Far Cry 4 - Limited Edition (PS3)

Over and above some of the most enjoyable game play I've ever come across - Far Cry 4's story is actually REALLY good. I think possibly - because Troy Bakers brilliantly camp Pagan Min isn't as physically present in the campaign as Far Cry 3's Voss, people reacted as if there's something missing. But the fact that Min works pretty much exclusively through Troy Bakers vocal performance makes sense that the "villain" in this game (for the majority of the campaign) confine his presence to radio. Kyrat is a country, not an island. It's physically big, Pagan lives in the far North and there is a considerable map to have to cross before you even get near him. And in the meantime....There is just so much to do in this game. It's wickedly addictive. From hunting animal pelts to discovering hidden locations, from delivering supplies to the Golden Path to making delivery's contraceptives to the girls forced to work in brothels - from going high in the mountains to find Monkey Statues to finding the victims of a mythical serial killer - you're never more than a tuk-tuk's ride away from finding something actually fun to do. Side missions are just so many and varied, you can just loose yourself for hours wandering the genuinely beautiful country side of this insane yet endearing fictional Himalayan country.The campaign starts out simple, walking you through the basics as well as introducing you to the local politics at play - after being hijacked and forced to eat Crab Ragou by Pagan Min at the beginning you fall in with the resistance - The Golden Path. You play Ajay Ghale (अजय घले) son of the original founder members, ostensibly on a simple mission to place your late mothers ashes at Lakshana.... It all seems simple enough.But of course, this is the thing - it isn't. Kyrat is both beautiful and horrifying in a way it's hard to describe. Depending on which side of the Golden Path's your sympathies lie, you're exposed to moral choices that go against our comfortable western idea's of right and wrong. Kyrat is a country stripped bare of it's natural resources by it's former Royal Family and poor - it's agricultural base is barely above subsistence level for its individual farmers. In the meantime women are traditionally treated as little more than property and the only way out of deliberately maintained international debt is drugs trafficking.Far Cry 3 was the story of how an ordinary, regular person who's never so much as touched a gun before becomes a boogie-man like Voss - Far Cry 4 is something altogether different. This is the story of how a regular person becomes a hero and, of course, in the process, discovering what the term Hero in reality means. And, of course. It's not what it seems.Don't get me wrong - Far Cry 4 is full of so many bombs, guns, knives and things to kill others with it's insane and - should you get bored with shooting or stabbing your enemies, you can get wildlife to attack them or else learn to ride an elephant and trample them to death. It's hilarious, by turns funny and horrible all at the same time. There's incredible variety along the way - liberating towers lifts the fog of propaganda obscuring Kyrat's map and revels all manner of things to do and discover as well as earn you new weapons and experience. Liberating outposts gains you solid bases you can fast travel between. Once opened up via the campaign you can slug it out to the death in the Arena, go on hunting expeditions for Kyrat's Fashion Week, destroy propaganda centers for Free Radio Kyrat's DJ. There are missions which cross over into the mystical where you play as Kyrat's legendary warrior from ancient times and others, taken on for the game resident stoners, where you're basically tripping off your face the entire time... You can rescue hostages, liberate supplies, ambush trucks, carry out missions for the CIA - the scope of stuff do is enormous and lovely.But what stays with you long after are the choices you make and the outcomes that follow. I don't want to give any spoilers, but actually - on my first play through - when I finally discovered the truth - I let Pagan Min live. The same can't be said for the person I believed in....There is no downside to this game. I'm not a fan at all of first person shooters - but this got me, hook, line and sinker and it's the story that kept me hooked.A genuine pleasure.

Simply: NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM "THAMES GAMESTORE".This is a 1-star review for "Thames Gamestore", the seller, NOT Far Cry 4. Simply: NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM "THAMES GAMESTORE". They took 10 days to send out the order and then delivered "Lego Batman 3". Now there is no way anyone, particularly a game shop, could mistake Far Cry 4 for Lego Batman 3 but that was exactly their excuse. They then wouldn't pay for return postage and took 2 weeks to make the refund. It must have been a coincidence, of course, that the game was listed for £12.99 when I bought and then relisted for £19.99.Simply: NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM "THAMES GAMESTORE".

This is a great game with plenty of variation in gameplay offered with the various tasks, missions and side-missions that can be played and completed. If you fancy wandering through the vast and attractive open world taking in the scenery whilst discovering new locations great. If you need to quench your blood lust with stealth take-downs or just going in all guns blazing that's fine too. This game offers an awful lot and can be very rewarding when taking outposts and liberating strong holds. It offers a huge arena that meets the needs of your particular mood at the time you play. I would say that the AI is good in most cases when pitting your wits against human enemies and offers a good challenge. The wild dog things can get a bit annoying, but overall a great game that has kept me occupied and isolated from the rest of my family for hours.

Awesome game, story not as compelling as FC3, cant upstage Voss.Gameplay is fun, after 25hrs gameplay I still have half the map to go whereas FC3 only took about 15hrs to complete.The arena is a good fun way to have small skirmishes if you dont fancy playing a long session.The bow is much improved in FC4 and has amazing range.Online gameplay i found lacking but its not why i got the game.

This is the extension on FC3 i wanted. More variety in side missions (kill a boss on the sly, but with throwing knives, the bow, the silenced gun) do in a convoy (like Just Cause 2 style) chuck animal bait to do over bad guys. The giro-copter really helps if your destination is miles away but you're in the middle of a conflict so you will run into more situations as it's civil war more expressed then in FC3.The campaign seems just as good as FC3 so far, however I had read many spoilers so i know roughly whats in store. It's got the edge slightly as there is more people to do missiosn for that take you to more varied locations. At this moment right now, i can't tell weather the overall map is bigger or not compared with it's predecessor, however it's kept me playing at least two hours at a time.And .... Hurk seems to be back... although he's bit of a thicko!