Review for Far Cry 5. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/03/2018
In the beginning it was Vaas Montenegro, recognized sadist, brutal rapist, violent insane, unpredictable psychopath, Machiavellian cynic with incomparable pride and a sense of humor worthy of the best Batman Joker. Then came Pagan Min, eccentric dictator tormented and conditioned by the ghosts of a past of which he is an accomplice and supporter, impassive before the most catastrophic of events, a recluse spectator of the ruin of his empire, linked to the protagonist by an unexpected twist. Comes, the latest in a series of "villains" that are one of the main ingredients of the successful recipe of the Far Cry saga, Joseph Seed.
We find ourselves in Montana, in Hope County: Joseph Seed, megalomaniac prophet of a cult whose followers are known as "Edenites", prophesies an impending apocalypse from which the only way to salvation is his creed. He calls himself the Father and rose to power with a mix of armed and psychological coercion, politics of terror and fanaticism thus constituting a sect armed to the teeth and known by the locals as Project Eden's Gate.
Next to the Father orbit the three brothers of Joseph, real operative enemies and Messengers of the Creed with which we will find ourselves fighting in an attempt to establish, organize and follow up on that Resistance made up of civilians and rebels who in one way or another managed to survive and escape the harvest of fanatics. In the first introductory stages of the game we will play the role of the main protagonist of Far Cry 5: A county deputy sheriff sent to the lion's den in support of the federal task force with the task of arresting Joseph in the middle of one of his six sermons. Unless, as a custom in the Far Cry saga, you opt for the premature secret epilogue, your mandate will help kickstart a veritable civil war of blood and lead!
The first unpublished structural mechanics introduced in this fifth chapter of Far Cry is that of the "anecdotal factory", a neologism coined by the staff of Ubisoft to define the free roaming and open nature of the title, which acquires a new, risky level of depth. Completed the very first steps of the game that constitute a summary but sufficient tutorial, we will in fact find ourselves at the center of a map divided into three different regions. Unlike the previous titles, from the very beginning we will not have restrictions, borders or places forbidden to exploration; in the same way, with the exception of a few fixed points that will show us the way towards one of the possible next main objectives, our wandering in the immense Hope County will lead us to write our unpublished story thus constituting in first person the imperishable "anecdotes" memory of our adventure.
The northernmost region is under the control of Jacob Seed, former member of the army and guarantor of military recruitment and training of adepts: thanks to his studies on local wolves, he has created a new breed of ravenous beasts known as the Judges. To the west, in the Henbane River, it awaits us Faith Seed: a real witch with a pacifist mask is the promoter of Gaudio, a new drug capable at the same time of subduing, controlling and bending to blind devotion anyone who comes in contact with it, one of the secrets of the success of the ascent to the power of the Father. In the south we will find the family lawyer, the Baptist, John Seed: he deserves the credit for the legal acquisition of a large part of the territories of Hope County, and is in charge of the work of gathering and convincing and armed deportation of new followers to Eden's Gate.
Each of the three regions is represented by an indicator that certifies the level of Resistance within. Therefore participating in the hundreds of proposed activities between sufficiently heterogeneous secondary missions and a mix of activities taken from previous chapters, (such as the conquest of outposts, freeing hostages, property sabotage and the recruitment of a large number of allies), we will guarantee the Resistance and its sympathizers the attention of the Seed brother on duty, who will send his henchmen from time to time to pick us up once the resistance bar has reached a precise point. After the first close encounters with the Messengers, we will realize how the Father's intent is to capture us alive: this mouse hunting system creates in the long term a strong narrative incongruity between the main interludes and what happens instead on the map of global game, where every single cultist seems to dedicate body and soul to send us to the other world with all sorts of weapons available.
Therefore, there is no optimal path for the continuation of the adventure in rural America of Hope County: on the one hand the large room for maneuver enhances that sense of free will at the basis of successful free roaming, the lack of a clear and precise timeline during the course of the main adventure renders fragmentary and at times invalidates a script that would have a good dose of dynamism and a more than appreciable characterization of the enemies.
Far Cry 5 fails, however, in the handover to the next super villain of the saga: however suitable for the tone of the story, none of the Seed brothers will be remembered for a particular trait, quote or action bordering on insanity, without participating in that direct emotional involvement of great impact that aficionados of the saga appreciate and expect. Let's break a lance in favor of the half-sister Faith Seed, who in the poker of aces of American enemy bows seemed to us the only one in possession of that something worthy of her predecessors. Once we have the upper hand in each of the three regions under the auspices of the Seed brothers, the Resistance will be ready for the grand finale: the showdown with Joseph Seed on his fortified ranch at Eden's Gate.
The background of our adventure is a never so vivid and detailed Montana: Hope County is the perfect embodiment of the American dream, between plains and boundless fields where excess is king. Prepare your forays to large forests, ranches and pick ups, small rural communities crossed by meticulously reproduced rivers and a characteristic fauna that reminds us of the essential link of North American culture to hunting and weapons.
Painting modern-day America was not an easy task for the Ubisoft team, considering the delicate historical and political period: the alleged analogy between the right-handed dictatorship of Joseph Seed and the work of the President of the United States Donald Trump had already created discontent and confusion even before the title came out. The skill of the guys from the Montreal and Toronto team in lifting a credible veil between fiction and reality proved to be masterful. juggling the razor's edge of ideological compromise, balancing and justifying every behavior and affirmation with a liberal or democratic nuance in a coherent way and without taking a position, diverting all the energies on the macro theme of religious fanaticism.
Let's forget the treacherous climbs to the radio towers, a milestone of the previous chapters: Far Cry 5 makes exploration easier and more realistic than ever introducing a new territory mapping system. The details of Hope County will be revealed as we approach points of interest, conversing with the freed hostages, reading signs and directions, or searching for maps in the various game installations. To accompany us on the outing, the largest arsenal in terms of weapons (white and otherwise) and controllable vehicles ever seen in a chapter of the saga.
Finished shootings with a fluid and more spectacular set-up than ever will be the backdrop to a lively and dynamic way: staying still at any point for just a few seconds we will find ourselves witnessing an infinite number of random situations involving civilians, animals, Edenians, allies, means of transport, lead and explosions in a succession of epicness that we will hardly get tired of soon. The introduction into the game of hunting and fishing as main elements of sustenance and the addition of the dimension of underwater swimming contribute to making the geography of Montana the undisputed protagonist of the title, despite not completely devoid of those recurring bugs and glitches that Ubisoft does not succeed. just to lose the habit.
Different speech for game music, a mix of original soundtrack and licensed music ranging from American country and folkloristic ballads up to religious litanies that we will be able to listen to from the various radio stations and playable by almost every one of the dozens of vehicles in the game: Dan Romer, composer of the unreleased songs, manages to characterize each different region with a particular style that wants to reflect the nature of the Seed in power and his vision of the end of the world.
Change of course on the evolution front of our protagonist, for the first time in a Far Cry chapter completely customizable both in physical aspect and in clothing: this time they do not find space for experience or levels, but by completing certain Challenges related to the main aspects of the game such as profitable use of hooks, hunting animals, recruiting allies and exploration, we will get trait points that can be spent on new skills divided into categories. From the beginning, all the traits will be unlockable if in possession of the necessary amount of points, making the style of play and the approach to the vast and deep gameplay further customizable.
The system of crafting has been simplified and made more immediate and enjoyable compared to the past: most of the components of bombs, homeopathic serums, tools and consumables will be found through the looting of enemy bodies and outposts and places of interest in the game: in Far Cry 5 you will collect animal skins exclusively for the proceeds in the subsequent sale and for the stretch points they will guarantee you.
In the early stages of the game it will often happen to find yourself in clashes against an incongruous number of enemies: often the escape or a different approach to action will make the difference between success and defeat. Unlike the previous chapters, the difficulty curve is higher in the first half of the game, then decreasing once we have acquired weapons and advanced traits to outline our favorite style of play.
The key dynamic to the success of the adventure is the recruitment of allies scattered throughout the various game regions. The resistance is swarming with mercenaries who will put their gun at our disposal, but if you can convince the nine key figures (three per region) you will find yourself fighting supported by allies (humans and animals) led by an artificial intelligence that, although not excessively advanced serves the purpose and each with their own special and specialized characteristics that they can make a difference in the clashes from the earliest stages. Each ally has their own story to tell: we advise you to follow their steps and help them in the related secondary missions to enrich the painting of a Montana in iron and fire and acquire effective, if not spectacular, support skills.
And if that's not enough, you can invite a friend in your single player campaign as a co-star to your single player campaign: if it is true that any significant progress in terms of main story (indicator of Resistance in the region, main and secondary missions completed) will remain linked to your account, all items, traits and experience gained by your partner will be reported in the respective save file. If you have a subscription PlayStation Plus o Xbox Live, an integrated voice chat will also be active in-game to better coordinate and make the most of the cooperative adventure.
Far Cry 5 it also sanctions the welcome return of the Arcade mode, offering the community an infinite multiplicity of assets taken directly from the games of the Ubisoft titles roster with which to create their own game maps that can be explored alone or in co-op. There disarming simplicity of the editing tools make Arcade mode, accessible directly from the main campaign in hubs defined on the game map, an affordable and recommended function for everyone! You can create exploratory maps, missions with a survival, horror or platform character, or others whose completion is bound to the killing of a specific target up to the possibility of giving life to immense multiplayer PvP maps in the name of deathmatch.
When the announced risk was to package a truncated product, a photocopy of the previous chapters and covered according to the setting of the day, Ubisoft responds with a breath of fresh air that makes Far Cry 5 a title not to be missed for all lovers of action FPS with an open world character. A bright and colorful North America like never before, a main story that offers dozens of hours of unpublished content to which we add the infinite solo activities we are used to in a redesigned and appreciable coop seasoned with refined gameplay that does not excel however for artificial intelligence and suffering from a few bugs too, make Far Cry 5 the best chapter of the saga. No longer a single, valuable nightmare enemy, therefore, but an entire family of unstable prophets will accompany our adventure until the final stages: if Joseph Seed is likely not to take the place of Vaas and Pagan Min in our hearts, it is true that he will not will make us regret the over 100 hours of gameplay that await us in Hope County, Montana!
► Far Cry 5 is a Shooter type game developed and published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/03/2018
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