Far Cry: Instincts
October 5,2005 - Last year a small developer named Crytek released one of the most memorable, epic, and technically impressive first-person shooters ever made, and they called it Far Cry.  The game was reviled as such an amazing accomplishment based on it being the most technically impressive looking game out there and because it was just so well made all around.  The atmosphere, the gameplay, the graphics, you name it, they did it, and it was done correctly.  This year, Crytek, or Ubisoft Montreal, if you will, has just released another game in the Far Cry “universe.”  To call it a port of the PC version is incorrect and it’s also incorrect to call it a sequel, because it’s more just a game that takes place in the “universe” of Far Cry.  While Far Cry for the PC was an instant success from both a critical standpoint and a fanbase standpoint, Far Cry Instincts, the Xbox counterpart, is destined to be the very last Xbox classic to come out in its final days as the most powerful system on the block.

Far Cry Instincts once again stars you as Jack Carver.  While you’re not exactly the same as before, since this is a new game with a new story, you’re still essentially the same cool guy in the Hawaiian shirt, which is really all anyone can ask for.  You’re a retired naval officer who carts people around on your boat, and eventually you’re asked to take this woman to these mysterious islands when suddenly you’re attacked by helicopters with missiles and sent hurling into the water!  You have to eventually rescue your employer and get the heck off that island.  So, really, the story isn’t completely different from the original Far Cry, but they definitely approach it in a different way so it feels like it is.

The tropical setting is something that was a major hit in Far Cry and it makes sense that they didn’t change much about it for Instincts, in fact, it’s almost a little better.  In terms of level design, they’re almost identical as to which would be better than the other, but the way the game plays out in Instincts makes it seem a little easier to follow than the PC version.  The giant tropical jungle is vast, sprawling, and perhaps the most lifelike setting you can possibly find in any game of this kind.  There are so many locales in the game that make you wish you were there in real life instead of just playing from a video game.  It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful game on the Xbox, when it comes to lifelike settings at least.

From a gameplay standpoint there are many similarities to the PC game and there are also some completely original aspects that actually give it a leg up in this respect.  The game is largely played in the “how you want to” way.  It’s not entirely up to you, like they want you to think, but there are many occasions where you can get through certain points in the game without ever really having to worry about doing it one way or another.  The best way throughout the large part of the game is killing by stealth.  It’s not always the best to just run straight up to your opponents and start blasting like games such as Halo or Quake, but on occasion you’ll get into some pretty ferocious gunfights nonetheless.  The reason why you don’t want to play the game in the run and gun fashion is because the enemies are very smart and very strong.  The majority of the mercenaries you fight are very intelligent and have some of the best intelligence of any A.I. you can find in any shooter out right now.  They can be viewed in two ways, sincerely smart, or seriously cheap.  What that means is that there are times when you’ll be sneaking around, totally unseen by the normal grunt mercenaries but then all the sudden find yourself under fire by a sniper two hundred yards away, which, in reality, is very unrealistic.  But hey, it adds to the tension and it certainly makes for a more fun cat and mouse style chase.

You want to be the predator in Instincts, and, if you didn’t know, the newest gameplay elements in the game come from some of the things you saw in the PC game.  Instead of just fighting deformed humans you are now playing as one.  Jack Carver finds himself undergoing some serious changes as the game progresses and this accounts for the majority of the new gameplay mechanics.  And let it be known, these are some of the coolest implemented gameplay aspects any shooter has come out with in some time.  Jack will begin acquiring feral instincts, such as superhuman senses, the ability to run extremely fast, jump extremely far, and pulverize your enemies with your bare fists until they are no more.  It is amazing once you start gaining these attacks and abilities because it takes the gameplay from good to superb in just a short matter of time.  Another aspect of the gameplay that is new to Instincts is the ability to set traps.  There isn’t a whole lot to it, overall, but in concept it makes for some fantastic ways to forgo otherwise incredibly hard shootouts with the A.I.  If you set a trap right, such as a spring-loaded tree branch with spikes on it, or something else of that nature, you’ll find yourself sitting back relaxing and taking in the nice scenery instead of worrying about getting shot by a mercenary on patrol, it’s sweet.

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