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Almost four years since the last Far Cry was released, Ubisoft will be releasing its new installment to the Far Cry franchise this Tuesday, March 27.
Hope County, Montana is a beautiful place. From the running rivers and wildlife to the starry night sky, who would not want to live here? Probably anyone who does not desire being attacked and killed by a doomsday group known as the Project at Eden’s Gate.
“Far Cry 5” brings with it many of the loved features of previous titles while also bringing its own twists to the series.
Like all Far Cry games, the option to do missions however you please is ever present and ready to be exploited.
Do you like sneaking around assassinating guards from behind? Do it. Do you like going into battle all guns blazing and yelling as many obscene words as possible? Do it. If both previous options don’t fit your play style, then you can get creative.
Set wild animals such as wolves or bears loose into an enemy camp as a distraction while you go about your business. Attach explosives to a car and drive at full speed toward enemies and then jump out at the last second while hitting the trigger. Far Cry is great because of the endless ways you can play it.
The County of Hope is being controlled by a man called Joseph Seed who goes by the title the Father, and his three siblings who are known as the Heralds. Their mission is to save as many people as they can from the end of the world, which was said to happen soon by the voice of God himself. Joseph is the leader of the cult and his siblings all have their roles to fill as well.
The Father and his Heralds are as deadly and ruthless as they are faithful.
Faith Seed, known as the Siren, is Joseph’s only sister and uses (from what I know) hallucinogens and some form of hypnosis to get you to do her bidding.
Jacob Seed is one of Joseph’s two brothers and is known as the Soldier. His only goal is to keep the Project at Eden’s Gate cult safe. He will do whatever it takes to do just that by using manpower and guns — he is one to fear.
John Seed is Joseph’s second brother who goes by the title the Baptist. John is there to help supply the cult with whatever it may need, and if someone is unlucky enough to be caught by him, they will be killed almost instantaneously. Unless John wants to use them that is.
The player will have to go through all four of these members and anyone else who stands in the way of making Hope County safe once again.
“Far Cry 5,” like the previous installments, has a good mix of different weapons and items that will make fighting a war a little more doable. My personal favorite is the bow and arrow. The bow can be used while hiding in a bush to take out armed guards with no consequences. Other than the bow, there are sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns and even a baseball bat made from solid northern pine to bring swift justice to your enemies.
There are a few vehicles I am aware of that will be available to mess around in. These include an awesome off-road buggy as well as a plane you can use to perform aerial combat and explore the land.
Ask yourself, what could make this game even better than it already is? Sharing the experience! For the first time (from what I remember) “Far Cry 5” allows players to hire mercenaries to help you take out enemy combatants. You can hire up to two mercenaries, although you may need to do some tasks for them to join your cause. Apparently, money is not all they require for service.
Even better than that, however, is bringing your friends along to liberate Hope County. If it would please you and your resistance friend, you can play the entire story together and experience every twist and turn along the way. I can only imagine that having an extra human player in the game would make planning attacks and coordinating much more of an experience than offered by just single player.
One thing I’m particularly excited for are the Fangs for Hire. Just like the mercenaries, you can recruit animals to help you fight the good fight. Each animal will have different skills and abilities. For whatever play style you like to do, there is an animal right for you (meant to rhyme that). There is even a grizzly bear whose name is Cheeseburger. Of all the names, that is what he gets? No matter, once he starts tearing enemies to shreds you will not really care what his name is.
This game gets as close to American patriotism as possible without doing anything. Fighting for not only the unfortunate residents of Hope, Montana but the United States as well may cause a swelling of pride as you help the victims of the Project at Eden’s Gate cultists. This game is so American the developers even made their own Bill of Rights to lay down the basic human rights of game. Summed up, Far Cry 5’s Bill of Rights is all about being a bad ass and blowing s— up.
Where all the other games in the series take place in faraway lands, Far Cry 5 takes place, quite literally, in our backyard. So grab your guns, your neighbors and even your neighbor’s guns and bring peace back to Hope County by blowing it all to hell.