"Far Cry" contest
Send us a YouTube link to your homemade video of a re-enacted Far Cry scene.
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"Far Cry 5" doesn't dare enough, but is still fun (Update: Competition winner)
29.3.2018
Translation: machine translated
A wacky cult, a huge explorable game world, chaotic gameplay and killer wolverines. Yep, it's a new "Far Cry". I'll tell you if it's worth the trip to the Treasure State. However, it's definitely worth taking a look at the article, because there are graphics cards from Asus and games to be won.
"Far Cry 5" was already causing quite a stir before its release. The story about a fundamentalist Christian cult in the American hinterland suddenly appeared in a completely new light after Donald Trump's presidency. How much influence the controversial US president's actions had on the development can only be guessed at. What is certain is that the scenario could cause controversy. Unfortunately, the story quickly turns out to be a dud. However, that doesn't mean that the trip to Montana isn't worthwhile.
**At the end of the article you will find the competition: There is a GTX 1080 TI, a GTX 1060 and 5x "Far Cry 5" to be won.
Lots of hot air
The game gets off to a strong start. As a deputy sheriff, you try to arrest the leader Joseph Seed of the radical cult Eden's Gate. The mood is gloomy and somewhat reminiscent of the first season of "True Detective". But after just a few minutes, there is a run-of-the-mill chase in which you shoot at cars and aeroplanes with endless ammunition. The story about preppers, extremists and gun-happy Christians in the violent Montana countryside touches on many interesting points, but remains completely toothless and doesn't dare to make any concrete statements. It also stands in complete contrast to the rest of the game. While the story in "Far Cry 3" was just as wacky as the leader Vaas, it was coherent with the rest of the game. In "Far Cry 5", the head villain and his minions are also crazy, but the story with its pseudo-political statements remains far too stiff. However, I found it difficult to take anything seriously. For example, when I'm shooting at shovel-wielding drug zombies with an alien gun, Cheesburger the bear is at my side and a wolverine scratches my face in the process.
The game world also only adds to the realism to a limited extent. The landscape looks impressive and when flying over it, you could easily forget you're in a game. But the world consists almost exclusively of outposts, shrines and various landmarks and doesn't give the impression that people live here. Instead, everything is primarily geared towards providing you with maximum entertainment. But that's a good thing...
A huge playground
Because apart from the story, the rest of the game is a typical Far Cry playground for causing chaos and having fun. The developers seem to have been under no illusion that this is what players are primarily interested in. After a short intro, an NPC introduces you to side quests without bothering to disguise them as part of a larger purpose. Freeing prisoners, blowing up shrines (which conveniently always consist of a big red gas tank), liberating camps and helping the militia. If you know "Far Cry", you know what to expect. When you're flying around in a helicopter and shooting at everything that's red or not three on the trees (and even then), it reminds me a lot of "Just Cause 3".
The gameplay of "Far Cry 5" is at its best. The entire game world is open to you right from the start. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you feel like. You'll get new tasks organically through maps, NPCs or other clues. Fortunately, climbing towers is a thing of the past.
Before you can take out the boss, you have to eliminate his three underbosses. Each of them controls an area. Once you have completed enough tasks, you will unlock the encounter. There is plenty to do. Help the population with various tasks, free prisoners from torture cellars, hunt animals, race against each other, go fishing, etc. You won't get bored easily.
Of course, there are also numerous upgrades, weapons and equipment to unlock. You can earn upgrade points by completing challenges. 10 shotgun kills, skinning two moose or flying 2000 metres with the wingsuit. You can do a lot of these almost automatically, but others can quickly feel like homework if they don't suit your playing style and you're only doing them to get the points.
You can choose to have one of nine companions at your side. These include three animals that you can command. They can revive you in an emergency and are a practical addition. You could also play co-op with a friend. The problem is that only one of you can complete missions. The other player only receives money and upgrades. That makes it a no-go for me and my mates, at least for the time being.
Then there's the arcade mode, where players can create their own missions using an editor. This results in potentially endless new content. Someone has already recreated the Counter-Strike map de_dust2.
The Dunia engine makes for a beautiful presentation that doesn't require a killer PC, even at maximum detail.
Conclusion: Let the pig out
Although it's a shame that the potential of the setting isn't realised, you can have a lot of fun with "Far Cry 5". Ubisoft has once again created a marvellous playground and peppered it with many entertaining activities. Together with the numerous weapons, upgrades and various vehicles, the chaos simulator is almost perfect. The experience is somewhat spoilt by bugs, stupid AI and the fact that the steering wheel is taken out of your hands too often in order to advance the story. I hope that the next instalment will have more courage to try something new. Otherwise I'm afraid that we'll soon only be able to distinguish between "Watch Dogs", "Far Cry", "Assassin's Creed" and "Ghot Recon Wildlands" by their setting.
Contest
As promised, there's also something to win. Namely the following things:
- Place: Asus GTX 1080 Ti + "Far Cry 5"
- Place: Asus GTX 1060 + "Far Cry 5"
- to 5th place: 1x "Far Cry 5" each for PC
All you have to do is make a short video showing a typical scene from the "Far Cry" series. For example, you could recreate a glutton attack with your cat or climb a climbing frame like a lookout tower. The video must also feature digitec and Asus ROG in some way. You then upload the video to YouTube and copy the link into the competition form. We will award prizes to the five best videos. The closing date for entries is 5 April 2018
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Update: Here are the winners
We received numerous really well-made videos from you. It wasn't easy for us to choose the winners. After much deliberation, we have decided on the following five entries. Congratulations. We will notify the participants shortly.
Place 1
Place 2.
Place 3.
Place 4.
Place 5.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
