FAR CRY 4

On our third run-through of a knife assassination mission, set in a blustery mountain peak base with very low visibility, we’ve come a cropper. For our first two runs we alternately snuck through the entire HQ without being seen, and then blazed through everyone in our path with machine gun fire. This time though, we want to see how quickly we can proceed straight through the guards, get to our target and take him down in one smooth, flowing speed-run assault. It’s not long before we’re ace-to-face with a snow leopard, which in our haste we’ve blundered straight into.

It’s because of this moment of carelessness that we fire a single bullet into the creature’s head mid-pounce. It’s because of that gunshot that the three nearby guards are alerted to our presence. Very quickly our speed-run attempt turns into a scramble for survival against the odds. By the time we’ve taken down our target we’ve the blood of seven men on our hands. And this was supposed to be a clean run…

These moments might sound pleasingly familiar for those stepping out of Jason Brody’s shoes and into those of new main character Ajay Ghale, but know that the new Himalayan environment lends so much to the experience.

“we assaulted a base from atop a rampaging elephant, knocking aside reinforcements in jeeps”

Everest and relaxation

In the space of one hour we had assaulted a base from atop a rampaging elephant, knocking aside reinforcements in gun mounted jeeps with crunching efficiency. We’d sniped the pilot of a helicopter to cause catastrophic mayhem amid an unsuspecting group of guards milling around in the valley below. We’d hunted dagger-wielding voodoo types through a presumably drug-induced vision of Shangri-La. And we’d nose-dived through a snow-capped mountain canyon, the sharp air practically stinging our faces through the TV.

And there’s the bonus ball. If you’d been lucky enough to play through Far Cry 3 on a PC then you’ll know that it had so much more potential for beauty than its console versions could allow for. The PS4 version we’ve played looks sublime, making this one playground we can’t wait to jump into and explore.

far cry 4

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