Far Cry 4 showcased two trailers at E3. One was a cinematic trailer introducing us to the game’s new antagonist, who appears just as twisted and ruthless as Far Cry 3′s Vaas was. Along with main protagonist Ajay being thrust unwillingly into circumstances forcing him to fight for his life, it would appear as though Ubisoft is recycling some of the features from previous installments that were popular. We see a few things new to the franchise in terms of gameplay, but we see a few familiar elements return as well - such as a wing suit which allows you to glide, and capturing fortresses - the equivalent to the pirate bases in Far Cry 3.
As for brand new features, the gameplay demo shows Ajay using a grapple, the primary function of which appears to be allowing Ajay to climb objects. Another new toy shown off in the video is a crossbow used for stealth takedowns, which will be useful for performing long-range kills undetected when raiding fortresses, helping to avoid any alarms being raised. You can also now shoot while driving, and even hijack another car nearby by killing its passengers before jumping across and taking the wheel.
Co-op now looks fully integrated into the campaign rather than being a separate mode in the last installment. The co-op elements appear essential to performing specific actions, as Ajay uses his friend to transport him into a fortress via glider, shooting while his allies maneuvers the glider.
Just as in Far Cry 3, it appears this game continues to have a high emphasis placed on the characters. The game is also set to be released on both the current and previous generation of consoles as well as pc, though no details have been revealed about just how the game will take advantage of the added power afforded to it by Xbox One and PlayStation 4 - we’re assuming enhanced lighting, more particle effects and increased draw distance.
Far Cry 4 certainly looks promising, but the proof will be in the pudding. Gamers and critics alike are now beginning to question Ubisoft’s strict design formula, which sees most of their more recent titles displaying much in common by way of mechanics. Whether Far Cry 4 has enough in the way of new ideas up its sleeve to stand out from both its predecessor and other in-house titles remains to be seen, though we remain confident that, at the very least, it will be another highly polished and enjoyable adventure.
