Far Cry

This article is about the video game series. For its first release, see Far Cry (video game). For the film, see Far Cry (film). For other uses, see Far Cry (disambiguation).

Far Cry
Logo used from first Far Cry game to Far Cry Vengeance
Genres	First-person shooter
Developers	Crytek (2004) Ubisoft Montreal (2005–present)
Publishers	Ubisoft
Platforms	Microsoft Windows Arcade PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Wii Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One
Platform of origin	Microsoft Windows
First release	Far Cry March 23, 2004
Latest release	Far Cry Primal February 23, 2016

Far Cry is a franchise of first-person shooter video games. The first game, Far Cry, was developed by Crytek in Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry received positive reviews upon release.

The original game has been followed by three sequels: Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4, and spawned many spin-off games, including Far Cry Instincts, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution, Far Cry Instincts: Predator, Far Cry Vengeance, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and Far Cry Primal all released by Ubisoft Montreal due to a legal dispute between Crytek and Ubisoft. An English-language movie titled Far Cry based on the game was released in 2008.

The Far Cry franchise has been known for putting players in exotic open world environments, such as Micronesia, the Himalayas, Africa and Central Europe. The series has also included an immersive map editing program that lets players create and share their own custom maps for use in multiplayer.

History

Timeline of release years

2004	Far Cry
2005	Far Cry Instincts
2006	Far Cry Instincts: Evolution
	Far Cry Instincts: Predator
	Far Cry Vengeance
2007	Paradise Lost
2008	Far Cry 2
2009
2010
2011
2012	Far Cry 3
2013	Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
2014	Far Cry 4
2015
2016	Far Cry Primal

The first game's story follows former US Army Special Forces operative Jack Carver, who is stranded on a mysterious archipelago. He is searching for a journalist he was escorting after she went missing when their boat was destroyed by mercenaries. The games main thematic elements relate to the dangers of weaponizing genetic engineering, and the genocide of local islanders (as can be seen by the deformed creatures created by a mad scientist named Krieger).

The terrain in Far Cry varies greatly. Set on a South Pacific archipelago, the landscape includes beaches, dense rain forests, towering canyons, mines, swamps, and even volcanic forests. Many of the interiors range from simple beach huts and army camps to elaborate complexes, an underground temple, and ultra-modern research labs. Several of these mazes use the remains of Japanese WWII-era fortifications and bunkers.

The unveiling of Far Cry 2 took place on July 19, 2007 in Paris, France, by head company Ubisoft. Ubisoft stated that the game had been in development by the Ubisoft Montreal team, and would be released on October 23, 2008.

The protagonist of previous Far Cry games, Jack Carver, is not featured in this game. When Ubisoft interviewed players about the original Far Cry in their research for this game, the interviewees did not find the character either memorable or likable. As a result, in the sequel the player chooses from nine different characters to play, each with a unique look and back story. The game's producer, Louis-Pierre Pharand, said that the single-player game will "potentially have close to 50 hours of game play". Lead designer Clint Hocking stated that at least 100 hours are needed to experience all of the game's content.

A pre-alpha video of the game, showcasing the visuals and 13 minutes of gameplay with developer commentary, was presented in Leipzig in August 2007. The demonstration showed off the gameplay involving gunfights and driving sequences, and unique features such as first aid and physical maps were also shown. It also showcased several graphical features tying in directly with the gameplay, such as procedural breakage of vegetation and its regeneration over time, dynamic propagation of fire, and volumetric wind effects capable of breaking vegetation and spreading fire. Man-made structures were also shown to be highly destructible.

In August 2010, PC Gamer reported that development of Far Cry 3 was in "full swing" at Ubisoft Montreal. In the same month, Game and Swedish retailer Webhallen listed the game for a 2010 release, which did not happen. In January 2011, Ubisoft declined to comment on speculation that Far Cry 3 would be hitting shelves in October after Game Informer listed the game as an October arrival in its 2011 preview feature.

In February, the Official PlayStation Magazine suggested that the game was due for release at the end of 2011 as the following quote suggested, "Start taking the malaria medicine in preparation: Far Cry 3 could be arriving before the end of the year." This statement was withdrawn in next month's edition where it was stated that the game would be shown on 2011's E3 and that the release date would be bumped back to 2012.[full citation needed] In May, the CVs of a couple of stuntmen listed Far Cry 3 as one of their previous projects.

Far Cry 3 features a sandbox editor. Furthermore, after confirmations of PC split screen on the Far Cry 3 official site as well as content delivery service Steam, the feature was dropped days before release.

The game's writer Jeffrey Yohalem claimed that the intention of the game's plot was to make a statement about "what shooting means and what it does to humanity". The game's protagonist Jason Brody is not a trained soldier, but rather an everyman who is forced to become a killer over the course of the game. Yohalem claims that as a result the game examines "what happens when that guy is put into a situation where he has to survive minute by minute and save his friends? Will he pick up a gun and how does that affect him? [...] This is a story about a normal guy who picks up a gun and that can't end well". Producer Dan Hay emphasized that the emotional "turns" in the characters were a major theme in the game, stating that "that was the emotional thing we wanted and when we first saw it, it was with Vaas". Hay further commented that the game merged the systemic feel and emotional feel from the previous two Far Cry games in order to take the game in a "very, very surprising direction".

Far Cry 4 was development by Ubisoft Montreal, which took over the development of the Far Cry franchise after the release of Far Cry: Instincts in 2005. Additional development was handled by four other in-house Ubisoft studios, Ubisoft Toronto, Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Shanghai, and Ubisoft Kiev. The Montreal studio worked on the game's campaign, the Toronto studio worked on the Shangri-La segments of the campaign, Red Storm handled the development of the competitive multiplayer, the Shanghai studio worked on the hunting missions, and the Kiev studio developed the game's PC version. Development of the game began in late 2012, after the shipment of Assassin's Creed III. The game's creative director is Alex Hutchinson, who had previously worked on Maxis's Spore as well as Assassin's Creed III.

Collections

Far Cry: Compilation
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Far Cry
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release	February 11, 2014
Genre(s)	First-person shooter

The Far Cry: Compilation

Is a collection of Far Cry games released on on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, includes Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. The compilation was created to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Far Cry brand, and released only in North America. Contrary to its European edition, The Wild Expedition, this collection does not feature the original Far Cry game.

The Far Cry: Wild Expedition

The Far Cry: Wild Expedition is a compilation bundle of the games in the Far Cry franchise, released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original game. The bundle contains Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, whilst releases outside of the United States additionally include Far Cry Classic, an HD remake of the first game in the series.

Main Series Story

Far Cry - (2004)

Main article: Far Cry (video game)

Far Cry is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004 for Windows.

Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. The game's story follows an ex Special Forces operator named Jack Carver, who is stranded on a mysterious archipelago in Micronesia. He is searching for a female journalist he was escorting after she went missing when their sailboat was destroyed by mercenaries.

Far Cry 2 - (2008)

Main article: Far Cry 2

The plot revolves around "The Jackal" who has turned two fictional factions in Africa against each other. The game's sandbox gameplay has been highly touted, allowing the player access to 50 km² of African terrain, complete with open savannah, forests, animals, and towns. The game was released on October 21, 2008 in North America and October 24, 2008 in Europe.

Far Cry 3 - (2012)

Main article: Far Cry 3

The plot revolves around Jason Brody and his friends, American tourists who arrive on an unmarked set of islands in the Pacific and are abducted by pirates who lay claim to the land, led by the insane Vaas. Jason escapes, and must learn the ways of the jungle to survive and rescue his friends. The game was released on November 29, 2012 in Australia, November 30 in Europe, and December 4 in North America.

Far Cry 4 - (2014)

Main article: Far Cry 4

Set in the fictional country of Kyrat in the Himalayas region, which is currently ruled by a despotic self-appointed king named Pagan Min. The protagonist, Ajay Ghale, is caught in a war and has to overthrow Min, when he is instructed by his late mother to travel again, from the U.S., to his homeland to spread her ashes there. The game was released on November 18, 2014 in Australia and North America, and November 20, 2014 in Europe.

Spin-Offs

The franchise has received a lot of spin-offs, stand-alone and expansion instalment, alongside a compilation and HD Remake of the first game.

Far Cry Instincts

Main article: Far Cry Instincts

Developed and published by Ubisoft for the Xbox console, it resembles the earlier PC game Far Cry. However, the gameplay is not as open-ended as the latter. It makes up for this by including extra multiplayer modes through the Xbox Live service, alongside new abilities (feral powers) and a map creator mode which allows the users to create their own maps for multiplayer. Ports were also planned for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube, however, due to unknown reasons, these ports were never released.

Far Cry Instincts: Evolution

Main article: Far Cry Instincts: Evolution

A sequel to Far Cry Instincts, released for the Xbox on March 27, 2006. Evolution includes a new single-player campaign, although it is considerably shorter than the campaign found in Far Cry Instincts. The game also includes new weapons and vehicles, as well as an expanded map-maker and an extra multiplayer mode. Maps that are created on the Xbox version of 'Instincts' can not be transferred to the Xbox 360 version.

Far Cry Instincts: Predator

Main article: Far Cry Instincts: Predator

Far Cry Instincts: Predator, an Xbox 360 title, was released on the same day as Evolution. It includes graphically enhanced versions of both Far Cry Instincts and Evolution.

It featured a map editor in which the player can create maps. Characters on online play are basic clones of Jack Carver but can be edited; the character still has the tattoo "Karma" on his shooting arm.

Paradise Lost

Main article: Paradise Lost (video game)

Paradise Lost is a rail shooter arcade game port of Far Cry Instincts developed by Global VR and published by Ubisoft in 2007. Its light guns are similar to those of Aliens: Extermination. Players use stationary turrets armed with rockets and grenades as power-ups.

Far Cry Vengeance

Main article: Far Cry Vengeance

A video game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Wii console, released on December 12, 2006 in North America. It is the second Wii game released in North America to have a M-rated ESRB. Its storyline is similar to Far Cry Instincts: Evolution, the previous Xbox title. Far Cry Vengeance has pretty much the same story as Evolution, but also features three new levels, new weapons and vehicles, and changed controls.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Main article: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Blood Dragon is a stand-alone "expansion pack" based on the world of Far Cry 3. Although Blood Dragon does not continue the story of Far Cry 3, it shares the same game engine and gameplay mechanics. News of its development was leaked by the Brazilian ratings board, which awarded an 18+ certification based on the title's references to violence, sex, and drugs. The game's retrospective story, characters and visual style are inspired by 1980's action movies, especially the films of Arnold Schwarzenegger, such as Commando, The Terminator, and Predator, and Sylvester Stallone in Cobra, First Blood, and Rocky IV. Other film/television references include RoboCop, Escape from New York, Scarface and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among others. Pre-orders of the PC version received a digital copy of the soundtrack, produced by Melbourne, Australia-based Power Glove. Due to the success of the title, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that the game may also get a retail release.

Far Cry Primal

Main article: Far Cry Primal

Announced in October 2015, Far Cry Primal was released on February 23, 2016 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and in March 2016 for Microsoft Windows. The game is set in the Stone Age, and revolves around the story of Takkar, who starts off as an unarmed hunter and rises to become the leader of a tribe. Far Cry Primal was developed by Ubisoft Montreal.

Main Series Release and Reception

Titles in the Far Cry series

Release	Title	PC	6th Gen	7th Gen	8th Gen	GameRankings	Metacritic	Developer
2004	Far Cry	Windows	N/A	N/A	N/A	89.38%	89/100	Crytek
2005	Far Cry Instincts	N/A	Xbox	N/A	N/A	86.67%	85/100	Ubisoft Montreal
2006	Far Cry Instincts: Evolution	N/A	Xbox	N/A	N/A	76.62%	78/100
	Far Cry Instincts: Predator	N/A	N/A	X360	N/A	77.03%	78/100
	Far Cry Vengeance	N/A	N/A	Wii	N/A	37.71%	38/100
2007	Paradise Lost	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2008	Far Cry 2	Windows	N/A	X360, PS3	N/A	84.42%	85/100
2012	Far Cry 3	Windows	N/A	X360, PS3	N/A	89.18%	91/100
	Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon	Windows	N/A	X360, PS3	N/A	83.85%	80/100
2014	Far Cry: The Wild Expedition	Windows	N/A	X360, PS3	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Far Cry: Compilation	Windows	N/A	X360, PS3	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Far Cry 4	Windows	N/A	X360, PS3	XONE, PS4	85.00%	87/100
2016	Far Cry Primal	Windows	N/A	N/A	XONE, PS4	79.45%	77/100

Games and reception

Title	Release date	Information
Far Cry	2004	Far Cry is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004 for Windows. Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. The game's story follows an ex Special Forces operator named Jack Carver, who is stranded on a mysterious archipelago in Micronesia. He is searching for a female journalist he was escorting after she went missing when their sailboat was destroyed by mercenaries.
Far Cry Instincts	2005	Far Cry Instincts is a video game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Xbox console. It was planned for Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 as well but those versions were canceled. There are some significant changes from the PC game Far Cry. As Instincts was designed more with consoles in mind, the maps are less open-ended since consoles were incapable of rendering the PC version's vast islands. It makes up for this by including extra multiplayer modes through the Xbox Live service, alongside new abilities (feral powers) and a map creator mode which allows the users to create their own maps for multiplayer.
Far Cry Instincts: Evolution	2006	Far Cry Instincts: Evolution is a sequel to Instincts and was released for the Xbox on March 27, 2006. Evolution includes a new single-player campaign, although it is considerably shorter than the campaign found in Far Cry Instincts. The storyline focuses on Jack Carver's work for a woman named Kade, which results in him being hunted by local governments due to a frame-up during a botched arms deal.
Far Cry Instincts: Predator	2006	Far Cry Instincts: Predator, an Xbox 360 title, was released on the same day as Evolution. It includes graphically enhanced versions of both Far Cry Instincts and Evolution.
Far Cry Vengeance	2006	Far Cry Vengeance is a video game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Wii console. It was released on December 12, 2006. Far Cry: Vengeance is similar to Far Cry Instincts: Evolution in that Vengeance has essentially the same story as Evolution, and also features three new levels, new weapons and vehicles, and different controls.
Paradise Lost	2007	Paradise Lost is an Arcade version of Far Cry Instincts released in 2007 by Global VR.
Far Cry 2	2008	Far Cry 2 is the second installment in the series. Players choose their character from among nine different mercenaries, none of whom are Jack Carver, though some argued that Carver is The Jackal character. Both have very similar traits and descriptions. The plot revolves around "The Jackal" who has turned two fictional factions in Africa against each other. The player must stop him in the 50 km2 open world. The AI is said to be highly intelligent, both with respect to the player and their surroundings. The game's 'sandbox' game play has been highly touted, allowing the player access to 50 km2 of African terrain, complete with open savannah, forests, animals, and towns. The game was released on October 21, 2008 in North America and October 24, 2008 in Europe.
Far Cry 3	2012	Jason Brody and his friends, American tourists arrive on an unmarked set of islands and are abducted by pirates who lay claim to the land, led by the insane Vaas. Jason escapes, and must learn the ways of the jungle to survive and rescue his friends.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon	2013	Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a stand-alone expansion to the 2012 open-world FPS Far Cry 3, developed by Ubisoft Montreal. The game takes place on a bizarre open-world island crawling with evil and stars '80s action man Michael Biehn (The Terminator and Aliens) in the role of eye-patched protagonist Sergeant Rex Power Colt, whose mission it is to defeat a rogue cyborg army.
Far Cry: The Wild Expedition	2014	Far Cry: The Wild Expedition is a compilation consisting of the original Far Cry, Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. The original Far Cry is an HD remake titled Far Cry Classic. It also got a standalone release on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.
Far Cry: Compilation	2014	Far Cry Compilation is only a compilation consisting of Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Far Cry brand.
Far Cry 4	2014	Far Cry 4 takes place in the fictional Himalayan region (most likely Nepal) named Kyrat. The player assumes the role of Ajay Ghale attempting to fulfill his mother's dying wish by spreading her Ashes in Kyrat. Ghale gets caught in the midst of a brutal civil war between the Golden Path and Pagan Min's Royal Army.
Far Cry Primal	2016	Far Cry Primal is set in the Stone Age as the players assumes the role of hunter Takkar.

Game directors and writers

Games	Director	Writer(s)
Far Cry	Cevat Yerli	Alexis Nolent
Far Cry 2	Clint Hocking	Armand Constantine, Susan O'Connor & Patrick Redding
Far Cry 3	Patrick Plourde & Patrik Méthé	Jeffrey Yohalem, Lucien Soulban & Li Kuo
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon	Dean Evans & Alexandre Letendre	Lucien Soulban
Far Cry 4	Alex Hutchinson & Patrik Méthé	C.J. Kershner, Lucien Soulban, Liz Albl & Li Kuo
Far Cry Primal	Jean-Christophe Guyot & Maxime Béland	Kevin Shortt

Main game series characters

Character	Voice Actors
	Far Cry (2004)	Far Cry 2 (2008)	Far Cry 3 (2012)	Far Cry 4 (2014)
Jack Carver	Peter Thias
Harlan Doyle	Cornell Womack
Valerie Constantine	Adriana Anderson
Dr. George Wilhelm Krieger	Robert Burns
Colonel Richard Crowe	Ken Samuels
The Jackal		Dwayne Hill
Reuben Oluwagembi		Andy Marshall
Oliver Tambossa		Bayo Akinfemi
Dr. Leonid Gakumba		Carlos Diaz
Flora Guillen		Chantal Quesnelle
Jason Brody			Gianpaolo Venuta
Riley Brody			Alex Harrouch
Vaas Montenegro			Michael Mando
Hoyt Volker			Steve Cumyn
Liza Snow			Mylène Dinh-Robic
Citra Talugmai			Faye Kingslee
Dr. Alec Earnhardt			Martin Kevan
Keith Ramsay			James A. Woods
Agent Willis Huntley			Alain Goulem
Hurk			Dylan Taylor
Ajay Ghale				James A. Woods
Pagan Min				Troy Baker
Yuma				Gwendoline Yeo
Paul "De Pleur" Harmon				Travis Willingham
Noore				Mylène Dinh-Robic
Amita				Janina Gavankar
Sabal				Naveen Andrews
Raju				Saad Siddiqui
Kirat				Grace Lynn Kung
Rabi Ray Rana				Hasan Minhaj
Kalinag				Ajay Mehta
Bhadra				Dharini Woollcombe

Spin-off game series characters

Character	Voice Actors
	Far Cry Instincts (2005)	Far Cry Instincts: Evolution (2006)	Far Cry Instincts: Predator (2006)	Far Cry Vengeance (2006)	Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (2013)	Far Cry Primal (2016)
Jack Carver	Stephen Dorff			unknown
Harlan Doyle	Mark Camacho
Sgt. Valerie Cortez	Luis de Cespedes
Dr. George Wilhelm Krieger	Robert Burns
Colonel Richard Crowe	John Topor
Sgt. Rex 'Power' Colt					Michael Biehn
Dr. Elizabeth Darling					Grey DeLisle
T.T. 'Spider' Brown					Phil LaMarr
Colonel Ike Sloan					Danny Blanco Hall
Dr. Carlyle					Robin Atkin Downes
Takkar						Elias Toufexis
Urki						Dylan Taylor
Shaman Tensay						T.C. Carson
Batari						Debra Wilson

Live-Action Adaptation

• A direct-to-video-film based on the video game released in 2008 was directed by Uwe Boll and stars Til Schweiger as Jack Carver, the film follow Jack Carver an ex-special forces soldier turned boatman is hired by a journalist to investigate a top-secret military base on a nearby island; the films received negative reviews with most critics saying it does the games no justice.
• An official Far Cry film is currently in development by Ubisoft Motion Pictures along with a Watch Dogs and Raving Rabbids film, this time, produced by Ubisoft Motion Pictures

See also

• Crysis

External links

• Official website
• Official Far Cry Community site