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Far Cry is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek and published by Ubisoft. It is the first title in the Far Cry franchise. Set in a mysterious tropical archipelago, the game follows Jack Carver, a former US special forces operative, in his search for journalist Valerie Constantine, who accompanied him to the islands but disappeared after their boat was destroyed by mercenaries. As Jack explores the islands, he begins to uncover horrific genetic experiments being conducted on the local wildlife and must confront the mad scientist behind them.
The game was the first to utilize Crytek's CryEngine and was conceived as an open-world first-person shooter, although it lacks much of the freedom that its successors would offer the player. While players can freely explore the game world, as in later Far Cry titles, they are often discouraged from doing so due to the linear mission structure and lack of secondary content. Even so, the gameplay formula established in Far Cry—placing the player in a foreign environment occupied by enemy forces, where they must use various weapons and tools, as well as the surrounding environment, to overcome any threat—would prove essential in defining the series' identity from then on.
Far Cry was released for Microsoft Windows in March 2004 and received generally positive reviews, being praised for its graphics, gameplay mechanics, and the level of freedom granted to players. The game was also a commercial success, selling over 730,000 units in the four months following its release and over 2.5 million units throughout its lifespan. The success of Far Cry led to a series of standalone sequels developed by Ubisoft, beginning with Far Cry 2 in 2008. A remake of the game with a different story and new mechanics, Far Cry Instincts, was released for Xbox in 2005 and for Xbox 360 in 2006 as part of the Far Cry Instincts: Predator collection. A film adaptation was released in 2008. The original version of Far Cry, updated with HD graphics, was re-released under the title Far Cry Classic for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2014.
Far Cry is a standard first-person shooter game set in an open environment: an unidentified archipelago in the South Pacific. The rainforest provides cover and concealment, which both the player and enemies can take advantage of. Enemies react dynamically to the player's tactics and actions. If a lone mercenary spots a player, he will occasionally run off to get help, signaling reinforcements through the use of flares. Enemies will work together to maneuver, flank, surround, and provide suppressive fire, giving them a tactical advantage over the player, who, in turn, is able to locate and mark enemies on their minimap through the use of special binoculars, which also grants the player the ability to listen to enemy conversations from afar, simply by pointing the binoculars in the direction of the enemies. Later in the game, thermal binoculars can be used to locate the heat signatures of enemies, which would otherwise be obscured by foliage or darkness.
The environment includes land, water, indoor and outdoor structures, all during various times of day. The player has the ability to jump, run, crouch, and lie down, and look in all directions. Sound plays an important role in the overall gameplay. For example, the general location of enemies can usually be identified by listening to their footsteps or conversations. Throughout the game, the player encounters a variety of weapons to choose from, including automatic weapons and grenades.
Open maps allow the player to complete their objectives in a variety of different ways. When outdoors, the player is usually presented with a fairly simple set of possible routes to their objective, but these don't necessarily have to be used. Outdoor map level designs are constructed in a way that allows the player to try different angles for attacks, or even completely bypass enemies (with enough time to maneuver). However, during the indoor sections of the game, the level design tends to lose this attribute in favor of more traditional and linear gameplay.
The game was the first to utilize Crytek's CryEngine and was conceived as an open-world first-person shooter, although it lacks much of the freedom that its successors would offer the player. While players can freely explore the game world, as in later Far Cry titles, they are often discouraged from doing so due to the linear mission structure and lack of secondary content. Even so, the gameplay formula established in Far Cry—placing the player in a foreign environment occupied by enemy forces, where they must use various weapons and tools, as well as the surrounding environment, to overcome any threat—would prove essential in defining the series' identity from then on.
Far Cry was released for Microsoft Windows in March 2004 and received generally positive reviews, being praised for its graphics, gameplay mechanics, and the level of freedom granted to players. The game was also a commercial success, selling over 730,000 units in the four months following its release and over 2.5 million units throughout its lifespan. The success of Far Cry led to a series of standalone sequels developed by Ubisoft, beginning with Far Cry 2 in 2008. A remake of the game with a different story and new mechanics, Far Cry Instincts, was released for Xbox in 2005 and for Xbox 360 in 2006 as part of the Far Cry Instincts: Predator collection. A film adaptation was released in 2008. The original version of Far Cry, updated with HD graphics, was re-released under the title Far Cry Classic for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2014.
Far Cry is a standard first-person shooter game set in an open environment: an unidentified archipelago in the South Pacific. The rainforest provides cover and concealment, which both the player and enemies can take advantage of. Enemies react dynamically to the player's tactics and actions. If a lone mercenary spots a player, he will occasionally run off to get help, signaling reinforcements through the use of flares. Enemies will work together to maneuver, flank, surround, and provide suppressive fire, giving them a tactical advantage over the player, who, in turn, is able to locate and mark enemies on their minimap through the use of special binoculars, which also grants the player the ability to listen to enemy conversations from afar, simply by pointing the binoculars in the direction of the enemies. Later in the game, thermal binoculars can be used to locate the heat signatures of enemies, which would otherwise be obscured by foliage or darkness.
The environment includes land, water, indoor and outdoor structures, all during various times of day. The player has the ability to jump, run, crouch, and lie down, and look in all directions. Sound plays an important role in the overall gameplay. For example, the general location of enemies can usually be identified by listening to their footsteps or conversations. Throughout the game, the player encounters a variety of weapons to choose from, including automatic weapons and grenades.
Open maps allow the player to complete their objectives in a variety of different ways. When outdoors, the player is usually presented with a fairly simple set of possible routes to their objective, but these don't necessarily have to be used. Outdoor map level designs are constructed in a way that allows the player to try different angles for attacks, or even completely bypass enemies (with enough time to maneuver). However, during the indoor sections of the game, the level design tends to lose this attribute in favor of more traditional and linear gameplay.