the world rather than running from point A to point B.  I can choose to kill people or leave them behind when sneaking around.  I recently played Crysis 1 for the first time and see similarities in gameplay with Far Cry with it being outdoors in the jungle with huts and having the ability to be stealthy or trigger happy.  I'm very happy with my purchase and can't wait to get on to eventually playing Far Cry 2 (and Crysis 2).  You can find Far Cry for $10 on steam or you can wait for another sale and buy it for a fraction of the price like I did.