Xbox

Far Cry: Instincts - Evolution

Rasantes Add-on zum kleinen Preis: bildschönes, aber kurzes Shooterfest für Erwachsene.

Far Cry Instincts Evolution, sequel to last fall's Far Cry Instincts on the Xbox, features plenty of new content for starving Xbox owners. Called the Evolution story, players will be able to guide Jack Carver on an all new adventure across the tropical paradise which ironically acts as his prison. In addition, Xbox gamers will get the top notch visuals they've come to expect from Far Cry, expanded multiplayer and map editor options, and new weapons, vehicles and abilities.

Far Cry Instincts was one of the best Xbox games in 2005 and was also a more than faithful follow up to one of the best PC games the year before. The Far Cry franchise seemingly came from nowhere and took the gaming community by storm. The graphics, gameplay, and presentation at the time of the PC release were unprecedented and nothing better was on the market. Though the bar was raised soon after with Half-Life 2 and Halo 2, Far Cry still served as one of the best shooters on any platform, and Far Cry Instincts did the same the year after. Now in 2005 Ubisoft and Crytek have released Far Cry Instincts Predator on the Xbox 360 and Far Cry Instincts Evolution on the Xbox, both versions are respectable on their platforms and still to this day offer some of the most diverse and interesting action gameplay found in any game.

Jack Carver is back on the Xbox, after his tropical island nightmare that left him with feral super powers he’s now working as a mercenary in the vain hope that one day he’ll make enough money to replace his beloved boat. To this end he takes what looks like an easy job riding shotgun on a weapons shipment, but with the luck he has it soon descends in to the kind of hell he’s more used to.

Jack Carver could very well have some sort of relation to 24's Jack Bauer, couldn't he? The guy's just getting into a number of situations that really put him to the test. What starts out as a relaxing boat ride to get some cash soon ends up as a survival outing against well-armed mercenaries, and some sort of injection gives him animal-like instincts that go beyond normal. Now Carver's bad day continues in Far Cry Instincts Evolution, a follow-up that's disappointing in terms of being an all-out sequel, but seems to fit rather snugly with the word "Expansion".

Far Cry Instincts was one of the best games released on the Xbox last year, and it didn't take long for Ubisoft and developer Ubisoft Montreal to churn out Far Cry Instincts Evolution, an all-new Jack Carver adventure. Don't worry, though--despite the new name, not much has changed. The action still takes place on remote Pacific islands, and once again, you'll be able to skulk around the jungle to your heart's content. Evolution packages this new campaign along with an improved multiplayer suite. It's basically more like an expansion than a full campaign, as it's about half the length of the original campaign. This is reflected in Evolution's price, which is a little more than half that of the original game.

It has been almost exactly six months since the release of Far Cry: Instincts on the Xbox. Powered by the technical marvel that is the CryEngine, adapted from the already critically acclaimed PC release and developed by Ubisoft’s flagship Montreal studio, the game was certainly one of the least surprising hit titles of last year.

För att summera ihop den senaste Far Cry-titeln till Xbox kan man säga att det, förutom vissa tekniska missar, är ett bra och fartfyllt actionäventyr. Man har ibland rätt stor frihet hur uppdragen ska lösas och det är sällan varken lugnt eller tråkigt. Tyvärr drar spelets tekniska missar och faktumet att det är rätt så kort ner betyget. En riktigt bra onlinedel och en riktigt bra kontroll räddar dock sjuan.

Far Cry Instincts was released on the Xbox in September 2005 and earned a place as one of the best first-person shooters on the system. Six months later Jack Carver is back in a game that offers more of the same, plus an improved map making tool and a brand-new multiplayer game mode. At a rather attractive budget price it's certainly a game that Instincts fans should pick up without question.

I takt med att spelserier mjölkas brukar de gå från den fylliga mjölken som är i den röda förpackningen till det utspädda vattnet som vi hittar i minimjölkens gula. Far Cry-serien har inte vattnas ur såpass mycket än, men Evolution som smakar lättmjölk rakt igenom är ett tecken på att det går utför. Förhoppningsvis inser Ubisoft själva detta och kanske kan de vända trenden men då måste de först förstå att snygga djungelmiljöer inte är lika upphetsande tredje gången vi ser dem på kort tid.