Far Cry
Description official descriptions
You play Jack Carver, a charter-boat businessman in Micronesia, on a job to escort Valerie Cortez, an ambitious journalist, to the island of Cabatu. The next thing you know someone's blown up your boat (and with that, everything you owned in the world), kidnapped Valerie, and left you for dead. Your job now is to rescue Valerie and get back at the soldiers who destroyed everything you had.
Proprietary Polybump mapping, advanced environment physics, destructible terrain, dynamic lighting, motion-captured animation, surround sound and the ability to render an entire kilometer of actual terrain in real time all showcase CryTek's new CryENGINE.
Advanced A.I. means enemy soldiers make realistic decisions based on observations of the current state of the world. These highly trained mercenaries are designed to utilize environmental features, attack in groups, divide and conquer, respond to player actions, and call in reinforcements from air, land, or sea.
Far Cry ships with a Sand Box Editor, allowing you to create and edit your own maps with an easy drag and drop interface.
Spellings
- 孤岛惊魂 - Simplified Chinese spelling
- 極地戰嚎 - Traditional Chinese spelling
Groups +
- 3D Engine: CryEngine 1
- Anti-Cheat Technology: PunkBuster
- BPjS / BPjM indexed games
- Covermount: Fullgames
- Far Cry series
- Gameplay feature: Drowning
- Games made into movies
- Green Pepper releases
- PC Gamer Presents games
- Scripting language: Lua
- Setting: Tropical Island / Deserted Island
- Software Pyramide releases
- Sound engine: FMOD
- Technology: amBX
- Ubisoft eXclusive releases
- Weapon: OICW
- Weapon: Pancor Jackhammer
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Credits (Windows version)
428 People (351 developers, 77 thanks) · View all
Developed by |
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CEO and President | |
COO/CFO & Executive Vice President | |
CMO & Executive Vice President | |
Creative & Technical Director | |
Executive Producers | |
Producers | |
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Lead Programmer | |
AI Lead | |
Multiplayer Lead Programmer | |
AI & Game Programming | |
3D Engine Lead | |
Physics Lead | |
Sandbox Lead | |
Renderer Lead | |
Animation & 64bit Programming | |
CryEngine Optimisations | |
Optimisations & Dot-3 Lightmaps | |
Multiplayer Programming | |
[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 87% (based on 50 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 205 ratings with 13 reviews)
Stunning environments play host to a half-witted plot
The Good
Clearly Far Cry has one thing going for it. The large, sun-drenched environments. While id was putting the finishing touches on their dark, claustrophobic masterwork of DOOM3, and Valve was in the last half-year of polishing Half-Life 2 to a dystopic gleam, the German firm Crytek released this unheralded gem. At least, it starts as a gem...
The Bad
Toward the end of the storyline, the game gets more and more far-fetched. I can't even remember what was going on exactly -- something about mutating humans into an unholy werewolf army. To be hired out to evil regimes, presumably meaning North Korea. Things get out of hand, people are injected with green mutoid plasma, become monsters, that sort of stuff. It all came apart at the seams for me during the last few levels, where I simply wasn't having fun anymore. Not only did the plot get crappy, but so did the level design. It was quite a let-down, considering how strong the opening levels were.
Multiplayer was resoundingly disappointing. Perhaps because by the time I got around to trying it, the only people still playing were experts, and would camp from some indiscernible mountaintop with the sniper rifle. Sniped again and again and again as I vainly look for some cover or a better weapon -- how terribly fun. Leave server.
I'd have given it more time, but Counter-Strike: Source was simply a better option in 2004.
The Bottom Line
Bright, sunny, and expansive tropical environments play host to innovative, long-distance gunplay. But it all degenerates into a half-baked mad scientist plot that left me a little frustrated that Crytek's story department couldn't come up with something more compelling.
Windows · by Chris Wright (85) · 2011
A great piece of first person shootery
The Good
I marveled on the graphics when i first saw them and I still do now, even though I don't have the best computer they still look damn good. The game was also very fun, I loved how you could be stealthy, or (for most of the game) just go in guns a blazing. The story, characters and voice acting were also good.
The Bad
I thought this game was overly hard in some places and I had to keep trying in the same place over and over again.
The Bottom Line
This game is worth the purchase because it has great gameplay, great graphics, and lots of big explosions. If you haven't got it, get it now!!!
Windows · by Charles Auger (2) · 2005
A delicious, well-designed, well executed example of what a 3D shooter should be.
The Good
The graphics are stunning. There is an extremely long draw distance for every exterior environment, yet the coding (i'm assuming) is tight enough that the incredible graphics that characterize this game don't require a godly rig to enjoy. I play on a middling-range athlon XP with a 7200/8meg HD (this upgrade seemed to make a huge difference) yet I am able to enjoy it on 1024 with high graphic detail. Character models are cutting edge as are the shading and light effects. Explosions are decent. The physics engine is also top of the line and is far more realistic than other attempts at such an engine.
The sound in the game is overall quite good, though not as good as the graphics are. The gun sounds are particularly fitting. I'd argue they're the best gun sound effects I've heard. The music fits well both in the low-paced and "alert" modes. I had some minor technical issues with voice vs overall sound levels, as you can't control this in game, but it works well enough. The voice acting is good if at times the main character seems a bit canned. It's good enough. The conversations held by enemies are humorous and frequent.
The gameplay is superb. I know a great many people enjoyed the single player in Halo, but I feel that far cry is much more well implemented. The prone and crouch positions have expected effects on accuracy. You can also right-click to bring up the iron-sights of each weapon. Stealth is somewhat lacking in this game, but it's not that type of game. That said, it is very easy to disappear into the jungle and take people out somewhat surreptitously. There is a "stealth meter" on your HUD, and if you use the binoculars (most useful game binoculars in any game, ever) you actualy get little spots on your "radar" that indicate whether an enemy is on to you, looking for you, etc. Regardless of the lack of focus on stealth, the gameplay is still incredible. It's a 3-d shooter, so you get what you'd expect, but it never feels dull. The environments you find your character in are dynamic and interesting throughout.
The AI is great. Perhaps not as relentless as in Halo, but it's clear that the enemies are working together. They throw grenades and converge on your position in an intelligent manner as well. Overall, it's far above par and the comparison to halo is not accidental.
The story is reminiscent of Half-life. It's one of those stories that starts simple and gets more complex as you run through it. this is common in action games, but there are very few (half-life and the original deux ex are my reference group) games that take you on a ride as you play through. The story is compelling enough to keep one interested, but not so omnipresent to distract from the task at hand.
The Bad
My only complaints about this game are minor. the lack of detail on items found in the game. Ammo boxes, weapons, etc, are uniformly undecorated.
Another minor complaint is the, at times, flat voice acting.
Truly, the weakness are entirely eclipsed by the strengths.
The Bottom Line
For those who enjoy 3-d shooters, this is a must-play. I prefer it over any strictly-action 3-d shooter I've ever played, including Halo or the WW2 ilk.
Windows · by Marty Bonus (39) · 2004
Trivia
1001 Video Games
The PC version of Far Cry appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Development
The game actually started out as a tech demo made by Crytek, to demonstrate the capabilities of Nvidia's (then) new graphics chip, the GeForce 3. Much like what happened with Serious Sam: The First Encounter, it then got turned into the complete game it is now.
German version
The German government agencies for the protection of children are not to be trifled with – a lesson that publisher UbiSoft learned the hard way with Far Cry.
Due to realistic violence, especially with regard to the ragdoll model of the enemies, the full English version of Far Cry was banned in Germany by the federal agency BPjM on April 2nd 2004, meaning that any kind of advertisement for this version is forbidden, and it may only be sold on request to persons aged 18 or older.
UbiSoft and developer Crytek had anticipated this, and created a special version of Far Cry for the German market – the usual procedure to abide by the strict German standards. In this version, ragdoll models were disabled. As expected, the modified version was rated “18+” by the USK, the official German rating board. Any game with a USK rating may only be sold to persons of the specified age group, but is protected from being banned. UbiSoft produced and shipped a large amount of copies of this German version, which hit stores on March 25th 2004.
At that time, the BPjM judgment on the English version was pending. The BPjM testers quickly found out what was already widely circulated in the Internet: Crytek had not physically removed the ragdoll model from the German Far Cry, they had just disabled it -- and every user could turn the feature back on with just a few simple modifications. This made the German version identical to the English one. Identical content is the one criterion that would allow the BPjM to ignore a USK rating and ban a game. That, however, had never happened.
Up to now. On April 2nd 2004, the BPjM banned the German version of Far Cry along with the English one, on accounts of identical content. From one day to the next, stores nationwide were no longer allowed to display the boxes of the most popular, extremely successful action game.
UbiSoft’s reaction was feverish, yet professional. As soon as word had spread that a ban was imminent, the company started the production of a new, non-modifiable German version to replace its now worthless predecessor. This second edition retained the USK rating “18+” and was distributed two weeks later, on April 15th. UbiSoft took back all copies of the previous version at its own cost.
The German second edition cover of Far Cry is easily recognizable by a big red box in the upper right corner containing the line “Deutsche Version” (German version). If you happen to own one of the banned first editions, you should probably hold on to it; over time, it may become a collector’s piece.
Graphics
The game allows you to set a way to render it, such as the bright "Paradise," the dim "Cold," or the cel-shaded "Cartoon."
Patch 1.3 of the game adds support for HDR lighting (high dynamic range lighting) on the new nVidia GeForce FX 6xxx line of graphics cards. Its inclusion makes Far Cry the first commercial game to support HDR lighting!
This feature increases visual quality in the game tremendously, improving the detail and dynamic range between light and dark, and simulating lens exposure effects between light and dark areas of the image.
The feature is not accessible from the game configuration screen, but must be enabled via the command line, console or config file. The feature is not available on ATI's competing generation of graphics cards due to the implementation/hardware limitations.
Mods
Far Cry fans have created an unofficial modification that adds a Capture the Flag multiplayer mode and comes with five new maps.
Far Cry seems to be on its way to become the most longevous game in history. Following the visual change that patch 1.3 meant by enabling HDR, two patches were released to bring the game up to the world of 64 bits. While they don't really take advantage of any 64-bit specific features, these patches do improve graphics even further, and they add a couple of new levels and some other stuff.
What, you didn't make the jump to 64-bit yet? Fret not. Most of those graphical enhancements are available for 32-bit users as well, via a little thing called the FC 64ecu to 32os conversion patch.
Movie
The game became a movie in 2008. The main character Jack Carver is played by Til Schweiger. Although it does not stick to the game's storyline, it cuts close with the setting and game elements. German investor Boll KG bought the rights to turn the game into a movie franchise in February 2004, a month before the game hit stores.
Patch 1.2
In July 2004, patch 1.2 was soon recalled after the release, due to unexpected behaviour on specific hardware configurations. There was no fix released afterwards. Users had to revert to 1.1 and then wait until October 2004 for a new patch (1.3).
Title
On May 28, 2002, developer Crytek changed the game’s name from X-Isle to Far Cry. The “X” was too allusive of Microsoft’s game console X-Box.
Awards
- 4Players
- 2004 – Biggest PC Surprise of the Year
- GameSpy
- 2004 – #9 PC Game of the Year
- 2004 – Special Achievement in Graphics Award (together with DOOM³)
- GameStar (Germany)
- February 2005 - Best German PC Game in 2004 (Readers' Vote)
- Golden Joystick Awards
- 2004 - Runner up to DOOM³ in the "PC Game of the Year" category
- PC Gamer
- April 2005 - #18 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
- PC Powerplay (Germany)
- issue 01/2005 - Best German Game in 2004
Information also contributed by -Chris, Dr. M. "Schadenfreude" Von Katze, MAT, piltdown man, Sciere, Tiebes80 and Zack Green
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Related Sites +
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FarCry
Official website -
FarCry Headquarters
English/German fansite -
IGCD Internet Game Cars Database
Game page on IGCD, a database that tries to archive vehicles found in video games. -
Planet FarCry
GameSpy's FarCry website with game info, forum, downloads etc. -
Wikipedia
The Far Cry article at Wikipedia
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Cyberzed.
PlayStation 3 added by Sciere. Xbox 360 added by Kabushi.
Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, tarmo888, Sciere, Kabushi, PhoenixFire, Yearman, Patrick Bregger, Victor Vance, FatherJack, 一旁冷笑.
Game added March 24, 2004. Last modified March 7, 2024.