User Reviews (1 - 11 of 35)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

One of the best all-around X-Box FPS experiences

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 50 / 54
Date: October 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Far Cry hit the PC Market last year with a bang. Combining revolutionary graphics with cunning stealth/guerilla tactical fighting, Far Cry was easily one of the most enjoyable and memorable PC gaming experiences ever. So how did it translate on the XBox?

As Jack Carver, you take an undercover reporter to secluded Jacutan Island, where a number of mysterious incidents have occurred for the past 2 or 3 decades. When your boat is blown apart by a helicopter attack, you find yourself stranded on this tropical island, fending for your life and trying to find out just what exactly is happening here on Jacutan. Along the way you'll encounter a literal army's worth of enemies and a few horrifying surprises.

The premise is simple enough and the story, though a bit weak, keeps you moving through the lushly detailed tropical island. Undoubtedly one of the best looking games on the X-Box, Far Cry features beautiful water effects, swaying trees and lush tropical growth. Gorgeous waterfalls and rivers dot the landscape, as well as enormous mountain ranges and dense jungle trails. When you're not caught up looking at the landscape however, you'll be up to your eyeballs in bullets.

The gameplay is somewhat different than most FPS games, in that it is no where near as claustrophobic. The areas are wide open and allow for precise sneak attacks and guerilla hit and run tactics. Enemy AI is impressive, though can also be quite dumb at times. The dense tropical growth allows for many hiding spots, as well as deadly traps to set up against your enemies, such as branch whips and claymore mines. When the game calls for all-out action, there is a big enough arsenal for you to just let loose on your foes with reckless abandon. However, most 'stand and fight' gun battles are usually a fatal encounter for the player.

There are only a handful of enemy types in the game, ranging from your standard mercenary fare to well-equipped tactical ops, as well as gun-toting, suicide bombing zombies and tremendous monsters that look to be a cross between the Incredible Hulk and John Carpenter's 'The Thing'. While the Mercenaries are easy enough, the zombies tend to take alot of damage and the special ops are extremely deadly. There is a huge arsenal of weapons to choose from, and an equally large selection of vehicles.

Vehicle control is a bit simplistic, and at times can lead to confusing tumbles around the map. While some felt the vehicle controls in Halo were too much, I find the vehicle control in Far Cry to be a bit more difficult to get the hang of, if only because i've mastered Halo driving and found the simplistic controls of Far Cry to be less fluid. Nevertheless, there are plenty of vehicles to experience.

The game's best all around feature is undoubtedly its Map Editor mode. Something that is not often included in console games, the map editor is VERY simple to use, and should take even the average editor a mere hour or two to completely get the hang of. Unfortunately, the map editor is VERY limited, and much of the game's content, such as mounted gun emplacements, lava hazards, certain buildings and environmental decorations, are noticeably missing. I almost felt cheated that so much was lacking, but at the same time the map editor has so much going for it that I found myself fiddling around with the editor almost more than I was playing the actual game.
The editor alone is worth the price of admission, and is something I would like to see alot more of in console games of any type.

All is not perfect in this game however. First off, the game is ridiculously easy for the first 3/4 of gameplay. Once you get your mutation powers, the game becomes even easier. However, once you hit the final 1/4 of the game, it takes a sharp turn from being ridiculously easy to unbeleivably difficult. Perhaps the game's worst aspect is lack of in-game save, as you must rely on check points. Furthermore, the gameplay itself is laughably unrealistic...enemies seem to just shrug off half a clip of machine gun fire pumped into their chest, but a punch to the face sends them flying 2 miles in the opposite direction. Weapon power is grossly misinterpreted...you can take a gunshot to the face at point blank range and suffer about 20 points of damage, and yet a melee attack from any enemy takes off a minimum of about 70-90 points! Ridiculously unbalanced damage, but that changes once you hit the endgame scenario, where enemies seem to always get one shot, instant kills on you no matter how much health or body armor you are wearing, making the endgame portion one of the most frustrating FPS experiences in a long time. The load times between new levels are also dreadfully long.

There is one more, outstanding and trying thing that brings this game down an entire star: The fact that there is a 4 minute, annoying 'Coming Soon' type trailer for Far Cry that CANNOT be skipped. You have to see it every time you load the game up, every time you go back to the main menu, everytime you quit the game...it absolutely cannot be skipped, and more than once I have been in the mood to fire up a quick game of Far Cry, but got so frustrated that I couldn't skip that trailer that I just turned it off before it even finished.

To wrap this review up, let me recap by providing list a series of Pro's and Con's with a short explanation:

PROs:

Best feature - Map Editor: Easily one of the most captivating parts of the game, the Map Editor allows you to express your creative side. Though lacking some of the game's most interesting items and objects, it is an excellent tool nonetheless.

-Outstanding Graphics - though nowhere near as nice as its PC counterpart, a beautiful game nonetheless.

-'Feral Senses' provide a unique and exciting aspect to gameplay

-A truly cinematic feel to the game

-Lushly detailed and gorgeous landscapes

-Huge arsenal and vehicle list

-exciting guerilla tactics and combat

-creative use of superhuman abilities in game progression

CONs:

Worst Feature: Lack of in-game save makes for one of the most incredibly frustrating trial-and-error gameplay segments ever, and checkpoints become fewer as you progress

-Unskippable 4+ minute trailer for the game everytime you go back to the main menu really makes you NOT want to play

-DREADFUL load times

-Laughably unrealistic weapon damage on enemies (emptying an entire handgun clip into their chest at point blank range is...minorly annoying?)

-Severe misrepresentation of player damage (getting shot doesn't hurt that much, but getting punched is fatal?)

-Enemies become far too powerful as you progress, often getting one-shot kills

-Enemies can see you no matter how well covered you are

-Enemies can see at great distances, where the clipping completely prevents player from seeing them (I guess shotguns are equipped with sniper scopes nowadays?)

-Grenades utterly useless...enemies know your location immediately when you prepare grenade for throwing and scatter before it even leaves your hand

Overall, its a great game that has a few flaws. The overall experience, however, is well worth the price. Between the beautiful landscapes and geniusly implemented map editor as well as the rich gameplay experience, Far Cry is definitely worth adding to your collection.

The best tropical vacation you'll ever have

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: October 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Remember the classic Schwarzenegger flick "Total Recall"?

Arnie goes to a memory implant outfit selling "the perfect vacation", including an alter ego trip that (debatably) gives him the memory of a Mars vacation as a secret agent. The travel agent tells Arnie "Besides, real vacations are a drag. You've got lost luggage, crooked taxi drivers...."

He's right. Far Cry Instincts takes you to a stunning island paradise - armed to the teeth with guns and, er, other weapons - without you ever having to leaving your couch. Sounds good, doesn't it? No passport problems, no long boring flight, no airline food. Just you, the refreshing island air, and a submachine gun in each fist.

If you ever wanted to visit a gorgeous tropical paradise unlike any other....that is, one filled with beautiful waterfalls, gun-toting mercenaries all out to kill you, thick green forests, mutant-populated caves, clear waters and deep blue skies, and exploding vehicles, this is the place.

You are Jack Carver, a gun-runner who took the wrong job. You're hired by the beautiful Val Cortez to take her by some island. Next thing you know, your boat's blown to bits, Val has vanished, and you're running for your life through the jungle pursued an army of heavily armed mercs bent on taking you out.

What's going on here? Outnumbered and outgunned, use your wits to discover answers. You're not going down without a fight, right? Low on ammo? Rig traps to lure unsuspecting mercs to their demise. Roadblock in your way? Sneak through the grass, between the trees, stab a guy in the back and take out the rest with their own machinegun turret. Odds against you, or you want to get somewhere quickly? Use a hummer. Or a jetski. Or a hovercraft. Or how about a hang glider? Use those warm tropical drafts to your advantage and rain death from above - nothing quite like it. Hey, you can even swim your way to safety if it comes down to it. The choice is yours.

Not to spoil anything, but check this out. You'll get captured. Oh, don't worry, it's temporary...and in fact, necessary. Once you escape, you'll notice things are different. The sun sets over the island, night arrives, and you notice you're changing. You can now see in the dark. Trail your enemies by scent. You can leap huge distances and run at superhuman speed. You can break through barriers with your bare hands, not to mention the damage you can now do unarmed. What's happening? It feels good...great, in fact...but who did this to you, and why? Somewhere on the island, the answers are hidden.

When small German developer Crytek released Far Cry on the PC last year, it was instantly hailed for its gorgeous graphics and freedom of gameplay. Ubi Soft has tweaked the game for the Xbox, removing some of the freedom but adding the incredibly cool feral powers. It also included a robust multiplayer map editor, which is arguably the best of its kind on console. The result is an experience that's different from the PC version, but arguably better.

The short version: if you have an Xbox and have even a remote interest in first-person shooters, you must try Far Cry: Instincts. It's that simple. The single-player game is a combination of Splinter Cell, Mercenaries, and Halo. Multiplayer is among the best available, thanks to imaginative modes and the remarkable map editor.

As the Xbox itself starts to fade into the sunset, it's clear to see that it's still more than capable of providing highly intense, technically brilliant, hugely fun gaming experiences. Don't let the lack of licensing stop you from giving this a shot.

Oh yeah - enjoy your vacation!

This game turned out to be more than I expected!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game just to be something to keep me busy until Half-Life 2 came out for the xbox, but I fell in love with this game as soon as I started playing it. The single player campaign is very exciting and I love how you stay in the first person perspective throuought the whole game, even during the cut scenes.

The graphics are spectacular and very detailed. Both the bright and dark parts of the game look great. Gameplay is very smooth and easy to pick up. I like how you can choose your weapon just by hitting the d-pad. It makes it much easier to choose the correct weapon during a firefight. The vehicles also control surprisingly well. The sound has to be the greatest of all. The firefights sound just like war videos I have seen and all the vehicles actually sound the way they are suposed to.

Multiplayer is what adds the replay value to the game. Other than Halo 2 and Ghost Recon 2, this is the best online multiplayer currently on the xbox. After playing games like halo 2 and ghost recon 2 most games seem to have VERY boring multiplayer, but far cry's multiplayer is very exciteing. There are four multiplayer types: Choas (Slayer), Team Chaos (Team Slayer), Steal The Sample (Capture The Flag) and Predator which is the most exciting.

The map editor is also a great addition to the game. It is very easy to use and it is great to add your very own maps to xbox live and have your friends play them.

Overall, this game is great and well worth the money. If you are a first person shooter fan then you will love this game!

Great FPS from the allmighty unbisoft *bows*

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

ok first of all im gunna take on of the guys cons and remake them

"Unskippable 4+ minute trailer for the game everytime you go back to the main menu really makes you NOT want to play"
First of all, WTF are you talking about? theres ONE Trailer for the intro thats like 15-30 seconds long and can be skipped over by pressing "A". Man, does your Xbox controller have an "A" button on it? if not.....man...your crazy

"DREADFUL load times"
Bahhh man jeez give it a break! of course load times ain't PERFECT BUT I KNOW THEY AIN'T "DREADFUL"!!!!! Man, it should take a while to load a game with a landscape this beautiful and god knows how many vehicles!
P.S.*land-scape is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
.

"Laughably unrealistic weapon damage on enemies (emptying an entire handgun clip into their chest at point blank range is...minorly annoying?"
ok for one, its a handgun, for two, they are highly trained mercs on the lookout for YOU. a army of mercs and snipers and wierd thingys that ain't exactly human. and the guy who hires them is a rich colonel. do you not think they can afford kevlar or flak armor? Jeez, use you're I_M_A_G_I_N_A_T_I_O_N! it is a video game but, you should still be able to figure this out, Jeez.

"Enemies can see you no matter how well covered you are"
Hmm, if your running through the jungle, standing up, with weapons and grenades and mines and ammo ALL over you, yea, you might make a slight racket enough for someone to see you. *rolls eyes*.
if however you ARE smart enough to find cover (which is everywere considering were you are. Jeez!) and LIE DOWN FLAT ON YOUR STOMACH so they dont see a gun barrel sticking out of a bush, yes, lie flat down IN the cover, wait for them to turn around, crouch and go back stab them.


"Grenades utterly useless...enemies know your location immediately when you prepare grenade for throwing and scatter before it even leaves your hand"
IF you throw a grenade and it is not near enough to them to kill them, yea, there gunna be scattering ALL over the place, casue there gunna be looking for grenades. *DUH*. Also, they are pretty useless, PRETTY useless in open ground/forest/whatever else is outside. But if you can jump out of a room, throw a grenade, and run back in OR run out another door, well, there gunna die, most likely, unless you suck at doing everything!

Yes, this game is amazing and the map editor completely and utterly PWNS pariahs map maker, the graphics are great, seeing a flower through you're sniper scope, and seeing under-water plants and such, and just the sun beaming in through the water, makes you look at the case to make sure it IS a M rated game rated for Intense Violence(deserves it), Blood and Gore(this part isnt that bad) and Strong language(only in some parts of the game) to make sure your supposed to be shooting people and not just swimming and picking beautiful flowers. yes, this game is amazing in every aspect( exept load time, ill give you that>)
Its not to hard and not to easy, the game is steadily at a good level spiking up and dropping down in some points(for hardness, not gameplay, gameplay comes out with a stragiht AMAZING through out the whole game.)

Anyways, its well worth the money, go out and buy the game already, bye

Excellent! Not a clone of the PC version!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The review below mine, by Michael Pappalardo does a good job of describing the game, but I'd like to clarify on a few of his "CONs"...

"Unskippable 4+ minute trailer for the game everytime you go back to the main menu really makes you NOT want to play"
* What? There is most definitely not an unskippable 4 minute trailer. The only trailer I see is the one at the start that can be bypassed by hitting "A".

"DREADFUL load times"
* While they aren't the shortest in Xbox history, they aren't THAT bad. Keep in mind its loading huge maps. The PC version has the long load times.

"Laughably unrealistic weapon damage on enemies (emptying an entire handgun clip into their chest at point blank range is...minorly annoying?)"
* It looks like a lot of the enemies are wearing flak jackets..

"Enemies can see you no matter how well covered you are"
* If you try standing up and running through the jungle, yes, they will see/hear you. If you crouch or go prone and slowly advance on the enemy while using the larger plants for cover (not the grass), they will NOT see/hear you. The stealth element is great in this game.

"Grenades utterly useless...enemies know your location immediately when you prepare grenade for throwing and scatter before it even leaves your hand"
* Not true. They will however have a pretty good idea where it may have come from if they survive the blast.

I'd like to add that I found the gameplay to be more enjoyable than the PC version. And I am a huge fan of the PC version. You can do some really nifty things in the Xbox version, like set traps, roll onto your back while under huts to shoot through the floor, 3 very cool new vehicles, etc. The akimbo (dual weapon wielding) is VERY enjoyable... When selected, each trigger independently controls the left/right hand's weapon. The visuals are absolutely stunning for the Xbox, and lag is not a problem.

Finally a Game Good Enough to Compete with Halo...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is as intense, perhaps even more so, than Halo. I am not a fan of the "Adventure" genre, and so I was supprised to find how much I enjoyed this one. The game is a cross between Halo and Splinter Cell, but figuring out what to do is made much easier by the various prompts and hints given to you by the game. The graphics are great and the game play is intense to the point of scary sometimes. There are a few minor glitches (the game freezes in one particular area, requiring me to reboot X-Box. But I just learned not to stand in the spot). This game is definitely a MUST for anyone who enjoys well-developed shooters.

I need a little help here!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Prepare to hear that a few thousand times, because the NPC's yell it in every encounter. Also the ever popular "I have visual contact".

I am very disappointed with this game. It's hard after playing the PC version not to compare the two. The graphics are really sub-par compared to the PC version. It was crystal clear, and you could see forever. In this game everything seems a bit blurry, and far away objects are in a mist. Lighting and colors seem a little off at times.

Probably the worst aspect of this game is the terrible AI. The NPC's just kind of mope around. Even when they see you they just stand in one place and shoot you, maybe move around a bit, but even their movements look VERY awkward. I find no need for stealth at all. I can simply run up to them and shoot them in the face. In the PC version I had to plan my attacks because the NPC's were smart.

In a way I think there are too many vehicles. My problem with them is that you can jump on a vehicle and bypass tons of content. You'll pass little groups of NPC's and have no reason to shoot them, just drive right past them. I've probably bypassed half the content in this game by simply driving past it.

Sniping was amazing in the PC version. Now there just isn't much of a need for it.

Voice acting can be rather lacking. Sometimes I can't even hear important parts of the dialog because background music or sounds drowned it out. And some text that explains certain aspects of the story flash by so fast you don't have a chance to read them.

Get yourself ready for the "F" word. I'm 33. I have no problem with cursing if it serves a purpose and creates the right emotion. It seems they use profanity in this just for the sake of using profanity. Maybe they think it will impress 13 year olds, but I just found it cheesy.

Not backwards compatible with the 360. Thank goodness I didn't have to pay for this game, as I got it from a friend who can't use it on his 360.

I'm not going to go into the story because I really don't care about the story. They didn't do anything to peak my interests with the story. I just ran around shooting stuff.

Much more linier than the original. I find invisible walls everywhere. Even in boats. I got in a small boat and couldn't figure out what I kept running into. I wasn't near the edge of the map, I was in a little cove. I jumped out too see if I was hitting some kind of reef or other obstruction. Nope, just an invisible wall. All I wanted to do was go around the island to flank them. You don't have near as many choices in paths to take.

The PC version was a masterpiece. Trying to compare Farcry Instincts with Farcry is like trying to compare Halo 2 to Halo 1. Sometimes they just can't top the original, or you just expect way too much. It really feels like a whole different team or company made this game.

Halo 2 Killer ?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've been waiting for this game for a while now. I was stoked when I found out that I was comming out for the XBox.

The Single player mode is extremely fun. There are alot of twists to the story, but I don't want to spoil it. The graphics are amazing. The landscaps, lighting, and water effects and great. The territory seems to stretch for miles. The lush vegatation can be used as cover to sneak up on the enemy, so the game does have some stealth aspects to it. There are also some vehicles that can be used Jet skis, Humvee's, and ATV's are just a few.

What gives Far Cry a huge amount of replay value is the Multi Player. Everyone I've played with online said that they liked the game more that Halo 2. The depth to the MP levels added with the swimming, vehicles, and lighting make for some exciting fun. There is also a Create a Map Mode, that can be downloaded to XBox Live. This means that there will be hundreds if not more, maps to compete on in Multi Player. Death Match, Team Death Match, and Capture the Flag are the three games that can be played online.

Overall this game really pushed the limits of the XBox. With the next-generation consoles right around the corner this is the game that might keep the XBox alive for a bit longer.

Far Cry is Equal to Halo 2, and That is Saying Something

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just bought Far Cry today after reading numerous great reviews, and it is easily worth the $52.49 I spent on it. Not only is the single player game very good, but it provides the best Xbox Live experience since Halo 2 landed on our planet. You can create your own maps and put as many vehicles and weapons as you want to populate it with. The graphics are top notch and really push this system to the limits. I wasn't gonna buy anymore games for Xbox because the X360 will be out shortly, but games like this and Ninja Gaiden Black have restored some life in a slowly dying system.

Even better than the PC version

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Wow, just beat this game, it is awesome. They really did a great job of improving on the PC version, which was great too. There was a better variety of terrain and environments. The use of vehicles was more prevalent, and the enemies were much less annoying than the PC version. There were a great number of times my heart was really pumping during some intense parts.

The length is reasonable and can be varied based on your play style and ability (7-15hrs ish). It really isn't near as difficult as the PC version, but definitely has a few challenging parts. The feral abilities are a great touch and the developers did a great job of making them useful.

The controls are perfect I'd say. What I like better about this game than Halo 2 is the way the shot location really matters, like a headshot is a headshot even with a pistol.

The online component has great maps, a fantastic map editor, and you can also vary your playstyle to your liking (snipe, stealth, run and gun) all are effective. I would complain about the lag in larger games, it's terrible.

But overall one of the best games I've ever played. Sort of a chronicles of riddick/halo/socom mixed into one. Get it and meet me online.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 Next 

Actions