E3: Far Cry: Instincts Hands-On

A far cry from a PC port? Details inside.

One E3 and some odd months later, the latest console build of Far Cry is quite simply a far cry from its PC counterpart. Now entitled Far Cry: Instincts, the Xbox installment is no longer even a port, but a fully realized adaptation that may even be an improvement over the original, arguably one of the best titles for the PC platform in 2004. Expanded and more intuitive, Far Cry: Instincts could prove to be one of the best titles on the Xbox platform.

The game puts you in the role of Jack Carver, a genetic freak of a soldier, meandering on a tropical island in search of the truth, bad guys, etc. What makes Far Cry unique is its setting; players can explore and shoot up sprawling, beautiful outdoor environments that are quite colorful to boot. This is in stark contrast to the space dungeon setting of many shooters in the genre. The Xbox adaptation is similar to the PC original for about the first third of the game, and differences become more apparent as the game progresses.

Visually, the game is astonishing. It lacks none of the punch of its PC counterpart and manages to maintain its colorful, detailed setting with a smooth framerate despite the limitations of Xbox hardware. By far, its one of the most impressive technological feats done a console; compressing a high-end system hog into a smooth, playable console title.

The game controls very much like Halo, which is pretty much the standard for shooters nowadays. It does have a unique system for attacking and tracking enemies with Jack Carver's genetically enhanced abilities, which makes for a far more interesting game. These abilities come in handy, especially with A.I. as clever as the kind found in Far Cry.

Enemy soldiers will cooperate and flank you out in an effort to dispatch you as quickly as possible. It is just another impressive feature in what has become a laundry list of kudos for this exemplary shooter.

In addition to what looks like a very promising single player mode, the developers at Ubisoft's Montreal studio have crammed even more content on to the disc with a diverse multiplayer mode and a map builder. The map builder is quite extensive for this kind of game, and allows you to customize the ultimate tropical island deathmatch. If you prefer the ones Ubisoft has crafted, you be pleasantly rewarded with well-designed maps that can host up to 16 combatants; all playable on Xbox Live of course.

Far Cry has an arsenal of weapons and vehicles, such as the jetski, which might supplant Halo's Warthog as the most fun vehicle to death race in multiplayer matches. Best of all, there are several mods available for the multiplayer side for those who tire of vanilla deathmatch.

Ubisoft has done about everything they possibly could to improve upon an already stellar PC release with a very feature rich Xbox adaptation. Due September 2005, it marks the end of a long development process, but Ubisoft looks to unleash a gem that could be the best all-around console shooter this side of Halo.

Will Federman
Contributor, Kikizo Games