7-Mar-2006 We sink our teeth into Far Cry's evolutionary new outing with senior producer Bertrand Hélias This isn't just an expansion pack. Far Cry Instincts Evolution is a whole new story, set on new islands, and rich with new weapons and abilities. Plus, you can import your homemade maps from the first game.
Jack Carver, voiced again by Stephen Dorff, has settled down. He's living back on the islands, he's got himself a girlfriend, and he's doing a little less-than-legal work on the side to earn a crust. He's still 'feral', though, and soon comes a cropper when a strange bunch of other ferals show up and murder his boss. Hunted by these mysterious 'others', it's not long before Jack's on the run again.
Because enemies will also have feral powers, Evolution picks up the action at its peak, and runs with it. Battles will be more intense, levels will be larger, but to compensate for the crash 'n' burn gameplay being a little too intense, Ubisoft is throwing in a handful of sweet touches.
Gameplay is now completely free-roaming, allowing you to island-hop at will. Added to the catalogue of animal instincts, Jack Carver will now be able to climb vertically up objects such as trees and cliffs. Bertrand Hélias, the game's senior producer, told us that he fully intends for Jack to have battles high in the treetops with other ferals. It's hardly surprising, then, that there are a few new weapons to help deal with these pesky feral soldiers scampering about the place. The pipe bomb is one such delight - leave it under any vehicle or watchtower, and with a click of a button the whole lot goes sky high. But the single most important new weapon has to be the blowdart - basically a drinking straw capable of firing darts tipped with feral antidote. Stick an enemy with one of these and he's reduced to being a normal human. Likewise, if you get jabbed by a dart, all Carver's abilities will wear off for a short time, leaving you open to some hideous deaths.
With all the new abilities and plans Ubisoft has for this next chapter, it's clear Xbox Live play is in the forefront of the developer's mind. The map editor has been refined, making it easier to create watchtowers and outposts (Hélias tells us some people likened the mapmaking to climbing a mountain), while vehicles have been tinkered with to enable eight-man teams to use a single craft. Pickup trucks and canoes will all be able to carry huge amounts of clan members as well, making Evolution primed for multiplayer action. We can't wait to get our claws round this one.
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