Far Cry 5 First Impressions. (Spoiler: I finished the game already)

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yep, finished it, took five minutes. Don't know how people are getting hour long videos out of this game? I feel ripped off a little bit. Here's the video evidence:



Haha, little joke there. Yep, like FC4, if you don't do anything at the start of the game, it will give you the fast ending and go to the credits. And those credits are LONG, I think if you let them play out at the original speed, they would last 20-30 minutes. Luckily you can speed them up, or rewind them if you want to check something (I did this with a couple of the music credits, there are a lot of songs in the game too). But starting the game again, I played it normally. Here's some thoughts.

The "tutorial" part takes about an hour and a half, including cut scenes and talking with people. You start on an island in the river and do some of the usual tutorial stuff, an easy hostage rescue, a couple of search and destroy missions and then you liberate an outpost. So, those mechanics are still there, and anyone familiar with the previous games will find them pretty much the same. Once you've cleared the entire island, the rest of the map is accessible, you can then go anywhere, I presume, I haven't gone far yet. You're given a bunch of things to go do, and a recommended path to take, but the way it looks, you don't have to do any of it, and can just roam around doing whatever.

Since I pre-ordered the gold edition, I got the "prepper's stash" bonus, which includes some clothes, and the recurve bow and some other things. A bit of a disappointment was the bow, as I only had the one weapon slot available so I couldn't pick it up without trading out the gun I had, and I didn't want to go with just a bow at that point, so I thought I could go back and pick it up later. Going back later, it wasn't there. I presume I'll be able to get it at a weapons shop once I find one, at least I hope so. The limiting of weapon slots early in the game baffles me, don't know why they do that.

So, it was fun, and I think I'll enjoy the rest of the game, it looks great, and I get a decent FPS through most of it, at least during the test scene it never dipped below 60 and was up in the 70-80 range most of the time. I left the graphics at the default value, which I think are set to high or something similar.

A few gameplay anecdotes:

What did we call those guys in Far Cry 2? Datsun Dummies? I forget why we called them that, but I saw some similar stupid driving as soon as I left the starter island. A civilian truck was driving along followed by two cult vehicles. Didn't look like they were chasing him or anything, but he drove off the road onto some rocks and got stuck. He then exited the vehicle and got himself stuck in the same rock. He then proceeded to spin in a circle yelling "Help!" and getting nowhere, because, you know, he was stuck in a rock. The two cult vehicles just sat there behind his truck because it was blocking the road. So I decided to shoot the two guys in the front truck and that made everyone in the van behind them jump out. I was across the river so I didn't see them all that well, but shot them all, and got my first "Do not kill innocent civilians" warning. Ooops. I guess they had a prisoner in the back, and when he jumped out, I nailed him. Oh well.

So I went over to check out the scene, and the first guy was still spinning around inside the rock yelling help, so I get in his truck and try to drive it off, but it's stuck good on the rock. So I fiddle with the radio station a bit, then try the controls for driving and shooting. I accidentally shoot him out the window and get my second innocent civilians warning. Oops. During all this, a couple other civilian vehicles drive by, and even ran me over once as I was standing in the road (my fault, I mean, don't stand in the road, right?) and a couple sets of cultists on ATVs approach and I take care of them and speed off on one of the ATVs back to the starting bunker, hoping my bow will be there in the armory, but nope.

Also during the tutorial you get introduced to the guns for hire system where you hire someone to help you out. This seemed to w0#k OK, though the guy was a bit chatty, saying things like "Moving up", "Getting better position" etc all the time. But once I sent him to do something, he seemed to be OK doing it, and didn't mess up that I saw. What I'd do was scout a camp with the binoculars, tag all the bad guys, then send him in to kill one of them while I sat back and waited for the ruckus to start, then use the confusion to take out the rest. That worked pretty well. Though after the tutorial was over, he disappeared, I don't know if that's usual or if it was because I started to kill civilians (see above) and he didn't like that, but it was completely by accident, I swear!

Another funny bit was a slight burn at the previous game and all the tower climbing. There's a bit in the tutorial where you have to climb a radio tower to turn it back on so your buddy back at base can get messages from the rest of the resistance fighters. Halfway up he says something like "Don't worry, I'm not going to have you climbing towers all over the county", so I take it tower climbing will be at a minimum, unlike the last game where you were doing it all the time.

So, in all it was fun, and I look forward to the rest of the game.

[LowPolyOWG]

 

The holster thingy is an annoyance indeed I am messing around in Faith's region. Have you seen my videos in the other FC5 topic?

[PZ]

I'm not positive, but if you go into the menu system in a store and scroll around the list, your bow might be there. I picked up a compound bow early in the game and it was listed in my inventory with a green check.  This is where you can equip the item.

Anyway a few of my experiences - warning: semi-spoilers, sort of: I did co-op yesterday with my son who already has a fully equipped sniper weapon which he dropped allowing me to pick it up. I was able to use it the entire session, but unlike FC4, the weapon did not stay with me in my own session. Co-op is quite good - you continue in the map of whomever started the session, and you complete actual missions together. Everything you discover stays with you between sessions as long as your friend joined your game. If you join their game, you are helping them progress through the game.

The animals are not nearly as annoying as in prior games - there was a bear that was attacking my son's dog, and instead of shooting directly at the bear, he just fired a warning shot and the bear ran away. If you hit the bear however, he will come after you.

The dog you befriend, Boomer, is most excellent. You can instruct him to attack people you tag, or you can just tell min to go into the enemy area and he will tag the people there. Those people will not attack your dog if he does not attack them, so he can freely roam the area tagging people. You need to be careful with him however, he can die and you are without him for up to 15 minutes or so.

Fly fishing is excellent - you can catch many species of fish - I managed to catch golden trout, rainbow trout, and sturgeon. The nice part of fishing besides being great fun is that they are worth lots of money when you go to a shop and sell them. Casting the fly rod feels realistic, you need to play the fish because your line turns from green to yellow to red as you reach the break point and your fish escapes. You can use the free normal rods you can find in the world, or purchase a more advanced one. I understand  you can even get a perk allowing you to purchase different kinds of baits. The fishing part of the game alone is better than dedicated fishing games I have seen in the past.

The environment is also quite good - Montana really looks like you see in the game, and even the bird sounds are authentic to the northwest.

All in all, I am not disappointed in the game, and to me it is like a refined version of FC4 with added benefit of things like fly fishing. So far I think it will go well.

[Art Blade]

D_B, the term "Datsun Dummies" was derived from the hatchback cars (as opposed to those Jeeps) and the frenzied driving style of mercs who were prone to haul themselves off cliffs and bridges, get stuck on rocks and sink themselves where the water was deep enough and last but not least, run over fellow mercs.

[LowPolyOWG]

 

[Dweller_Benthos]

Ah, so Datsun Dummies still applies, some of the people driving in the game will come flying around corners with no concern for anyone being in the road (like me) or the fact that there might be a semi truck stopped there because I just shot the driver.

So I left the starter island and looked around. Met some people and one mentioned wanting to check on someone else and gave me a map marker for them. They were way up river so I thought I'd get a boat. I also hired her as a mercenary, so off we went, swimming across the river to get a boat. It turned out to be a jet ski, but of course, I got distracted. I liberated a prisoner, then looted the house nearby and got a fishing rod. So I thought I'd try my hand at it. A neat mini game, and I caught a nice trout worth $100.

By that time, the jet ski had disappeared for some reason, so I could no longer go up river easily like I wanted. I saw a shrine icon on the map and a little further up, a helicopter, so why boat when you can fly? But first I destroyed a few cultist vehicles and got a rocket launcher to destroy the shrine with. The shrines are these small church-shaped buildings with a tank of the hallucinogenic gas that they use to mess with people's minds. Destroying them gives you a reputation boost. So after that, it was off to the helicopter but of course, there were some cultists there, with a prisoner. After the firefight, I turn around and the helicopter is gone, not sure if it just disappeared or got blown up in the battle. Oh well, I use the call box on the telephone pole to spawn an ATV and we climb on it and head down river looking for another boat.

Happen on another person being held prisoner, and free them, only it's not real, she disappears in a puff of smoke and I'm off into a hallucination from exposure to the drug.

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That's Faith, the drug lord of the game, and the US Marshal who is now under her control. We jump off the statue and I find myself in field of the flowers that produce the drug. Any time you walk through these, your vision blurs and gets all multi-colored, this is the loading screen, but you get the idea

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So after that, I find myself at the prison which is being used by the resistance as a base of operations. I help them defend the place and get the XP needed to get the second holster so I can now carry an extra gun. Also picked up the grappling hook perk which is used much the same as in FC4.

So that's where I'm at, mostly stumbling around getting into trouble as usual, and ignoring the story parts of the game mostly. I hadn't intended to go to the prison quite so soon, but that's how it worked out. Next time I'll spawn a helicopter at the prison landing pad and see how that works out. It was great fun in FC4 with the mini copters so I'm thinking it will be much the same now.

Liking the game a lot, it's great fun just wandering around looking at the scenery and finding trouble.

Oh yeah, PZ, my recurve bow is available in the weapons shops, as are all the other items like clothes that I got from the gold edition.

[PZ]

Good story D_B, and sounds pretty much like I'm doing, just a different set of explorations. 

I have Boomer as my favorite companion, because I can send him into an area rife with buildings so he can mark all the foes without him being assaulted - he will even kill people if he sees them attacking me once I go into the area. It is nice to be able to switch companions easily, and I have another whose specialty is flying a biplane he uses to bomb what you target, and when he runs out of bombs, he strafes with a mini-gun.

Somehow I got enough perks (about 20 so far in my piggy bank) to purchase the second holster, and there is even a third available, although it is locked until some kind of step is completed.

I'm kind of stuck in one mission where I am to chase down some kind of vehicle - have not figured out what kind of loop the guy goes to ambush him because direct chase has resulted in the target vehicle being destroyed, which ends in mission failure. You are to stop the vehicle and steal it.  Maybe I'll try it again today.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I haven't seen Boomer yet, I went south east, and he's south west I believe. But that sounds like a nice strategy, having him scout the area for you.

I'm also going to try to not use fast travel as much as possible. Part of the fun is just driving or walking around, seeing what's what.

[PZ]

Yeah, walking/running is often safer than traveling the roads, but careening around the map is still fun, especially if you have a companion with you to man the guns. Fortunately the map is small enough so you can fast travel to a general area and then travel overland.

I know you probably want to find him yourself, but here is where he's located - be sure to pet him, he likes it 

Boomers location

He is in Rae Raes not that far from the original island

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah I have Boomer's location marked on my map, along with a dozen other things. I've been ignoring them all.

Last night I took the helicopter out for a spin. Easy and fun to fly, and comes equipped with some nice machine guns and rockets. Though I'm not sure how to replenish those, as I'm starting to run low on ammo. Anyway, the mercenary I hired tagged along, and I'm impressed how well they get in and out of vehicles and can shoot at things while moving. So we hop out at one spot to free a hostage from a van I had shot up while in the air, and as usual, some more people show up to join the fight. In the middle of it all, a bear comes by chasing one of the cultists who I shoot, but the bear then decides to attack my mercenary friend, who doesn't make it. Oh well, there are plenty of people the hire to help you in this game.

But that's the first time I've been attacked by an animal, except when I'm actively hunting them. But you could say it was already in attack mode when it arrived so there's that.

I also noticed this wanted poster with my character's picture on it. So, if they know what I look like, why did I bother changing out of my sheriff's uniform? I also wonder if it will change if I change clothes. Might have to find out.

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[PZ]

Interesting, I'd not seen those posters before. There is lots of loot in the world, and many interesting things to collect and sell, like the fishing magazine I collected off the store shelf - the game kind of reminds me of taking elements from Far Cry and Fallout and combining them into this game.

I've opened enough of this area for there to be fighter planes patrolling the skies, one of which shot down my bomber specialist. The bomber is great - he drops three bombs and afterward strafes whomever you target - there was one of those large flamethrower guys, and it took a few passes, but eventually his marker blanked out. I looked for his body but could not find it in the brush. I wanted to collect the flame thrower to have it in my inventory.

The Prepper stashes are great ways to collect lots of $ and items, and are quite fun to do.

I've only flown the biplane, but the flying dynamics appear to be relatively easy. My son has a P-51 Mustang, and he flew shooting solos while I manned the back gun taking care of anyone following and also things on the ground.

I did not know it, but you can have your companion drive the vehicles while you shoot out the window - sure would have made the Death Wish mission easier. Speaking of vehicles, there is a perk that automatically repairs your vehicle as you drive/ride in it - wish I had that in the mission where I needed to steal the vehicle.

I still like the fishing part, and almost like in real life, sometimes pull over to explore and fish an interesting lake or stream.

I'm still in the easiest region, so the game is fun, but am dreading to go to the drug haze area, and especially the boss mission, which I'll probably skip.

[Art Blade]

good read, guys

I liked the part with the bear in "attack mode"

[Dweller_Benthos]

Turns out that woman who was attacked by the bear isn't dead, at least I think I can get her back, she's in my list of possible companions still. I had picked up another woman to tag along with, and I got in a float plane, which she could enter as well, but when I landed, on the water, since it's a float plane, I got the message that she wasn't available. Once I got back to the prison, I had a chance to open the menu and I saw I could select her and it took a minute, but she showed up, so maybe the other woman will too?

Changed my clothes, and yep, the wanted poster magically changes too. Who's running around updating these things?

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Speaking of Fallout, I think I found a fan and his w0#k in an old ghost town (where I picked up the float plane) also this is bear central, they are all over the place.

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There's also a race type challenge here, I didn't try it yet, but looks to be similar to the ones in FC4, where you have to follow a set course and try for the best time. I'll give it a whirl when I get a decent car. Speaking of, I came across a reaping truck, which is a semi-trailer parked along the road guarded by a couple people. So I take care of them, and open the truck. Inside is a sweet Porsche looking car. But right then I got attacked by a helicopter so I stepped back outside and shot at him. Of course, it crashes right on top of the trailer and explodes, causing the trailer to explode, causing the car to explode, and tosses me back a good 20 feet. Dang it. That looked like a really cool car. Hope I find one again, as it appears once you've picked something up, it will be available in the recall menu, but maybe that only works with weapons.

After that I did a prepper stash in an old mine which was filled with the hallucination gas, but it wasn't too bad, I didn't have visions or anything, it was more for effect. Once you turn on the power, the ventilation kicks back on, and clears the gas, but then all the people you thought were dead on the way in are now awake and want to say hi. These are the drugged out zombie types that usually aren't too much trouble, but in a herd can cause an issue, especially when you run out of ammo. On the way back, I passed the same reaping truck, but it only had an RPG in it this time. But at least it respawns, so maybe I can get that car again sometime.

[PZ]

Yes, when you lose a specialist or hired gun they will reappear after an amount of time - I've experienced up to 20 minutes). When that happens I just change to another specialist or hired gun to continue my mission.

These companions are really cool - much better than in prior games. I have two specialists, Nick who is a bomber, and Grace who is a sniper. Yesterday I cleared a cult outpost by first sending in Boomer to tag all enemy, then Nick to bomb and strafe most of the guys, then changed to Grace to snipe the remaining until I got the notice (words to effect) Outpost cleared - undetected.

I also played again with my son who has a bear and a cougar as specialists - the bear named Cheeseburger is a monster - we both had a good laugh seeing him go in to smash the poor enemy - one guy even shouted "RUN!!! BEAR!!!". There were also other animals that we needed cleared, and when Cheeseburger stood on his hind legs and roared, they ran away 

We started in my game so he helped me get some cool stuff into my inventory, and then we went in to his game and visited Faith Seed's area. Without revealing too much, there is lots of drug induced parts to the game in Faith's region.

Spoiler

Sometimes you see animals like a bear for instance, that highlights green (a friend), but when you get close enough, it might magically change into an enemy bison and immediately attack you.  Faith's region contains lots more hostile animals, and many are aggregated around attack areas that you want to enter by stealth - that is a real annoyance because it just adds to the chaos.  Also, you can rescue hostages as you are accustomed to do in the initial game region, but some of these will disappear in a puff of drug smoke and you have to endure a drug haze cut scene, also lame in my opinion. The good part of the drug haze region is that it is mostly normal, like in the initial region

There are many subtle effects like that which makes on really appreciate the game.

[Art Blade]

hehe, the mannequins are "back"

Regarding animals, I watched a vid with turkeys going berserk on the player

I had to chuckle at Boomer jumping over pretty high fences, looks funny

And I find it funny that you can throw a shovel like a battle axe at enemies I only knew that from the Hitman game.