“Far Cry 4” Announced, Trading in Tropical Islands for Snowy Mountains

DJ Arruda ‘16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

With the success of Far Cry 3 still on our minds, Ubisoft has revealed that the next installment in the series, Far Cry 4, will be coming this November.

The sequel will be arriving a little before the two-year anniversary of the release of the highly popular Far Cry 3, which put players in the shoes of Jason Brody as he struggled to escape the magnificently created Rook Islands and save his friends. It is unknown whether this sequel will tie into the events of that game, but its success, especially in regards to the story, would allow for the establishment of a continuity between the two despite the vast difference in settings.

This time around, players will be exploring “Kyrat, a breathtaking, perilous and wild region of the Himalayas struggling under the regime of a despotic self-appointed king.” We can only hope that this king is as psychotic as Vaas and as cold and calculating as Hoyt, the two antagonists who drove the story of Far Cry 3, and that the infamous Yeti makes an appearance in his fabled home as well. Players will be using “a vast array of weapons, vehicles and animals,” and will “write their own story across an exotic open-world landscape.” The promise that story choice will be an even bigger part of this sequel, as though there was a crucial choice at the end of the last game–it was not driven by explicit player choices–makes the hype that much more. Despite the two-year turn around, Ubisoft seems to be taking everything that made Far Cry 3 a surprise success and taking it to the next level.

As is the oft seen tradition, those who pre-order the game will receive a free upgrade to the Limited Edition, which features Hurk’s Redemption. It also includes three single player missions featuring the titular character from the game’s predecessor’s DLC, perhaps indicating that they are indeed connected, and it is also offering his exclusive “The Impaler” harpoon gun. Sounds like a good deal. Overall, this announcement is very exciting, especially in the wake of Far Cry 3’s success.

The only true concern is whether or not the game can live up to its ambitious promise of “the most expansive and immersive Far Cry experience ever” with only two years of development. Yet executive producer Dan Hay is confident on this front, saying that Ubisoft has strived to “create a game that will surprise players and exceed fans’ expectations.” We can only wait and see what will be revealed at E3 in the next few weeks, and hopefully be suitably rewarded. Should pack a hiking kit just in case.

The game is scheduled to be released on Nov. 18 on all major platforms current and last gen, save for the Wii and Wii U.