After a three year wait, Far Cry 5 was revealed in 2017 and it was immediately apparent that things were going to be a little different this time around. The big news was that for the first time in the series, the game is set in America, specifically Hope County, Montana, following the theme of separatism. While this seemed like a darker, more serious tone compared to previous titles, the game, developed by Ubisoft Montreal, has turned out to be a very enjoyable experience, despite its more serious overtones.
Ever since the reveal trailer, fans of the open world series have been active with excitement over the fresh gameplay and story that’s presented this time around. With many hotly anticipated games on the horizon, Far Cry 5 hopes to succeed with its brand new elements, which includes a character creator and a companion system. Check out the announcement trailer and opening walkthrough below to see more from the game.
UK release date
Far Cry 5 had a UK release date of March 27th 2018, so gamers didn’t have too long a wait before getting the chance to take back Hope County. This release date is the same for the rest of the world and it will be available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
The game will support PS4 Pro and Xbox ONE X upon release. Also, PS4 owners will receive free skin packs thanks to Sony’s ongoing partnership with Ubisoft.
Story
As previously mentioned, Far Cry 5 is set in the state of Montana in fictional Hope County during the rise of separatism. The narrative follows the player taking control of a sheriff’s deputy, who the player creates themselves through the character creator, who has come to Hope County to arrest Joseph Seed.
Seed is the main antagonist, a radical preacher for a congregation known as Eden’s Gate. They believe that they lead local residents to salvation, but in truth they are a militaristic doomsday cult who resort to violence to recruit residents to their cause or silence them from contacting the federal government. It’s certainly a dark setting, but overall it is very intriguing.
Joseph Seed refers to himself as “The Father”, aided by “The Heralds” who make up three more antagonists meaning this is the first Far Cry game to feature multiple antagonists right from the very start. There’s Jacob, a former military soldier who has control of the cult’s own armed soldiers, followed by John, a lawyer who has acquired most of the Hope County land for Eden’s Gate, and Faith, an acting pacifist who persuades citizens to believe in and trust her “Father”.
Where does your created deputy fit into this? Well, after failing to arrest Seed you are thrown into the midst of the conflict between Eden’s Gate and the Hope County residents who refuse to give up. There is focus on three particular residents who each currently have their own character trailer, which you can see in the videos below.
Far Cry 5 walkthrough, opening cutscene and gameplay:
You can also check out more pics from the game on Google images.
Characters
Mary May Fairgrave:
Meet Nick Rye:
Meet Pastor Jerome Jeffries:
You have Mary May, a bartender whose father was murdered at the hands of the cult, joined by Nick Rye, a pilot who wants to put an end to Eden’s Gate in order to create a better future for his children, and Pastor Jerome, a church leader whose congregation has been taken by the cult. Working with these people, it’s up to the player to create a new resistance army and take down Seed and the rest of his cronies once and for all. You can keep up with the latest on the game with the Ubisoft Twitter page and we’ll be updating more here at Tuppence, with the latest addition being our how to do a Far Cry 5 helecopter takedown.
Graphics
The in-game footage shown off in the announcement trailer instantly proved that Far Cry 5 is a visual step up above its predecessor. It runs on the Dunia Engine, which is commonly used for the action adventure franchise. The open world of Hope County is visually very appealing, being full of life with environmental physics and wildlife proudly on display.
Ubisoft has garnered some controversy in the past for some of its games not looking as good on release as they did during trailers. However, here’s hoping that won’t be the case this time around, because visually it’s already looking like one of the best open world games on current gen. Actual gameplay footage is yet to be shown so far though.
Far Cry 5 announcement trailer:
Gameplay
Far Cry 5 shares the same action adventure FPS gameplay style as the previous games, with players also able to explore the open world freely. As usual, players will have a variety of weapons, gadgets and explosives at their disposal, some returning and some new additions, that they can use to fight against Eden’s Gate.
Another form of battle is close-quarters combat which has been revitalised, with new weapons such as baseball bats now available to use. Players are able to explore the world using different types of vehicles, with focus being placed on airplanes which make their series debut.
Tying in with the main objective of forming your own resistance army, Ubisoft have introduced a new recruitment system called ‘Guns for Hire’. Players can convince local residents to partner up with them, with each local having their own unique skills and personalities.
There is another version of this system for the wildlife too, cleverly titled ‘Fangs for Hire’, where wild animals can be tamed with each wildlife having their own combat pattern. It’s a system that was introduced in Far Cry Primal, with wildlife always being an important element for the series, so it’s nice to see even more emphasis placed on it.
Other noticeable features include the return of the popular and expanded map editor as well as the ability to play the campaign either solo or with a friend in co-op.
First Impressions
Far Cry 5 has a completely new setting and fresh narrative, but the core gameplay looks to be the same fun as ever with welcome new additions. The recruitment system certainly looks like a new feature which will change the series for the better, along with the heavily improved combat.
We’ll have to wait until some gameplay videos to judge how the game looks in action, but the information we already know sounds very promising. Start preparing yourself to take down Eden’s Gate, because it looks as though it’s going to take a big army and a major war when the release date rolls around.
