Far Cry: Instincts

If you are looking for an action game that lets you home in on your primal instincts, then you should give Far Cry:  Instincts a try.  This game features an engaging story with dramatic sequences.

You begin on a boat as the character, Jack Carver.  Jack is thrown off his boat into the ocean.  A hail of bullets is upon him.  He is confused and not sure what is going on.  Jack must swim to a nearby island to seek cover from the bullets.  Seeking shelter in the jungle, he finds a strange organization of soldiers that seem to be up to something.  Rather than become the hunted, Jack decides to become the hunter.

In this game you must rely solely on your will to survive.  If you do not use your environment to your advantage, you will easily be killed.  This is where your primal instinct takes over.  Sneak around in the jungle, duck behind trees, crawl in the mud.  You do get to use weapons, but many times you will find the need to be stealthy and use your bare hands to take out an enemy.  You must learn to use the environment to your advantage.  You can hide in the shadows, toss pebbles to attract unsuspecting soldiers, set booby traps, sniper shoot, steal the enemy’s vehicles, etc.  The game is very open minded!  You can do almost anything!

Some of your instincts aid in your survival.  Jack can see in the dark.  He can also use his sense of smell to aid him.  He can run, leap, and regain health.

The AI are quite intelligent.  They are very aware of what is going on around them.  They will hear you just as you would hear them!  If you are crossing a stream, be sure not to let the water ripple!

The graphics are extremely detailed and realistic looking.  You will feel like you are right there in the jungle.  Bloom lighting effects were used to create this feeling.    The sound effects are also quite good.  The AI constantly makes funny chatter and comments throughout the game.

If the game itself isn’t enough for you, then why not try your hand at the multiplayer modes.  There are 4 available. 

*Chaos Mode:  This is a death match.  The first person to kill a predetermined amount wins.

*Team Chaos Mode:  Up to for teams compete against each other in a death match.  The first team to kill a predetermined amount wins.

*Steal the Sample:  This is like capture the flag.  The player must steal a sample from the enemy’s camp and bring it back to his own camp.

*Predator:  A group of mercenaries must make it to a transmitter and activate a kill sequence to kill a predator.  Once the kill sequence reaches zero, the predator dies.  The transmitter is hidden in the predator’s territory.

The only downfall to Far Cry is that the game takes an incredible amount of time to load between each level and sequence.  Each level can last between 30 and 45 minutes with load times as long as two minutes between them.  There is also an “auto aiming” system that assist you with your attacks.  This is a bit unnecessary.  Aside from this, the realistic game play and awesome graphics more than make up for any downfalls.

Far Cry is available on XBOX.  It has an ESRB rating of M for mature.  This is because the game features blood, gore, strong language, and intense violence.  This means the “little ones” cannot purchase this game without help of mommy and daddy!