Ubisoft’s Far Cry has always been compared to Bethesda’s open world hits such as Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Many consider contributions from Bethesda to be superior to those of Ubisoft. However, the last two installments of Far Cry proved that there is much more to the series than just being another open world clone.
The new game titled Far Cry Primal, to be officially released on February 23, 2016, will once again strengthen the place of the series in the world of gaming. It is clear now that it will mainly focus on hunting tactics, looting, crafting, and taming wild animals, whose role is now more important than ever.
The developers are well-adapted to changes in the new era of gaming and it looks like Far Cry Primal will be the most complete and well thought out game in the series to date. Let’s see what we already know about its main features.
The setting and the story
The setting takes us back in time to the Mesolithic era that took place 12,000 years ago. If you’re not familiar with the era, then imagine a stereotypical Stone Age with hordes of savages, wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and other wild pre-historic animals.
The protagonist of the game is a man named Takkar whose hunting group is murdered and he winds up the only survivor. Now he needs to re-gain his authority and create a tribe of his own. During the course of the campaign, Takkar will fight his way through the main storyline alongside wild beasts that will help him successfully gather a strong tribe around his new family.
The story is quite simple, and it looks like there will be a huge number of side quests, too. The developers promise that the new game’s map size is on par with Far Cry 4’s map, so there will be more than enough things to do.
Game mechanics
Wild animals play the central part in Far Cry Primal’s gameplay. One of the most important features that animals will be used for is transportation. In Far Cry 4 it was relatively easy to travel around with all the abundance of vehicles, which you could seize and drive to almost any part of the map. But in 10,000 BC these possibilities were limited solely to riding the wild animals.
However, if you remember, in Far Cry 4 you could also ride an elephant and in the Blood Dragon expansion players could ride a dragon, so these mechanics transitioned into Far Cry Primal as well. Here, Takkar will tame and ride wild animals such as bears, jaguars, wolves and others.
Scouting mechanics had to be re-invented, too. Previously the protagonists could use their binoculars, but in the new game you have to use a bird or an owl. You can control this owl just like you would control the drone by directing its path of flight over the land. More than that, this wild creature can attack enemies from above, which is a nice addition to an old trick.
Creatures and their abilities
Taming wild animals in Far Cry Primal is really easy – all you have to do is throw some kind of bait, wait before the creature reaches the bait and use your tame ability to get hold of the wild animal. In this way, you will be able to tame a lot of different creatures, where each of them has its own peculiar abilities.
You will start with the smaller ones, such as the owl and the badger, and then you will be able to tame bigger ones like bears, wolves, sabre-tooths, lions, etc. So, this means that the tame ability will be upgradable, and your companions will grow bigger in size.
At a certain point there will be a whole herd of wild animals in your company. You will be able to take care of them and even bring back to life, if they die on a mission. It is important to have different kinds of animals, as some of them are more useful in specific situations than others.
- For example, panthers are highly resistant to fire damage, while dogs can bring you food and other useful items.
- Wolves are your living and breathing security system – they will howl at the presence of an enemy, thus alerting you.
- Jaguars are excellent for stealthy attacks; however, they are not very good in the open combat. They will also imitate your behavior, so if you start crawling, they will do the same.
- If you decide to go into an open battle, then bear is your best choice.
Weapons and crafting
These two aspects of the game – weapons and crafting – are closely interconnected. Takkar will have to craft all of his weapons using items scattered around the map. But it doesn’t mean that his weapons will be primitive.
His most versatile and used weapon is a longbow, which can be crafted and used alongside a whole range of different kinds of arrows. There is also an opportunity to make bombs of various types: some can contain poisonous gas while others might hold a swarm of bees.
When you’re going to be out of your arrows, you can quickly make plenty of throwing spears, as they are the easiest things to craft in the game. Other more common types of weapons, such as knives and maces will be present as well. You can also use fire to burn enemies and their settlements.
Lack of co-operative mode
Ubisoft took a leap of faith and decided not to include multiplayer in Far Cry Primal and limit this particular installment only to a single campaign. Who knows, maybe this decision will have a positive outcome for everyone involved, as previous attempts at co-op have never been received too well.
The best multiplayer in Far Cry could be experienced years ago, at the times of the very first game in the series developed by Crytek. But hopefully, the changes that Far Cry Primal brings to the gamers’ tables will have a huge resonance in the community no matter what.
What are your predictions concerning the upcoming Far Cry Primal? Share your opinion in the comments section below.
