DIGITISER
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ

REVIEW: FAR CRY NEW DAWN (PS4, PC, XBOX ONE - PS4 VERSION TESTED)

11/3/2019

5 Comments

 
Picture
In the 80s - with popular culture violating my still-brewing brain with the message that a nuclear holocaust could happen at any minute - most of my nightmares were about nuclear war. Between Frankie's Two Tribes, Threads, The Day After, The Terminator, When The Wind Blows, Protect And Survive et al, it's no exaggeration to say that I lost count of the times I woke up shrieking and ululating in terror. It seemed like an inevitability. 

What do kids even have nightmares about these days? Brexit, probably. Or not having enough credit on their phone. Or their latest ASMR slime video being demonetised.

Oddly, I always survived my post-apocalyptic dreams. It was never the dying that scared me, but living on having lost everything familiar. Interestingly, Far Cry New Dawn plays entirely on this fundamental fear by revisiting the familiar world of Far Cry 5, 17 years after the events of its mushroom cloud-shaped climax (one of three possible endings).

In the new-look Hope County, your goal is to reestablish civilisation... but your efforts are threatened by The Highwayman, a band of biker leather-wearing goons, governed by a pair of psychotic twin sisters. Though you won't need to have played FC5 to understand what's going on, it surprised me that it's much more of a direct sequel than I'd anticipated. 

This isn't the first time Ubisoft have done something like this, of course. Far Cry 3 led to the Blood Dragon expansion, a glorious, 1980s VHS-tinged, cyber-noir shooter. New Dawn isn't quite as bold with its aesthetics, but instead offers a full-sized game, which reuses and remixes elements of Far Cry 5 to surprisingly decent effect. 
Picture
RECYCLE
The big question is whether, by recycling maps and assets, New Dawn is just some sort of lazy rip-off thing. I'm happy to report that it never feels that way. Yes, there are familiar locations, but having played Far Cry 5, there was real novelty to revisiting familiar places 20 years after a real big bomb went off.

Indeed, stumbling across a half-buried sign advertising a "Testicle Festive" brought a wry smile to my lips... as did the team's choice to steer away from the usual dark, gritty, depressing, post-apocalypse.

Rather than the archetypical grim, lifeless, wasteland that we typically get, New Dawn's world is a bright, colourful place - flowers blossom... the bad guys paint their bases in cheery, neon, hues... even the water has taken on a new, rainbow-y, pearlessence, and the wildlife has had a radioactive glow-up (literally). Coming straight from claustrophobic atmosphere of Metro Exodus, it was the perfect way to decompress.

This neat take on over-familiar tropes is juxtaposed with the usual Far Cry model of hunting, scavenging, shooting, driving, flying and side-missions. It's pretty familiar if you've played one of these games, and - for the most part - doesn't veer too far from established gameplay. 

However, there are some decent new ideas thrown into the mix. You now have a central hub base which you can upgrade by conquering enemy bases (unlocking better gear, weapons, perks etc). Plus, you have the choice of holding onto said base, or scrapping it for resources... Which will see the bad guys reclaim it, but with more powerful troops - allowing you to conquer it all over again for even greater reward. 

Indeed, New Dawn - through the introduction of differing tiers of enemy strength - is generally a tougher experience than most Far Cry games. Rarely is storming, guns a-blazing, into a Highwayman camp a good idea... at least, not until you've disabled the alarms. 

Furthermore, supply drops will appear at random as you make your way through the world - which become a race to get to it before the bad dudes. Best of all are the expeditions - missions outside the main map, which take you to far-flung places.
Picture
SICK
Here's the thing... if you're not a fan of the Far Cry games, if you're sick of first-person, open world, map-moppers... if you're going to get on your high horse because there's the (entirely elective) option to buy equipment using real-world currency... then New Dawn isn't the game for you. Regardless, I'm a sucker for these games.

Ubisoft has found a formula here which, for whatever reason, tickles my boxes. The exploration, the secrets, the sense of freedom and choice... I feel empowered when I play a Far Cry game.

​In addition, the script, the characters, the voice acting, the story - such as it is - don't annoy me as they do in so many games. I like that the game doesn't take itself too seriously, and - here - while New Dawn works perfectly well as a standalone experience, it also rewards those who've payed through FC5. 

Rather than a cheap-and-cheerful cash-in, I was surprised by just how much new stuff there was - albeit staying just the right side of the established formula. 

Its familiarity means this won't be for everyone, but if you're already a Far Cry fan, consider this an actual new instalment, rather than a spin-off.

SCORE: FAR CRY 4 out of FAR CRY 5.
5 Comments
Blood Colin
11/3/2019 02:43:13 pm

I liked Blood Dragon but it was so visually dark it was hard to tell what was going on a lot of the time

Reply
Les Bananes
11/3/2019 03:57:52 pm

Slurp.

Reply
Spiney O'Sullivan
11/3/2019 05:55:40 pm

One of these days I'll play a Far Cry game. The last one sounded so interesting with its prepper militia cult storyline, but they always come out too close to the latest Assassin's Creed title, and I always have to choose Assassin's Creed for my next fix of massively long Ubisoft outpost-wrecking resource-collecting open-world map-mopper gameplay since I only have so much time in my life and I'm already pretty invested in that storyline.

Reply
Matt
11/3/2019 06:50:25 pm

I too am of the generation that went through childhood under the constant threat of nuclear doom.
You're right when you say it seemed like a formality.
We lived in Sheffield (still do) and 'Threads' felt more like the grimmest information announcement to prepare us for the inevitable horror of what was to become our lives at any moment.
When the local air raid siren decided to sound one morning, I literally froze with fear in the street. Couldn't move. Seriously.
It wasn't until after I found it within myself to run home that I found it was only a test.
Awful days.
And then we survived the nuclear threat only to be told we were all going to die from AIDS anyways.
The 80's. ROFL.

Reply
Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
12/3/2019 02:38:05 pm

Much of Threads now strikes me as a portrait of post-Brexit Britain, in the same way Things to Come predicted the Blitz.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    This section will not be visible in live published website. Below are your current settings:


    Current Number Of Columns are = 2

    Expand Posts Area =

    Gap/Space Between Posts = 12px

    Blog Post Style = card

    Use of custom card colors instead of default colors = 1

    Blog Post Card Background Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Shadow Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Border Color = current color

    Publish the website and visit your blog page to see the results

    Picture
    Support Me on Ko-fi
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    RSS Feed Widget
    Picture

    Picture
    Tweets by @mrbiffo
    Picture
    Follow us on The Facebook

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    May 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014


    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ