Far Cry Instincts: Predator for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

The Xbox 360's in the midst of a maelstrom of big releases. Over the last couple of weeks gamers have been able to dig into such delectable titles as Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Now it's Far Cry's turn to take center stage. Many may fondly remember this game from its PC release in 2004, or the excellent 2005 Xbox iteration, Far Cry Instincts. In all its forms, Far Cry has so far done little wrong. Unfortunately, Far Cry Instincts Predator doesn't quite live up to the pedigree. While the game's still fun to play, there's little offered here in the way of new content.



Far Cry Instincts Predator (FCIP) for the Xbox 360 is actually two games: the original Xbox Far Cry Instincts and a new, eight map Evolution mode. It's almost the same thing as the Xbox's newly released Far Cry Instincts Evolution (FCIE), save for graphical upgrades and the inclusion of FCI. There are a few new weapons, a couple of new vehicles, and some notable improvements to the map editor, including ziplines, auto-snap sniper ladders, and some new objects and terrains. On top of that, you've got more multiplayer maps and one new mode, Seek and Secure, which resembles Call of Duty 2's HQ mode. What does all this amount to? It's yet another Xbox game that's been given a graphical facelift and a few more features, so those who've played Far Cry Instincts (FCI) before might want to steer clear. However, if you didn't experience the awesomeness of FCI on the Xbox, there's an enjoyable game waiting for you here.



You'll get to play through the entire FCI storyline, which you'll actually have to do to unlock the Evolution story. While the FCI mode is great, it's already been released. The new Evolution content isn't quite up to FCI's level. First, it's only eight maps, the first three of which comprise the first level. While the new content offers players some opportunity for open-ended exploration, it never comes close to what was possible in the PC version. Beyond that, the game falls back into stages that feel very similar to FCI. There are still plenty of entertaining challenges, but nothing that feels decidedly new.



Aside from the Evolution mode offering more of the same, the story pales in comparison to FCI. A lot of what was so great about the original Xbox game was how you were slowly changing, becoming aware of your new feral abilities. In Evolution, you immediately start with your powers active. Right from the beginning you can see enemy scents, run at high speeds, instantly kill foes with a punch and jump to lofty heights. You'll also be able to perform a feral climb, though this isn't really an interesting ability. After turning on your feral scent mode, you can sometimes see lingering odors on a cliff's face, indicating it's climbable. That's pretty much it.



Once you finish with the new, underwhelming single-player content, you've got the multiplayer modes and map editor. These are absolutely the highlights of FCIP, and one of the best reasons to buy this game. Multiplayer is, as it was on the Xbox, a blast to play. Offline, players can engage with up to four others split screen, while online you can have up to 16 in one server. You'll still get all the old modes like Steal the Sample and Predator in addition to the new mode, and a couple of new maps as well, making for 22 total. Some of them are much larger than in FCI, so some of the new vehicles like the transport truck, with a capacity for up to eight people, become useful. The new mode, Seek and Secure, requires you and your team to capture and hold certain positions on a map for points. When you find yourself in a server with players actually trying to work together, this mode can be as fun as a fridge full of drunken clowns. Seriously.



In addition to the modes and maps, the map editor received a few changes, and all for the better. Far Cry's map editor is an extremely user-friendly tool for designing your own multiplayer maps, populating them with trees, objects, weapons and vehicles, saving them to your hard drive and publishing online. After they're published, others can download and play on them. It's an extremely rewarding process, since you know if lots of people are playing on your map, you've done a good job. Fans of FCI's editor will not be disappointed here, as new objects, menu tweaks and undo abilities have been altered for the better. If you're hardcore into editing, you might want to consider buying the Xbox's FCIE, since it will let you import FCI maps, whereas FCIP won't.





It's really too bad the single player content wasn't more enjoyable, otherwise this could have been a much better game. Enemy A.I. borders on stupid. Foes will occasionally run away from you, but most of the time they'll simply stand there, firing as you dart in to claw their faces off. Another sticking point is enemies do not react at all to being shot. If a foe is running forward, you can pump half a clip into them and they won't miss a step. That's pretty weak. This is the Xbox 360, and we're expecting more than Doom II style enemy reactions.



While the gameplay is practically identical to the Xbox, what about the graphics? Honestly, you're not going to be blown away by Far Cry Instincts Predator's visuals. The water looks great and animates well, the draw distance has been pushed back significantly and the lighting looks better, which makes for some strikingly pretty scenes. That's only on certain occasions, however. Most of the time, you're going to be staring at high-resolution Xbox textures, high-resolution Xbox characters, vehicle and weapon models, and high resolution Xbox fire effects. Enemies animate like they do in the Xbox version, the physics work exactly the same and the explosions look practically identical, though displayed at a higher resolution. Though there are certainly visual improvements over FCIE, FCIP doesn't look anywhere near as good as other games on the Xbox 360 like Call of Duty 2 or Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Still, the framerate remains solid, which in a first-person shooter is one of the most important factors.



The sound is almost exactly what's offered in FCIE as well, which is pretty much the same thing as FCI. Same voices, same gun effects, very similar music. This isn't entirely a bad thing, but some areas could have been improved, the gun effects in particular. If I'm going to fire dual MP5s at a group of baddies, I want it to sound like I'm cracking the sky. Instead, several of FCIP's weapons sound like you're popping out pebbles. To clarify, they're not terrible, it's just they aren't cranked to 11. Aside from gun effects, you'll hear some excellent breathing and panting sounds as you slice by foliage while sprinting through the forest. Enemies squeal with pain to a satisfying degree, even if they are screaming after you've already killed them. Environmental music is pleasing to the ears, with rich ambient jungle soundtracks.

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