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

[PZ]

I purchased a PS3 years ago and it sat on my shelf for a long time before FC2 came out - none of the games I had held my interest. However, I was intrigued by the new "open world" architecture of FC2, and purchased the game - I was hooked.

I continue to be a casual gamer, and never really develop good gaming skills, but enjoy playing in my imaginary world sometimes for hours on end. I think FC2 was so good because it was the first of the open world games, and they did not know how to ruin it yet.  Despite some of the annoyances like malaria, mercs that were super intuitive, or gun degradation), it was easy to like the game because of how open it was.

Since then, the foolish developers have found excuses to introduce increasingly linear aspects into the series along with what I consider fantastic improvements. Other than the rather insignificant annoyances in FC2, I did not have much in the way of complaints, but with each subsequent iteration of the game, they introduce more stupid "features" that raise my blood pressure. Eventually I'll leave the series altogether because nothing in gaming is really that important to me - it is supposed to be fun, not something that induces rage.

I went to visit my son last week, and he had one of the Tomb Raider games on his console - I booted it up and was delighted at how good the world looked and started playing. As I progressed, there were increasingly stupid timed events, and at one instance, I encountered one that required the player to time it just right, land on a thin crossbar, run along a path and jump to a wall, and scramble to the top within seconds - all the things I hate in a game. I simply ejected the disk never intending to return, and will never purchase anything Tomb Raider related.

I suspect the Far Cry franchise will eventually lead me to the same conclusion, although not today.

[Dweller_Benthos]

For what it's worth, I've enjoyed the game quite a lot. And by the time the DLC is launched, will have gone past the $1 per hour price point that I use to measure how much "fun" I get out of a game. Right now I have 59 hours in and a few more hours of just doing random stuff will bring it over the $1 per hour for the base game, if the DLC last enough to cover the cost, then I won't complain. Will I get a couple hundred hours out of it like Fallout 4? No, I don't think so.

Sure, it's not as good as FC2, but what is? I think that was a once in a lifetime game that nothing else can come close to, for whatever reason. Fallout 4 was close for me, maybe even an equal game, and it could just be nostalgia at this point coloring FC2 with the rose tinted glasses. I'd have to think on it a bit, but FC2 may have been the first true open world game I played, so you know what they say about your first.....

Is FC5 essentially a re-hash of FC4 with a new coat of paint and a new world map? Yeah, pretty much. But to be honest, if it wasn't for the forced progression of the main story, I'd have almost no complaints about it.

Bottom line, it is/was fun, and worth the money.

What will I play next? Maybe another run in Subnautica, or finally finish a couple other games I never saw the ending of, I don't know. There is supposed to be a major update to No Man's Sky this summer, so there's that as well.

[PZ]

You guys on PC - can you save your data and profile to over-write a current game?

On the console I created a new game and can save it to the Playstation cloud, and can then download it at any time to over-write your current game. In this way I can get to a certain state of competence in the game and start a new play through at any time.

It would be nice if you can do the same on PC - might encourage me to get the game on that platform.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I never tried manipulating the save games, I would think finding the files in the save folder or wherever they are and making a backup would suffice. Uplay saves the game to the cloud, but I think that's just the one game, I never looked to see if there was a method to select what game to use. The option on Playstation must be something that is for Playstation only.

I finished up the fishing quests for the last rod you can buy, which seems to be almost unbreakable, at least it takes a lot of struggle to get the line to change colors like it does on the lower end rods, and most fish you just reel right in, there's almost no struggle.

Also finished a couple of the weapon quests where you have to kill a certain number of enemies with certain weapons, have a few more to do, and then there will only be the few achievements that I know I'm not going to bother with like most of the arcade ones that require mulitplayer.

I'll probably reset the outposts and do the weekly challenges, just for fun.

[PZ]

No selection on the console either, but you can save a single backup. Because I do not want to start a game completely from scratch, I have a game state where I have my weapons and important perks from which to start. When (and if) I want to start another play through, I'll simply start from that point.

Sounds like one might be able to do similar on the PC.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah, probably. Though I may just start a new game, I was watching a video and saw that I missed a bit of content in Holland Valley because I went there last. Going there first seems to be the way it was intended, though that kind of destroys the whole idea of an open world game.

[PZ]

Good idea to start again - when I did I also discovered things that were new to me. Having the experience of a play through helps with the second go around.

I remember playing through the initial sequences in FC2 to the point where you exit the church and are given the message that  you are free to do what you want. I used this as a base saved game for all future plays through, just to save time.  I'm doing kind of the same in FC5 by saving my game to the cloud as a basis from which to start.

At first I thought just opening the outposts again might be enough, but after being spoiled in Origins where you start from the beginning with all you had after your last play through. I sure wish they has something like that programmed into FC5.

In my new play through of FC5 I rediscovered many missions that I actually really liked, and they are fun to do again from another approach, or other companions you like to use.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I started over, which reset my arcade progress as well. Eh, no big there. I found out that anything you buy with silver bars carries over to a new game, so use those anytime you can if you plan to start a new game. The amount of bars you have is on your account, not tied to the save game, so those carry over as well,. I had over 800 to start off with. I played a couple maps in arcade mode to get a couple XP points and some money so I started with a couple thousand and 4 XP points right off the bat. I pretty much followed the missions they give you, and went first to the farm to get Boomer. From there I made my way to Fall's End and worked outward from there, meeting Nick and getting his plane back. I found out from a video if you have Nick available, he will do the flying in the final fight against John, so I will take that option, as I don't want to repeat that again, plus it seems it would be interesting.

I really think the game was designed to be played in that order, as John's region is mostly open, flat, easy to get around in, lots of roads, lots of places to go to get money and XP, so you build up fairly quickly and a completely new player wouldn't have as much trouble. The story progression is less intense, the cut scenes are less distorted with drug induced hallucinations, etc. That stuff all ramps up pretty fast in the other two regions. Also, NPCs will talk about Faith's region quite a bit, but not so much about Jacob's. So it seems that was the intended progression.

I don't know if I'll play the entire game through again, I'm thinking once I get the final forced story mission, I leave that region as it is and move on to the next, so that each region will still have the main story active, there will be enemies to fight and not a completely empty and boring map if you finish the game. And let's face it, finishing the game is a huge let down, so why do it?

[PZ]

... And let's face it, finishing the game is a huge let down, so why do it?

So true. In my newest play through I immediately found Grace and Jess, both specialists that I almost always have as my companions. It is much more fun knowing where you should go to avoid the dumb stuff and focus on the fun.

[Art Blade]

you guys at least found a way to get the most out of a poorly designed game

[LowPolyOWG]

Kinda like FC2 Poorly designed in some areas, but fun nonetheless

[Art Blade]

agree on FC2, I don't know FC5 except through watching videos so.. what little I know about it, didn't spark any urge to praise it.

[LowPolyOWG]

 

[Art Blade]

Well, I read an article about it in a respectable news paper. They said FC5 was a spitting image of North America's society. Religious fanaticism, blindness to reason, extreme love for weapons.. all that. I think while there's something to it, it shouldn't be overrated. In the end, it's a game.

[LowPolyOWG]

Even GTA V is the same thing really. Minus the religious stuff ofc