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Hands On with Far Cry 5 – It’s Living Up to Its Pedigree So Far

Hands On with Far Cry 5

Ubisoft’s latest installment in their long-running open-world FPS series, Far Cry 5 has already stirring a lot of talk. Mostly it’s been about the controversy surrounding the game’s plot; a rural area of Montana overrun by radical religious fanatics. But what about the gameplay itself? Fortunately we got some brief, but enjoyable hands on time with the title while at E3.

Hands On Far Cry 5

First off, this game is already looking gorgeous. I’m not a country boy by any means, but the massive forests full of giant trees, the mountainsides and rural one road towns seem like they’ll make a nice change of pace from the more exotic locations of previous Far Cry titles. Vehicles like bright purple semi-trucks, beat up old wagons and the brand new addition of flyable airplanes are looking to spice up your travelling options as well.

Far Cry 5 Preview 1

Before our demo began we had to choose between three support characters to help us on our journey. A sharpshooter who could pick off enemies for you, a pilot who could help out with airstrikes, or a dog that could spot and attack cultists. I went with the dog, mostly because I didn’t realize it was a support class and was looking forward to seeing what gameplay as a dog was like. Even though I didn’t play as the pooch, he still made himself useful right out the gate in our first skirmish.

Just like fans have come to expect from the series, Far Cry 5 looks to deliver on the series open-ended tactfulness. Even though I was quickly mowed down in my first attempt to liberate the small town I found myself in taking a fresh approach from a different angle and recollecting my previous Far Cry exploits quickly got me back in action. The enemy AI did their best to stop me, and worked together to make sure they stayed healed up and had me pinned, but they weren’t much match for my own sharpshooting skills or my dog’s ferocious fangs.

Far Cry 5 Preview 2

Once the town was freed it was time to meet the local bartender who sent us off to liberate the Airfield. I hopped in a semi-truck and started plowing through the forest or the way to airfield. Along the way I ran into a fisherman and tried my hand at the fishing mini-game built into FC5. I was able to rustle myself up some vittles for later and even tried sniping some water fowls for kicks before heading back on my way.

When me and my dog finally made it to the airfield we made quick work of the religious zealots with a few well thrown grenades and a couple pot shots at at a propane tank. After that it was time to hop in an airplane and take out a supply caravan heading my way. Surprisingly, this backwoods plane was outfitted with a machine gun and missiles. I’m not sure where exactly a dude like the one who ran the airfield in-game would get such things, but those rockets were definitely super helpful in taking out the enemy supply trucks. But once they had been dealt with it was time for to take on another pilot mano y mano in a spectacular dogfight. In general, flying in any game is awesome, but a lot of times it can be just an afterthought to the rest of the experience. A way to get from point A to B. Flight in Far Cry 5 was smooth and there’s actual aerial combat; which you just don’t see in a lot of titles.

Far Cry 5 Preview 3

Beyond the addition of flyable vehicles, Far Cry 5 seems to have a lot going for it. The plot already has a lot people intrigued and there’s at least five titles in the franchise to draw from when it comes to core design. The Far Cry series has always been a personal favorite of mine and its latest incarnation is looking like it will live up the franchises pedigree. Right now Far Cry 5 is due out on Feb 27th, 2018 for XBox One, PS4 and PC, so we’ve got plenty more time to see and learn more about it in the next few months.

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