Far Cry, originally a PC title from Ubisoft, made its debut on the console market with a new version of the game for the Xbox.

It was then followed by a sequel which takes place after the events of the first Far Cry game. Both games got a graphical update and were re-released on the Xbox 360.

Now we've got the Wii version which has a new story line and a new controller interface. Unfotunately the game was not built from the ground up and it looks like they just copied and pasted most of the game the previous ones.

It’s hard and confusing to attach this game to any of the previous Far Cry games. You could say that it is a brand new story line within the Far Cry series but that’s kind of hard to believe seeing as how they don’t explain anything.

The game starts the same as 'Instincts' however instead of following Kade, some guards just come in and knock you out believing that you are a rebel. Nothing much is explained after that. You just start shooting and people start shooting at you for no apparent reason. The story starts to unvail more as you progress through the game but they failed to catch the player's attention in the beginning.

The Weapons in Far Cry: Vengeance are about the same as Instincts albeit with a couple of new ones such as; the revolver, G18, Auto 45 and BC-74. There is no change in vehicles which all stayed the same from the Hum V to the boats.

Graphically Far Cry looks like a low end 2001 PC game. But then again I’m giving them too much credit. The CG movies are badly illustrated and badly rendered. I think they were trying to go for in game renders but I think it would be much better if they would have stuck to the good old pre-render movies from back in the day.

In-game the characters look pixilated as well as the shadows and environment which makes the game seem like it’s running less the 30 FPS.

The sound is not pretty either. The gun shots seem to be doing more popping than banging, the machine guns sound like wet fire crackers and when prone while moving Jack lets out tiny moans that makes you wonder if he’s making love to the ground. The voice over is good but at the same time bad. The original voice of Jack for the Xbox versions of Far Cry has been replaced by a whinier person that does not fit the character of Jack at all. Heck it would be a lot better if you would just read the dialog through out the entire game.

The controls are actually the only good thing about the entire game. Unlike Red Steel the controls for Far Cry are actually solid. It does take some time to get used to them but once you do the game becomes more interesting and you forget about its faults for a good couple of minutes.

One of the main bugs/mistakes that somehow made it into Far Cry: Vengeance is the fact that you cannot shoot anyone unless the cursor or the cross hair is in red which means attack and shoot. The red crosshair is not activated for action until you are close to the victim. This can be really annoying when you’re sneaking behind someone from a distance but are unable to shoot him until you get closer and as you get closer an enemy spots you and starts shooting at you.

An enemy spotting and shooting at you is not bad because 80 to 90% of the time they will miss, even if you are standing in from of them.

There is not much replay value in Far Cry if you pass it and may I add that is a BIG if because the game can be so boring that you will not want to see it ever again. There is a multiplayer mode but it is not safe to play the game while operating heavy machinery as the side effects can cause dizziness, anger and sleep.

Closing Comments:

Far Cry is one of those games that you do not want to even touch, but if you are bored and want to play something to keep you entertained then you may buy this game. I would normally say to rent it but paying 8 bucks for renting a game that cost $19.99 is not really a good idea. Yes the game was originally $49.99 and I feel sorry for the poor souls that actually bought this game.

As for me, I wanted to buy it but I decided to wait for a price drop and viola a $30 price drop. I do have a recommendation for the people who will buy this game in the near future. Play it on a CRT TV not a flat screen TV because it actually looks a lot better on a regular TV than a Plasma or LCD.

Game Play: Bad Story and explanations on what to do next. 4/10

Graphics: Lower end PC graphics. Horrible 4/10

Sound: Bad sound effects, music and voice over. 2/10

Controls: Very good, but not as good as CoD 3. 8/10

Life Span: Game play and multiplayer should keep you busy for about 3+ hours. 5/10

nighthawk : Console Central Network