Far Cry 6

Review

“Yara is an island in the heart of the Caribbean. In 1967, a guerrilla revolution led to a crippling blockade. Frozen in time for 47 years, the island collapsed into poverty until a new leader was elected with a cure to “Rebuild Paradise”. El Presidente of Yara, Anton Castillo”

The Presidente has a plan to bring Yara back from the struggles of its previous leaders, turning Yara back into a paradise. The President’s scientists have created the most effective treatment for cancer that the world has ever seen. Viviro is the President’s key in his plan to restore Yara to better days. Viviro is grown within Tobacco plants which thrive in these lands on plantations; however, it is modified with the purest fertiliser. This comes at a high price to the people of Yara, because this modified fertiliser is poisoning the land and its people.

Castillo, may have a plan to use the Viviro to return Yara to its glory days, but he does so as a tyrant, forcing the people to work in the plantations. The Yaran people are entered into a lottery to see who will work on the plantations producing the Viviro. This doesn’t go down well with the Yaran people, however, there is a group of guerrillas who fight back against Castillo and his regime, the Libertad.

Starting a new game will allow you to choose one of two game modes. Action Mode, is the classic Far Cry experience and is recommended for most players. This mode will have harder enemies and you’ll have to be more strategic and creative if you want to survive. Story Mode is the other game mode; this mode is for those who wish to pay more attention to the story and to exploring. You’ll take less damage allowing you to enjoy the action more, and there’s less chance of you dying. After you’ve decided, the game will start with a small intro with Lita, Alejo and Dani chatting on the rooftop. Lita is back in Esperanza after joining the Libertad, looking for new recruits and has come to see Alejo and recruit him.

You play as Dani and it’s now that you’re able to select the gender of your character. The army moves in on the street below after a blackout in the area. After throwing a bottle at the army who have just killed a civilian, Alejo is shot and killed. You and Lita must make your way to the dock where a refugee boat awaits so you can make your escape to Mexico and then finally onto Miami. However, the boat is stopped and is boarded by Castillo and his men, who find you and other people hidden below deck. One of them is Castillo’s son who was also trying to escape the tyranny of his father. Castillo takes him off the boat and then his men open fire, riddling the hull and the bodies within with bullets.

The next thing you remember is waking up on a beach, with wreckage and dead bodies scattered all around you. Lita is barely alive; she gives you her phone and tells you to seek out Clara who is hiding somewhere on the island that you washed up on. This is where your adventure begins against the tyranny of El Presidente Anton Castillo.

Using the phone you got from Lita will allow you to find where Clara and the Libertad are hiding out. Scattered around the islands are markings (codes); these indicate that nearby there is help or something that you can use, like a Workbench. These markings also reveal hidden paths through the lands which were created by the Legends of the ‘67 Revolution. These paths allow you to move through an area undeterred and often there’ll be some caches nearby or other items which you can make use of.

Clara will have some missions for you to complete, which will help get the revolution moving forward. You’re going to have to recruit certain characters such as Juan Cortez. He’s a spymaster from the days before Castillo, he’s also Clara’s mentor and the revolution can’t do without him. However, he’s not the only one you’ll need to recruit if you want to take down Castillo and his army and free all of Yara. Yara is divided into four regions with Castillo ruling over all from the capital in Esperanza in the north. You will need to recruit the other three regions, Madrugada, Valle De Oro and El Este.  Each region is run by one of Castillo’s inner circle. However, there are groups operating within each region fighting for their own beliefs, and recruiting them to help the Libertad will certainly help weaken Castillo.

Looking at the map of Yara will at first be under a Fog of War but as you travel, you’ll uncover more and more of the map. You can zoom into the map which will give you more details on places or items. As you travel you will cross paths with the Yaran folk, and some of them will give you information such as where you can find hidden caches, enemy intel or new missions.

Scattered throughout Yara are scrap metals, gasoline and other resources which you can collect. You can use these items to upgrade your weapons and ride weapons at your resolver workbench. You can find these workbenches scattered around Yara and in camps.

Some of the resources you collect will allow you to construct Camp Facilities at guerrilla camps. The facilities you can construct at these camps are Hideout Network, La Cantina, Bandidos Barracks, Guerrilla Garrison, Fishing Hut and Hunter’s Lodge. With these facilities you can supply the guerrilla fighters with improved weapons, with the Guerrilla Garrison, secret hideouts throughout Yara when you have the Hideout Network. Each of these facilities can be upgraded three times.

While you can run everywhere you can also take control of several different modes of transport to get around the islands. You have horses, bikes, cars, trucks, helicopters, jet skis and others. If you find yourself without any transport you are able to ring from certain telephone points and call for some transport which will then be brought to your current position.

There are ziplines throughout Yara which you can use to get down from a higher point or to reach another place where you are unable to. However, you also have a parachute and later you will unlock a wingsuit which you can use by jumping off from a high point and then safely landing below. So far though, I think there is something wrong with my wingsuit as each time I go to use it I suddenly start plummeting to the ground like a lead balloon; maybe I need to find higher ground.

You will come across enemy bases and checkpoints along the normal routes around Yara. You are able to capture some of these and upon defeating all of the enemy within, the Libertad will move in. You can Fast Travel between any place you have captured along with other places you uncover. The enemy bases are indicated on your mini map are a red area indicating that it’s a restricted area. If you are spotted in this area, then the enemy will start shooting at you. However, out in the rest of the island, as long as you have your weapon holstered, the enemy won’t shoot you (most of the time). If you don’t have your weapon holstered and Castillo’s units see you then they will assume you're with the resistance and start shooting at you.

You will also unlock Amigos, beginning with Guapo after recruiting Juan Cortez. Amigos have core ability and unique abilities to unlock. Guapo is an Alligator, who will follow you around; you can tell him where to go and pet him. Just be careful around the enemy as they may get a little bit nervous around him and start shooting. There are seven Amigos all with different abilities which you can use to your benefit.

There are quite a few different types of weapons: rifles, flamethrowers, compound bows, sniper rifles, pistols. Then you have the Supremo, a launcher off your back which can fire different types of ordnance, poison, explosives. You can also gain new Gear.  There are collections of gear which consist of five items: Head, Chest, Wrist, Leg and Foot. Each piece of gear will give you some sort of bonus or perk, some will give more damage to soft targets, protect against the poison or help find more resources.

There is plenty of wildlife throughout Yara and you can go fishing for some or your good old rifle will take care of the others. All will give you resources that can be traded for other resources that can be used to upgrade your weapons. Watch out for the crocs! I didn’t realise as I was running through the grass and all of a sudden, I was being attacked and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I soon figured it out when I was on my botty and looking down the throat of the bloody thing. The Mongoose is another which will attack you before running off, but all their parts can be traded for various items required for upgrades.

I’ve never really played Far Cry games previously, but I’ve enjoyed playing this one. The graphics are great, and I like that while there’s a story to follow, I can also go and explore the open world. I’m the type of person who wants to check out everything I see around me. I haven’t had any problems running the game; even when I installed the HD Textures Pack it still ran sweet.

I guess the only thing I can nitpick about is sometimes when collecting scrap etcetera, I’m unable to pick them up. It doesn’t display the key “E" that indicates that you can pick up an item; I’d have to switch weapons or holster and unholster my weapon, which seemed to solve the problem.

Review written by Piston Smashed™ for Zeepond.com

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