This week saw the release of Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon from Ubisoft, and it’s time to review it, Mark IV style.
Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon lets players get the girl, kill the bad guys and save the world in a VHS-era vision of the future! As Sergeant Rex Power Colt, you are part man, part machine, all American.
You are a state-of-the art Mark IV cyber-commando on a mission…of vengeance. You’re out to bring down your old commanding officer and his battalion of ruthless killer cyborgs and you’ll stop at nothing to get the job done.
The first thing to note is that even though it’s called Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, it really isn’t anything to do with the Far Cry story, and it’s not DLC. It is a separate and standalone game and that you don’t have to have previously played Far Cry to enjoy. In fact, I may get a lot of grief for saying this, but I enjoyed Blood Dragon more!
So you might be asking yourself why is it called Far Cry 3 then? Is it just a cheap ploy by Ubisoft to sell more copies as unsuspecting Far Cry 3 fans rush to buy it? The answer is no, that isn’t the case at all! It is developed by the same team that did Far Cry 3, and uses “the Far Cry 3” engine, along with some of the gameplay styles and locations (sort of).
You can just imagine the conversations that took place in those early development meetings – we want to do a game that looks like it was made in the early 80s, we want it to look and feel like those 80s action films such as Commando and Terminator, and we want dinosaurs as that’s what the Far Cry 3 fans want. Well, two out of three ain’t bad! And you could argue that dragons are cooler than dinosaurs. And did I mention those dragons can fire laser beams? No? Oh, sorry, I will get to that in a moment.
In order to make it truly an 80’s adventure Ubisoft needed an 80s action hero to voice the heroic Sergeant Rex Power Colt. Having grown up watching 80s action films, there were a few obvious choices, but I think that Arnie and Sly were probably a little expensive, so who better than Michael Biehn? After all, as Kyle Reese in The Terminator he helped save Sarah Connor and was the father of John Connor. He was also Lt Hicks in Aliens, and he was in Navy SEALS, a rather underrated movie that is worth a viewing.
The game starts with Rex and his partner Spider on a helicopter on their way to a location to stop the bad guys and save the world. You know, the usual plot of most 80s action movies. Within the first few minutes alone there are so many 80s references to spot, such as Predator, Terminator, Robocop and Commando. I won’t spoil them because it’s more fun to notice them yourself, but that was only the first 5 minutes.
There is a brief tutorial at the start of the game, which is actually very amusing, so make sure you actually take the time to read each screen that flashes up!
So then its on to the various missions, armed with a cyber-eye, a katana, shurikens, various other guns, oh, and some dice. And before you stop and read that again, I did write dice. You use them to distract the enemies by throwing them. Obvious really when you think about it.
This is a classic run around, shoot the bad guys and have fun type of game that really doesn’t take it self seriously. You have specific missions you must complete, plus side missions you can take in order to not only gain XP (or rather CP as it’s referred to in the game) in order to level up and be a better solider, but also to gain new attachments for your weapons. These side missions range from shooting a rare bird to rescuing scientists who are in danger of being killed. Levelling up is automatic and each block of levels give you something, such as an extra health bar or an enhanced or new ability. None of this trying to figure out which skill to spend your points on, you get what you are given, and you will like it!
Once you complete the first part of the game you have your own garrison, which serves as your base of operations, and enables you to buy weapons, ammunition and other stuff that you use to kill the bad guys. Taking over the garrison also unlocks fast travel (think Far Cry 3 – after all, that’s what its based on) so that you can go between the garrison and other parts of the map.
As well as fast travel you can also drive vehicles, swim, zip line and more. Again, the sorts of things you would have seen in every 80s action flick.
Overall it will probably take you around 8 hours to finish, which is actually longer than some AAA titles, and it’s also more enjoyable than a lot of them!
There is a lot of humour in the game, in fact that’s pretty much most of the game, and there are so many 80s references to spot. I am certain there are ones I missed and its great to compare what you saw with your friends.
The visuals in the game are actually really good, especially considering the 80s style – and believe me, the first time you see one of the dragons charging and shooting lasers I challenge you not to crack a smile.
The music is typical 80s synth and it really adds to the atmosphere. In fact for days after I found myself humming the main tune, oh great, now I’m doing it again. And if you like the music you can actually buy the album too.
This game really is a must have if you are a fan of the 80s, a fan of fun games, a fan of shooters, and a fan of dragons who fire lasers out of their eyes. And it has one of the best endings of any game out today – but I won’t spoil it for you, you will just have to play it. And make sure you read all the loading screens and comments as they are nothing short of genius. This digital title is actually one of the best games out today and worth buying, even more surprising because it is a digital download title, if for no other reason than listening to Michael Biehn swear and make sarcastic comments. And did I mention the laser beam firing dragons?
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is available now via digital download for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The cost is: 1200 MS Points for the Xbox version, and $14.99 for the PC version.
And if you want to see the first 50 or so minutes of gameplay, including the whole introduction sequence, you can do so now:
What do you think? Are you going to buy it? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
