Far Cry 4

The Himalayan country of Kyrat is a mythical place of faith, secrets, lies and great beauty, and it is also one of the best realized spaces that I have ever been able to explore in a video game. Kyrat is a colossal, dense and visually diverse place that one feels at the same time inhabited, torn and ancient. Far Cry 4 capitalizes on all the strengths available to make it an amazing open world full of action and adventure in first person, while unfortunately failing to offer really attractive characters.

His most notable dud is Ajay Ghale, the main character, both hollow and ambivalent. American son of Kyratis rebels, he returns to his birthplace in the Himalayas to disperse his mother's ashes and finds himself involved in his parents' revolution. A human and intelligent premise that justifies the path full of pitfalls Ajay takes through Kyrat, unfortunately this hero is not as interesting as the things he undertakes.

It's the versatility between exploration and first-person combat that is Far Cry 4's greatest strength. I've climbed cliffs in search of treasure, explored religious monuments and rescued hostages with need help. All while venturing into the Himalayan mountains, I stole oxygen masks and snowmobiles to survive and took advantage of unstable environments to bury my enemies in snow. Long-lost letters told a tragic story that I always wanted to know more about. A collection of business cards launched me on the trail of a serial killer, and stunning vistas allowed me to admire Kyrat's spectacular lakes, mountains and other landscapes. This is all marred at times by low-res textures and lower viewing distance on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but Far Cry 4 is comparable to Far Cry3 in terms of visual rendering and turns out to be beyond expectation in regarding older generation consoles.

I loved discovering every square inch of Kyrat because the region has always offered me attractive opportunities. Freeing her from the oppressive government that dominates her was always the center of the plot and the heart of the action. As in Far Cry 3, the towers occupied by the enemy mix sequences of platforms and puzzles, all with a sense of progression that is always very fulfilling. Climbing to the top gives you a wider perspective of the world, highlighting remarkable places, while unlocking new objectives.

Freeing outposts is more difficult in Far Cry 4 than in its predecessor, but the result is more satisfying. Take the stealth approach and you can turn off alarms one by one to avoid enemy reinforcements, and use bait to attract tigers, bears and other animals, in order to occupy their attention. The counterpart of these actions is the Hunter, a new silent enemy armed with a bow and able to charm animals to fight alongside him. This creates another unexpected variable that made me think even more seriously about how these excellent combat systems worked in synergy. Additionally, enemy forces sometimes attempt to reclaim their territory, challenging you to let go of what you're doing and push back waves of ruthless soldiers. It also encourages taking specific strongholds which, when under your control, put an end to enemy attempts to regain control. Struggles with the Royal Army thus place an even greater emphasis on the outposts, one of the franchise's most alluring attractions.

These encounters highlight the importance of improvisation in Far Cry 4. The unpredictability of a randomly occurring situation often results in catastrophic but still quite unforgettable moments, like when I blew up a bear. with C4 to protect the mercenaries I had called in to take an outpost. I once threw grenades from my personal helicopter and watched the fire trap close on my enemies just below. Another time, I rode an elephant, had him break down a door and run a van over on a man.

Battles at the outposts - especially those around the four largest fortresses owned by government officials - are really great when a friend joins you for a two-player co-op game. Adding another player to Far Cry's combat versatility leads to some hilarious and often hectic new moments. Multiplayer co-op also introduces new tactical possibilities, like having one player blast the front door, while another sneak in from behind to stab distracted guards. You can, if you are patient and skilled, use the Far Cry 4 Map Editor to create your own solo outpost missions. When you're first starting out, most of the best missions feature familiar objectives, with a nice variety of settings to craft both complex and expansive levels. I don't see myself doing much, but I will surely get into some community-created maps between two co-op outposts.

Far Cry 4's multiplayer competition manages to concentrate as much in terms of freedom, size, and surprises as it does in co-op and campaign modes. The 5v5 multiplayer competition, called Far Cry Chronicles, sees two asymmetrical factions clash in different ways, all exploiting large, open environments according to their particular advantages. In the classic faction, The Golden Path, we play more according to the tendencies of a classic Far Cry player, i.e. aggressively, with guns, explosives, vehicles and traps. But the Rakshasa, the other faction, use supernatural powers inherited from Shangri-La, relying on invisibility and different types of arrows for their bows.

I love the Rakshasa style: teleportation, whether it's to move, run away, or instantly take down an opponent, is a great tool. Calling on a tiger, or a bear, to guard an area also works wonders. Far Cry Chronicles also has a strong economy, with in-game coins for each success achieved, to be spent on new weapons, accessories or skills, like more efficient stealth, for example, faster movement capabilities, or a closer connection with the animals invoked. The cards are not all successful in these Chronicles, and the game modes are basic, nothing special, but still effective. Still, what borders on the miraculous is that the heart and soul of Far Cry 4 has found its place in a mode that is not at all competitive. I'm telling you: don't miss out on multiplayer, and this just because that's not what you're playing Far Cry for. He is really good!

The secondary supernatural story set in Shangri-La stands out from almost every other objective, online feature, and other stuff in Far Cry 4 though. Like a miniature Far Cry 3: "Dragon's Blood" trickles down throughout Far Cry 4, the stunning psychedelic aesthetic of its crimson foliage and golden skies absolutely opposes that of Kyrat, just like the foundation of his fight. This story is, by design, linear, but it introduces enough new and interesting ideas to create its own identity as it goes. Teaming up with a fierce tiger, slowing down time, and shooting five arrows at once to take down frightening demons, is a huge change of pace. The myth is episodically explained, and when I didn't fully understand the legend, I couldn't research the next part of this weird and wonderful world that is Shangri-La fast enough.

All of these missions feed off of Far Cry 4's brilliant economy, and everything in Kyrat has cause and effect. Hunting and butchering animals let you craft holsters to hold more weapons, or purses to carry more cash. Taking control of enemy territory creates fast transport points and unlocks side quests that promise huge payouts. Destroying propaganda posters unlocks new missions and also earns experience points. The experience unlocks new skills like deadly aerial attacks, damage resistance, and the ability to ride elephants, activities that are both exciting and actually useful. The game also presents opportunities to become a better hunter - timely stings to use then show the positions of animals and enemies, or double the damage you deal.

Far Cry 4 borrows a lot from the way the player progresses in Far Cry 3 (most skills are direct transfers from it) and then adds some additional rewards. Karma-related events unlock new gear, purchase discounts, and grant experience.

Half of the campaign's main missions are intense, memorable, and benefit from Far Cry 4's flexible combat system. These quests typically explore the fascinating history of Ajay Ghale's family, or the ethically mixed future of the Ghale faction. , The Golden Path, as well as the dark places where your choices can take you.

The leaders of the Golden Path, Amita and Sabal, and their bickering form the emotional basis of this part of the story. They are certainly united in their common goal of dethroning the contemptible King of Kyrat, Pagan Min, but their personal opposing philosophies cause multiple problems for the country. I have often hesitated as to who to side with during solo missions: both had strong ethical arguments as to why you should, for example, requisition an enemy opium farm to finance your revolution or, on the contrary, destroy in order to free Kyrat from the hold of the drugs. When the story unfolds, and missions become available, what makes the difference depends on who you choose to lead this revolution. When Amita and Sabal aren't involved, the cast of the mostly poor characters in Far Cry 4 lowers the level of interest in the campaign.

The less interesting half of the story concerns Pagan Min and his lieutenants. I barely remember what the missions were or what had to be accomplished to complete them. Pagan Min is a formidable character, thanks to an excellent, joyfully sadistic and twisted performance by actor Troy Baker. But above all, Min is clearly misused. He makes a thunderous entry, followed by a minimal presence throughout the 15-hour campaign of Far Cry 4. Too bad ... Worse, his seconds do not have time to become interesting before disappearing from the story suddenly and confused.

When I was done with a story that I had both loved and hated, I still continued to wander through Kyrat. I discovered new temples. I found more diaries from Ajay's father to learn more about the struggles of the Golden Path uprising. I was wondering if I had made the right choices for Kyrat, a country I didn't want to leave, a place I will continue to fight for as long as he continues to give me reasons to do so.

Pierced the blanket of clouds, Ajay realizes how that archipelago of apparent islands actually has roots firmly planted in the Himalayan rock. A mountain range that surrounds them maternal, like a coral reef of which every single octopus, each specific local activity, contributes to the construction and structural reinforcement. Far Cry 3's Rook Islands are a thousand miles in latitude and eight thousand meters high, and the hope is that the depth of play of Far Cry 4 is proportional to its vertical altitude. The horizontal extension of the map of the first (also) new-gen episode of Ubisoft's first person open world shooter is, in fact, similar to that explored in the previous old-gen only chapter. But the mountainous morphology actually offers a density of things to do inversely proportional to the rarefaction of the local air.

A limpid, crystalline air that allows you to gaze at 1080p and 30fps on PS4, between imposing deep horizons in which the clipping of the elements in the distance is perceptible almost only by flying very high, and specific graphic details whose sometimes reduced resolution is verifiable only very close. Compromises that to a sandbox with a base area of tens of square kilometers and a height of thousands of meters - which allows precisely to go from very high to very low, from very far to very close - it is legitimate to grant, in proportion to the computational power .

But Ajay is relatively interested in that. The inner guide who moves his limbs, his weapon and his Karma, has contingent time to fulfill his destiny - made up of 32 increasingly complex main missions - and to see its end without getting lost in too many local adventures. What he really cares about is locating Lakshmana, to disperse his mom's ashes in the Himalayan region where she was born, the Kyrat. Ash to ash, dust to dust.

Dust. Like the one that, just arrived, Ajay is forced to eat, before being hooded. The region is prey to a conflict between the rebels of the Golden Path and the complete pink ribald. Pagan Min, the local dictator, is a "special" type. How Vaas should be listened to, to understand how much. You will do it alone, don't worry. And you will appreciate, if not its character, its characterization. As well as that of the two main exponents of the resistance (to be supported alternately with repercussions on the equally alternative endings) and of the other prominent characters of the place. Of course, all a little over the top. Including those of opium, as we will see later. But by the narrative standards of video games, which have not yet reached the introspective ambitions of committed cinematographic works, more rarefied and less dense cliché personalities would not have the same impact.

Impact that, as a whole, lacks a plot that is a bit too similar in its premises and evolutions to those already experienced in other latitudes, and that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth on the finish, a little pulled away. Who knows the others ...

Bitter calmed in a brilliant way, however, by the sweet smoke of the pipe loaded with opium, which allows Ajay to fly even with the imagination. In addition to that, much more pragmatic, aimed at satisfying the classic fire-breathing smuggler, two strands of secondary narrative missions are in fact dedicated to those who fire inhales and holds it, other than spitting it! Psychedelic and mystical, hallucinating and hallucinatory, these eight quests are the freshest and most regenerating you can find in Far Cry 4. It will be a coincidence, but you hardly ever shoot. Ajay runs in multicolor. Ajay fights with a bow. Ajay commands his white tiger. Ajay runs away from his black demons. Ajay explores his lost horizon, his Shangri-La, his spiritual eden, to free him from the chains, as well as his bells.

A pindaric inner flight which, once concluded, as in our reality has practical repercussions in its real world. Ajay is now more complete, richer. Di Karma, or control over one's destiny, over one's actions, and those of others. Like the Sherpa traders who sell him guns and ammunition at discounted prices, for example. Or like the allied mercenaries, whom those same weapons can make sing for him, once called to his side.

Because, despite the mystical digressions between clouds of smoke and universal love, the world in which Ajay has been literally dropped from above is the brutal world of war, of the forest, of the opposing factions, of ferocious animals. A world where personal progression in terms of skills, equipment and arsenal is essential to survive. Inner and outer conquests are equally important: from the defensive skills of "Elephant", to the offensive and stealth skills of "Tiger"; from outposts to be snatched from the enemy, to activities to be unlocked by freeing reception towers.

An old porno, a maxi pad, a daring photo and a condom - these are the spoils of one of our last little looting. What on earth is this Kyrat just kind of land? What exactly is going wrong here? Apart from the matter of oppression, torture and murder? Well, exactly what went wrong on Rook Island: The ladies and gentlemen at Ubisoft let us only find (crazy) odds and ends in the many, many boxes in Far Cry 3 , and they only leave us in Far Cry 4 Find (crazy) odds and ends in the many, many boxes.

Instead of hiding something cool in a specimen that is particularly difficult to reach, such as a new weapon. Or something else useful. Something that is important in this Kyrat. Instead, we find nothing but junk made up of adolescent humor. But at least the local dealers (and, of course, cupboards again) spit out a lot of money for this junk. Then we'll use it to buy new weapons. Far Cry 4 has inherited what we consider to be the biggest weakness of its predecessor, but also all of its strengths.

Zoff thanks to war

Above all, it is the story that makes Far Cry 4, like its predecessor, a special experience. Everyone should know the start from trailers by now: The young Ajay Ghale travels to the small Himalayan state of Kyrat to scatter his mother's ashes between the mountains. But it doesn't work because Kyrat is a country shattered by civil war, where you can't just climb a hill in peace and dump an urn.

Especially not when the self-proclaimed King Pagan Min gets in your way. He not only has a weakness for crimes against fashion, but also for crimes against the Kyratic people. And because Ajay is not only a native Kyrater, but also has strong genes of freedom and justice, he joins the rebel movement "Golden Path", which has been against Pagan Min, his villain friends and the royal army for more than a decade Field moves. So far, however, comparatively unsuccessful. Which is, among other things, due to the fact that the Golden Path is divided internally.

The two rebel leaders Amita and Sabal have different plans for Kyrat. While Sabal wants to preserve tradition on deity, women's oppression and poverty come out, Amita is committed to progress and prosperity. The latter sounds great at first, only the young woman's methods cast doubt on her approach. Heroin trafficking? So one of the first questions Far Cry 4 asks us is: is information or lives more important? The answer is as clear as dumpling broth, of course human lives are more important! And that's why we just leave Amita with her big googly eyes and go into battle for Sabal.

Later, however, we had real doubts about our choice. A little later we don't know which of the two is the lesser evil. What at the beginning still looks like a black and white painting that is easy to interpret, soon turns into a gray blob. How good that there is still Pagan Min and his gang of rascals. Even if Min dresses in bright purple, he's clearly the bad guy. And also someone who is connected to us in a special way.

As usual from Ubisoft, we only get high quality items on our ears. The German team of musicians does an excellent job, Pagan Min, Amita, Sabal, Yogi and Reggie only become real characters through their speakers. At this point we want to emphasize the music. Rock, Indian pop music, marches or electro sounds always conjure up the right, often exciting, background sound.

When we fought our way through a heroin factory with Ajay and "Jogi" by Panjabi MC was playing in the background, we had to decide: dance or keep shooting? We decided to shoot and then listened to the song again without playing around.

Unsympathetic or Unsympathetic?

Decisions for or against one of the two rebel leaders are part of the mission structure of Far Cry 4. However, our fundamentally serious decisions do not have a huge influence on the course of the game. If Amita is our choice, we may have to take over a heroin factory instead of destroying it. Maybe in a later mission we will get a useful tip that will not allow us to be ambushed by the army, but that's about it.

We can also make new decisions on a case-by-case basis; Saving a few lives for Sabal does not mean that we are forever tied to the young man's route. That sounds like arbitrariness, but firstly, the game doesn't give us a choice too often, and secondly - as already indicated - it becomes more and more difficult to name a personal favorite.

We thought everywhere: Can't we just do this ourselves? Right after we thought: Hach, Ubisoft just has a knack for good characters and cutscenes. Only the end wonderfully shows the crux of the open world games that continue when the story is done. The game simply owes us a clever answer to the question of what consequences our actions and decisions (in the end there are two) have on the future of Kyrat. That makes the otherwise great plot mildly mad at the end.

Amita and Sabal are not our only clients: Partly mandatory, partly optional, we also hang around Kyrat for the mad arms dealer Longinus and the no less mad junkies Yogi and Reggie. By the way, Yogi and Reggie are our secret favorites. They are so cunning in a sympathetic way that you can't be angry with them for long, even if Ajay tries to do so at least on our behalf. Even the fact that they pump us full of drugs and accuse us of wild animals and trigger-happy spinners in an arena doesn't stop us from visiting them again and again.

Those familiar with the predecessor can also look forward to seeing an old friend again. It takes us to the icy heights of the Himalayas. Stupidly by means of a loading screen. We are not even allowed to travel to the eight-thousanders, not even with the new vehicle, the gyrocopter. The device only flies to a certain height, simply switches itself off after a bit of warning beeps and flashes and then sinks again automatically.

The formula

Most of the time we hang around in the lovely autumn landscape of Kyrat to climb up (now partially guarded) towers or take enemy camps using the old Ubisoft formula. As usual, it goes smoothly, Far Cry 4 plays just as fluid and varied as its predecessor. The latter, of course, only if we like it that way, we are still allowed to take all camps according to our favorite scheme F or experiment with explosives or different weapons.

In between, among other things, we rescue individual kyraters in so-called karma events, which firstly gives us better prices for ammunition and secondly ensures that we can hire better and better rent rebels for taking enemy camps. The rent rebels are actually a cool thing, at least for the people who cough up stealth. Because once one of these NPC buddies dances through the camp with a gun at the ready, stylish sneaking is over.

All available alarms are triggered in no time, and if you are unlucky you end up not only having to deal with two carloads of new opponents, but also with a combat helicopter. Good for those who then have a rocket launcher ready. The helicopters are a peculiarity of the northern Kyrat, where the clearly stronger enemies hang around. However, even in the south you have to expect that you will be taken under mortar fire across the board.

When we're not climbing towers and cracking camps, we hunt animals, sometimes as a small side mission, sometimes to spice up our carrying devices. Or we pick flowers to make syringes. So everything as usual. However, we thank the god of comfort functions that healing syringes now occur automatically as soon as we have collected enough green plants. By the way, Ubisoft has made the menus a little more comfortable compared to Far Cry 3. You can no longer tell so clearly that the game was also developed for consoles. Stupid: There is still only one save. Good: The automatic checkpoints are usually pleasantly close to one another.

Collecting is a good keyword. Of course, we also collect a wolf on other things: propaganda posters, masks of a serial killer, letters, diaries. If you don't feel like this kind of stuff, you can concentrate on taking outposts, towers and on the main and large side missions. There is always enough coal for new weapons, attachments and bulletproof vests. All you have to do is clear out the boxes that are on the way and loot a few corpses.

Improvement in detail

In the big missions we deliriously escape a prison and the whole time we don't know whether we are only dreaming or are really threatened by an evil spirit, we fight our way with a white tiger through the mythical and picturesque Shangri-La, we save in a terrific stealth mission four hostages from certain torture death and then also steal the camp boss, we defeat a demon with a bow and arrow, we follow a flying Cessna in a wingsuit.

The variety offered in the missions (locations, demands, sneaking, shooting) makes us forget again and again how repetitive the action is otherwise in large parts. Even if Ubisoft has made many improvements in detail. For example the guarded towers mentioned above. Or the automatically created healing injections. Or the gyrocopter, which, despite its fear of heights, takes us over the map much faster than any car could. Contrary to initial fears, the thing can also be controlled with a mouse and keyboard without any problems, even if changes of direction are as smooth as with an analog stick. Serious survival tip: If the thing is not quite straight, then you should be a little careful when getting out. The rotor, which rotates for a relatively long time, has shredded us into nirvana several times. Ouch!

Speaking of cars, there are three nice innovations to be booked. First, the practical navigation system: Once we have marked a destination, the minimap now shows us the fastest route to it. Large-scale procedures or constant glances at the large map are a thing of the past. Second, the switchable autopilot, which is always useful when we want to kill someone from the moving car. Our car remains stable on the road even if we shoot out the back window.

Third, the radio presenter. In its dirty anarcho style, it's almost always great. The only downer: there aren't too many variations. If you ignore the main missions for a long time, your small programs will repeat themselves quite quickly. The man likes to refer to current events in Kyrat and is happy, for example, to have a medium-sized hole in the stomach when we have occupied more than half of the towers. This time they not only serve to reveal the map, but are part of Pagan Min's propaganda network in the plot. And the fewer the Pagan Towers there are, the more listeners the pirate channel "Free Kyrat" wins.

The fact that we can now not only release animals from their cages, but also lure them with bait meat and let them fight for us, is a great thing, after all, the critters are a great distraction from particularly attentive guards, and we can often unmolested the annoying alarms in the camps deactivate. Elephant rides with many enemies in front of the trunk give the action sequences additional spice, but the pachyderms are almost too powerful for our taste. Even after several minutes of bombardment, they didn't tip over.

Movement between the mountains

Kyrat! In the end, the small state is the secret star of the game. After we have seen enough of palm trees and South Sea islands in several other titles, Far Cry 4 delights us with its autumnal valleys, repetitive set pieces and a flora that seems quite planned at least from the air. Colorful trees sway in the vortices of our gyrocopter. Rhinos and elephants trot across opium fields. Streams rush down the slopes. A huge temple complex adorns a rock wall. Far Cry 4 looks beautiful on the PC with graphics settings on Ultra. We are particularly impressed by the morning hours, when the colors are not yet so pop thanks to the fog. A shame: There are also objects popping up or popping away on the PC, in particular the towers charge significantly even with a Gefore GTX 780 Ti on Ultra.

Because Kyrat is between eight-thousanders, the small state is constantly up and down. Many slopes cannot be climbed everywhere, but have to be circled to a pass road. Often we also find devices on which we can use our new rope hook to shorten climb up or down.

The topography, which is sometimes difficult to take, also gives the developers space for nice level design gimmicks. Some mountains can be climbed through a cave system. In many a boring-looking gorge there is a flower carpet for injection junkies. To get to the magically beautiful Shangri-La, we always have to find a well-hidden scroll first. The further north we go, the rougher the landscape becomes. And yes, we get a little snow under our feet outside of the Himalayan missions.

Kyrat. A land at the foot of the Himalayas ruled by King Pagan Min, another "shaybus" from the Ubisoft gallery of antagonists. In a country ruled by a military warlord, where terror reigns at every turn, not everyone has laid down their arms yet. The organization of the Golden Route resists. However, there is also no unanimity in it. The rebellion can be harmed by a conflict among its leaders, one of whom wants to restore people's old traditions and beliefs, while the other will not hesitate to trade drugs in order to liberate the country and introduce more liberal rules of coexistence.

Your name is Ajay Ghale. You come to Kyrat straight from America to fulfill the request of your mother, who wished to scatter her ashes in her homeland. It is only up to you who you offer your services to.

The last sentence does not fully reflect the actual state of affairs, but it is not untrue. The review of a game does not often begin with the fact that it can be completed in a dozen or so minutes, by being in good harmony with the arch-villain. However, apart from this little joke prepared by the creators, we will actually visit Kyrat under the direction of the Golden Route. The missions that we will complete for the organization, however, differ depending on our support for one of the leaders. Their goals will be opposite, and the candidate we support will become the leader of the entire organization for some time. This does not mean that the game can be played twice in different ways, because there are only a few such alternative missions, but it brings a breath of fresh air. Just in case we didn't notice after the first few hours of play that the number had changed with the title we were playing.

The biggest advantage of Far Cry 4, and at the same time its biggest disadvantage, is that almost all character development, the mechanisms governing the open world, and even some characters are basically a carbon copy of its predecessor. In the latter case, even literally, because once again we will meet agents Willis or Hurk. Someone malicious might even say that it is Far Cry 3.5 , but taking this point of view, we can easily fall into the pattern of naming each continuation in a similar way, the creators of which do not disregard earlier ideas. And if something worked well, why change it?

Far Cry 4 is simply more polished, more interesting and more dynamic than the third installment. In which the credit goes to a slightly more varied appearance of the world, a few small patents to facilitate the gameplay and new means of transport. And, of course, the graphics, which may not bring you to your knees, but shows that we are dealing with some progress in the use of the Dunia engine.

Usually the plot is the weakest element of any shootout. What distinguishes the Ubisoft concern from many other tycoons is, in my opinion, the desire to press into their productions stories that are a bit more than just "kill everyone, find the key, go to the next level". Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the four. It is true that we are not dealing with a teenager who turns into a Rambo clone in a few days and murders in cold blood a host of opponents, but Ajay Ghale, who as a man learning about his parents' history is no more convincing. Also the challenges facing him, and thus the plot of the game, did not make me look forward to the sequel. Far Cry 4 puts the player in front of a moral choice a few times, and these are by far the highlights of the campaign, but really only once for a long while did I hesitate what I should do. In other cases, I was more wondering if I would miss some interesting animation sometimes. Thirty-two main missions are enough for several hours of fun, but when we want to complete the game one hundred percent, it will be something to do for a long, long time.

Far Cry 4 will be the greatest fun for people who want to once again experience the enormity of the world presented and will not be bothered by the feeling that they have seen it all somewhere, once before. The masts have replaced the bell towers, but you still have to climb them and destroy the radio to reveal a piece of the map. Capturing enemy camps is the same as before. Perhaps only less often there are cages with wild beasts, but there will be sniper shots of vulnerable guards, destroying alarms and sneaking with a bow or bow between buildings to complete the next mercifully noiseless headshot. For fans of stealth, which I belong to, it's a must do.

The character's skill set actually remained the same. The Way of the Tiger is a combat set of abilities, such as faster reloading or greater resistance to explosions. The Way of the Elephant offers additional health bars, mixing potions to support us in the field and a total novelty. Riding an elephant.

Once we think that Ubisoft hasn't made an effort at all, we start to discover the little things that complete the picture. The elephant is like a tank. It is difficult to kill him, and riding on his back to the camp full of soldiers, Pagan Mina, is like putting a stick in an anthill. The animal rams or blows its trunk, rejecting its opponents, and they run chaotically left and right, terrified of an unexpected visit. If someone does not want to circle around the camp like a hungry coyote, then with the help of such a companion he will deal with the guards once and twice.

Kyrat is undoubtedly an interesting place, but watching the mountain peaks obscuring the horizon, I kept wondering when the game would finally allow me to look around at the ridges. Well, from time to time we will succumb to the all-consuming charm of white, but if someone thought that we would climb the higher parts of the mountains from the green hills on our own, unfortunately, they will feel disappointed. Yes, there is a rope with a hook in the game, but it is more for rock climbing. Sometimes to swing on the rope like Tarzan on vines and jump over gaps. Far Cry 4 takes us several times high, right into the arms of snowstorms and monasteries built in inaccessible places, but it is always a separate mission read on the loading screen, never a part of the open world. I admit that this is not what I expected. Although the green surroundings of the hills and valleys provide a lot of attractions, for good morning I wanted to nail the Yeti turtle, not just in the announced DLC.

There are side missions in the game, including those that take us in a narcotic sight to the fictional land of Shangri-La, corrupted by the demons of Rakshasa. These tasks are interesting because we are accompanied by a white tiger who can be ordered to attack the enemy. Shangri-La introduces delicate elements of horror to the shooter whole. The situation is similar in the few regular missions in which the hero will be drugged. Of course, various hallucinogens play a role in the game. We still collect plants and prepare potions from them. Likewise, nothing has changed with the hunting of animals. Their skins will allow you to modify Ajay's gear.