Far Cry
Description official descriptions
You play Jack Carver, a charter-boat businessman in Micronesia, on a job to escort Valerie Cortez, an ambitious journalist, to the island of Cabatu. The next thing you know someone's blown up your boat (and with that, everything you owned in the world), kidnapped Valerie, and left you for dead. Your job now is to rescue Valerie and get back at the soldiers who destroyed everything you had.
Proprietary Polybump mapping, advanced environment physics, destructible terrain, dynamic lighting, motion-captured animation, surround sound and the ability to render an entire kilometer of actual terrain in real time all showcase CryTek's new CryENGINE.
Advanced A.I. means enemy soldiers make realistic decisions based on observations of the current state of the world. These highly trained mercenaries are designed to utilize environmental features, attack in groups, divide and conquer, respond to player actions, and call in reinforcements from air, land, or sea.
Far Cry ships with a Sand Box Editor, allowing you to create and edit your own maps with an easy drag and drop interface.
Spellings
- ĺ¤ĺ˛ćé - Simplified Chinese spelling
- 漾ĺ°ć°ĺ - Traditional Chinese spelling
Groups +
- 3D Engine: CryEngine 1
- BPjS / BPjM indexed games
- Covermount: Fullgames
- Far Cry series
- Gameplay feature: Drowning
- Games made into movies
- Games that include map/level editor
- Green Pepper releases
- Middleware: PunkBuster
- PC Gamer Presents games
- Scripting language: Lua
- Setting: Tropical Island / Deserted Island
- Software Pyramide releases
- Sound Engine: FMOD
- Technology: amBX
- Ubisoft eXclusive releases
- Weapon: OICW
- Weapon: Pancor Jackhammer
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Credits (Windows version)
428 People (351 developers, 77 thanks) · View all
Developed by |
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CEO and President | |
COO/CFO & Executive Vice President | |
CMO & Executive Vice President | |
Creative & Technical Director | |
Executive Producers | |
Producers | |
Assistant Producers | |
Lead Programmer | |
AI Lead | |
Multiplayer Lead Programmer | |
AI & Game Programming | |
3D Engine Lead | |
Physics Lead | |
Sandbox Lead | |
Renderer Lead | |
Animation & 64bit Programming | |
CryEngine Optimisations | |
Optimisations & Dot-3 Lightmaps | |
Multiplayer Programming | |
[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 88% (based on 60 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 220 ratings with 13 reviews)
Stunning environments play host to a half-witted plot
The Good
Clearly Far Cry has one thing going for it. The large, sun-drenched environments. While id was putting the finishing touches on their dark, claustrophobic masterwork of DOOM3, and Valve was in the last half-year of polishing Half-Life 2 to a dystopic gleam, the German firm Crytek released this unheralded gem. At least, it starts as a gem...
The Bad
Toward the end of the storyline, the game gets more and more far-fetched. I can't even remember what was going on exactly -- something about mutating humans into an unholy werewolf army. To be hired out to evil regimes, presumably meaning North Korea. Things get out of hand, people are injected with green mutoid plasma, become monsters, that sort of stuff. It all came apart at the seams for me during the last few levels, where I simply wasn't having fun anymore. Not only did the plot get crappy, but so did the level design. It was quite a let-down, considering how strong the opening levels were.
Multiplayer was resoundingly disappointing. Perhaps because by the time I got around to trying it, the only people still playing were experts, and would camp from some indiscernible mountaintop with the sniper rifle. Sniped again and again and again as I vainly look for some cover or a better weapon -- how terribly fun. Leave server.
I'd have given it more time, but Counter-Strike: Source was simply a better option in 2004.
The Bottom Line
Bright, sunny, and expansive tropical environments play host to innovative, long-distance gunplay. But it all degenerates into a half-baked mad scientist plot that left me a little frustrated that Crytek's story department couldn't come up with something more compelling.
Windows · by Chris Wright (85) · 2011
The Good
Of course, the graphics, It's nothing but really really beautiful. The view distance is nice, you can see the bad guys helicopter take off and come towards you from miles away, and when he's close enough you blast him with the rocket launcher and all bad guys fall out screaming into the water way below. It is for moments like that I'm a gamer....
I also like the simple gameplay in the first missions. Enemies are stupid and easy to kill, you just reload your sniper rifle and move on to the next pretty little island.
With the binoculars you can listen to the enemies conversations. This is a neat thing imo, and they're pretty fun to listen to.
One more thing : the ragdolls. When you kill someone, he sometimes ends up in hilarious positions (like sitting up, or standing against a door). I had many laughs from this.
The Bad
The story is bad. I don't even know why they bother, it would be ok with me if the story was just "this guy wanted to kill people and blow things up on a tropical island".
The game also becomes insanely difficult towards the end. The enemies become better at aiming and wear more armor. I guess this could be good for some, but I just want to kill and move on, not reload the autosave 37 times.
The Bottom Line
Buy this game, it's worth it. Everyone will be talking about it, you don't want to be left behind do you?
No doubt, this is the 2004 game of the year.
Windows · by Grov (657) · 2004
A Far Cry from your typical FPS
The Good
Taking a shapely photojournalist to an archipelago in the Pacific sounds like easy money to charter boat captain Jack Carver, but as Valâs Jet Ski disappears behind an island, Jack spots a rocket homing in on him. Thrown clear from the explosion, Jack finds himself floating amongst the wreckage of his boat. Alone and unarmed, Jack swims toward the nearest island. How can he find Val and get the hell out of here?
Since Far Cry is a first-person shooter, Jack isnât unarmed for long. A tutorial level puts a gun in Jackâs hand, as well as a handheld communication device and a pair of binoculars. The communication device connects him to a man named Doyle. Doyle can help Jack find Val and get away, but he needs Jack to do something for him first. The device also has a compass which points Jack towards his objectives. The binoculars include a microphone set up, so Jack can spot enemies from a distance and overhear their conversations. Once Jack has spotted an enemy with the binoculars, they show up on the handheld device as a blip.
Jackâs first objective is to steal a jeep from a mercenary camp and drive it to a dock on the other side of the island. Hereâs where Far Cry shines. Jack can use stealth to sneak around the back of the camp or he can go in guns blazing. He can blow-up gas canisters to thin the ranks or he can climb a sniper tower and take the mercs down that way. He can stay concealed and make it to the jeep unnoticed or he can announce his presence with a few well placed grenades.
Far Cry places very few constraints on the player. While Jack isnât going to be able to talk his way out of any situation, usually there are multiple ways to do what needs to be done. Far Cry encourages exploration. A path might be the fastest way to your objective, but flanking around an area helps avoid patrols and shows how lush and detailed Far Cryâs levels are.
When it comes to beautiful islands, Far Cry outdoes Myst. The islands are rich with detail. The jungles hide crashed Japanese Zeroes and vine-strewn ruins. Wild boars run through the trees and parrots fly overhead. Even at the minimum specs, Far Cry looks great, but kick the graphics up and the sense of realism explodes. The archipelago would be a great vacation getaway if it werenât for vicious bands of mercenaries and the secrets they protect.
You know a game is challenging when the medium difficulty setting is the second option out of five. Far Cry has smart, tough opponents. Mercs follow intelligent patrol paths. They are quick to spot you and are able to hear you. They work in packs, drawing your fire while flanking you. They are quick to use grenades and arenât afraid to call in for reinforcements or helicopter support. Luckily Jack has some tricks up his sleeve.
Calling on his military background, Jack is capable of using any weapon he gets his hands on: from lowly machete to the sophisticated OICW Advanced Assault Rifle. Jack can carry four weapons and a few grenades at a time. He can replenish his armor (which conceals his orange shirt making him harder to spot) and his health, but he canât carry power ups. He also takes full advantage of the turrets scattered around and the variety of vehicles available. Far Cry lets you off-road in Hummers, cruise in patrol boats, hang-glide and more.
The Bad
Out of the box, Far Cry has a check point save system which can be player unfriendly. Patching the game adds a quick save function, but this is handled awkwardly through the console and isnât something youâd want to attempt during combat. Frankly, the lack of a save anywhere function is usually a game killer for me, but here I wasnât as bothered. It almost hearkened back to Fallout for me, in that if one battle plan fell to pieces, I was eager to try a different approach.
The thing that bothered me more was the rocket launcher. First up, Iâm never sure why villains are given rocket launchers. Invariably, they blow themselves up or cause massive collateral damage. Rocket launchers versus vehicles, okay, against people, thatâs different. Anyway, Far Cry has its share of henchmen who use rocket launchers more against themselves than Jack, but conversely, Far Cry also has the slowest rockets Iâve ever seen. Of course this is purely the result of a balancing issue: if the rockets traveled at a respectable clip Jack wouldnât stand a chance, but you shouldnât be able to mosey away from a rocket.
The Bottom Line
In terms of gameplay, Far Cry isnât wildly different from other first-person shooters, but it comes across as more polished. Thereâs much more attention to level design and much more attention to story. . Reluctant hero Jack Carver tackles a storyline that feels pulled from a Bond flick (to a point). Almost half the game passes before Far Cry reveals its secrets, but until then game play is so enjoyable you almost donât expect more. Far Cry doesnât define what a first-person shooter is, but it does illustrate what a first-person shooter can be. I eagerly await the next entry.
That Uwe Boll has his hands on this franchise kills me.
Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5395) · 2005
Trivia
1001 Video Games
The PC version of Far Cry appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Development
The game actually started out as a tech demo made by Crytek, to demonstrate the capabilities of Nvidia's (then) new graphics chip, the GeForce 3. Much like what happened with Serious Sam: The First Encounter, it then got turned into the complete game it is now.
German version
The German government agencies for the protection of children are not to be trifled with â a lesson that publisher UbiSoft learned the hard way with Far Cry.
Due to realistic violence, especially with regard to the ragdoll model of the enemies, the full English version of Far Cry was banned in Germany by the federal agency BPjM on April 2nd 2004, meaning that any kind of advertisement for this version is forbidden, and it may only be sold on request to persons aged 18 or older.
UbiSoft and developer Crytek had anticipated this, and created a special version of Far Cry for the German market â the usual procedure to abide by the strict German standards. In this version, ragdoll models were disabled. As expected, the modified version was rated â18+â by the USK, the official German rating board. Any game with a USK rating may only be sold to persons of the specified age group, but is protected from being banned. UbiSoft produced and shipped a large amount of copies of this German version, which hit stores on March 25th 2004.
At that time, the BPjM judgment on the English version was pending. The BPjM testers quickly found out what was already widely circulated in the Internet: Crytek had not physically removed the ragdoll model from the German Far Cry, they had just disabled it -- and every user could turn the feature back on with just a few simple modifications. This made the German version identical to the English one. Identical content is the one criterion that would allow the BPjM to ignore a USK rating and ban a game. That, however, had never happened.
Up to now. On April 2nd 2004, the BPjM banned the German version of Far Cry along with the English one, on accounts of identical content. From one day to the next, stores nationwide were no longer allowed to display the boxes of the most popular, extremely successful action game.
UbiSoftâs reaction was feverish, yet professional. As soon as word had spread that a ban was imminent, the company started the production of a new, non-modifiable German version to replace its now worthless predecessor. This second edition retained the USK rating â18+â and was distributed two weeks later, on April 15th. UbiSoft took back all copies of the previous version at its own cost.
The German second edition cover of Far Cry is easily recognizable by a big red box in the upper right corner containing the line âDeutsche Versionâ (German version). If you happen to own one of the banned first editions, you should probably hold on to it; over time, it may become a collectorâs piece.
Graphics
The game allows you to set a way to render it, such as the bright "Paradise," the dim "Cold," or the cel-shaded "Cartoon."
Patch 1.3 of the game adds support for HDR lighting (high dynamic range lighting) on the new nVidia GeForce FX 6xxx line of graphics cards. Its inclusion makes Far Cry the first commercial game to support HDR lighting!
This feature increases visual quality in the game tremendously, improving the detail and dynamic range between light and dark, and simulating lens exposure effects between light and dark areas of the image.
The feature is not accessible from the game configuration screen, but must be enabled via the command line, console or config file. The feature is not available on ATI's competing generation of graphics cards due to the implementation/hardware limitations.
Mods
Far Cry fans have created an unofficial modification that adds a Capture the Flag multiplayer mode and comes with five new maps.
Far Cry seems to be on its way to become the most longevous game in history. Following the visual change that patch 1.3 meant by enabling HDR, two patches were released to bring the game up to the world of 64 bits. While they don't really take advantage of any 64-bit specific features, these patches do improve graphics even further, and they add a couple of new levels and some other stuff.
What, you didn't make the jump to 64-bit yet? Fret not. Most of those graphical enhancements are available for 32-bit users as well, via a little thing called the FC 64ecu to 32os conversion patch.
Movie
The game became a movie in 2008. The main character Jack Carver is played by Til Schweiger. Although it does not stick to the game's storyline, it cuts close with the setting and game elements. German investor Boll KG bought the rights to turn the game into a movie franchise in February 2004, a month before the game hit stores.
Patch 1.2
In July 2004, patch 1.2 was soon recalled after the release, due to unexpected behaviour on specific hardware configurations. There was no fix released afterwards. Users had to revert to 1.1 and then wait until October 2004 for a new patch (1.3).
Title
On May 28, 2002, developer Crytek changed the gameâs name from X-Isle to Far Cry. The âXâ was too allusive of Microsoftâs game console X-Box.
Awards
- 4Players
- 2004 â Biggest PC Surprise of the Year
- GameSpy
- 2004 â #9 PC Game of the Year
- 2004 â Special Achievement in Graphics Award (together with DOOMÂł)
- GameStar (Germany)
- February 2005 - Best German PC Game in 2004 (Readers' Vote)
- Golden Joystick Awards
- 2004 - Runner up to DOOMÂł in the "PC Game of the Year" category
- PC Gamer
- April 2005 - #18 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
- PC Powerplay (Germany)
- issue 01/2005 - Best German Game in 2004
Information also contributed by -Chris, Dr. M. "Schadenfreude" Von Katze, MAT, piltdown man, Sciere, Tiebes80 and Zack Green
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Related Sites +
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FarCry
Official website -
FarCry Headquarters
English/German fansite -
IGCD Internet Game Cars Database
Game page on IGCD, a database that tries to archive vehicles found in video games. -
Planet FarCry
GameSpy's FarCry website with game info, forum, downloads etc. -
Wikipedia
The Far Cry article at Wikipedia
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Cyberzed.
PlayStation 3 added by Sciere. Xbox 360 added by Kabushi.
Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, tarmo888, Sciere, Kabushi, PhoenixFire, Yearman, Patrick Bregger, Victor Vance, FatherJack, ä¸ćĺˇçŹ.
Game added March 24, 2004. Last modified November 25, 2024.