Far Cry: New Dawn
PlayStation 4
Before Playing:
I first played through Far Cry V earlier in the year. Shortly after finishing the game, I heard about New Dawn - a direct continuation of the game's storyline. I wasn't sure if it was DLC, a whole new game, or what. But I decided to check it out.
I'd heard almost nothing about the game coming into it, so I had no idea what to expect from it. Is it bad? Good? Who knows! Let's get this review rolling and see if I liked it or not.
Story:
As I just mentioned, this is a direct continuation of Far Cry V. Since that game has multiple endings, it is important to know that the "nuclear apocalypse" ending was the canon ending.
The country is starting to rebuild itself. People are coming out of bunkers. Civilization is in the middle of being restored. Action takes place in Hope County, site of Far Cry V. Rebuilding efforts are stunted by a malicious group known as the Highwaymen. The Highwaymen are led by two very memorable villains - a set of evil twins named Mickey and Lou.
The Highwaymen attack a train that is bringing in supplies to Prosperity, a small colony on the rise. They take captive a man named Rush. Rush is a very knowledgeable man who likes to travel around the country to help people rebuild. Of course, Mickey and Lou want him all for themselves.
It's your job to take down these Highwaymen and rescue Rush. To do so, you need to join the people of Prosperity and help them build their community and their fighting forces. You also need to enlist the help of the people of New Eden, the remnants of the cult from Far Cry V. And wouldn't you know it, their leader Joseph Seed survived the ending of the last game.
I don't really play Far Cry games for their stories. They are almost always the same thing - recovering a group of land from an evil, oppressive force. That's pretty much the same thing here. There may be a few character-related twists and turns along the way, but nothing too serious.
Gameplay:
This game is fairly easy to pick up and play. Normally, I find that Far Cry games have a small learning curve, but this one I was able to jump right into. Maybe it's because I'd just played Far Cry V earlier in the year. Or maybe these games are all the same and there isn't anything for me to figure out anymore. Could be either or.
That probably sounds like I'm being negative about the game, but I'm really not. Sometimes more of the same thing can be a good thing. And that's the case here. I enjoyed this game. It's nothing new, it's nothing revolutionary, but I enjoyed it.
If you've played Far Cry before, you should have no problem with this game. It's a first person shooter. There's a big map full of collectibles. You can walk or drive around and open up new locations on the map. You complete story missions, such as "go here and kill all these people" or "go here and rescue this person." You attack enemy bases and kill all the bad guys to reclaim the land. They see you, they sound the alarm, more bad guys come. You hunt, you fish, you scavenge plants. You can sell these things to buy new weapons or items. You gain experience points. You use them to level up your characters in different areas (combat, foraging, etc.). You have a weapon wheel. There are stealth elements. Stop me if any of this sounds familiar.
There are a few things that make New Dawn unique. I like how you take part in the active rebuilding of Prosperity. You use the ethanol you collect on missions to upgrade different "stations" within the town. For example, if you upgrade the cartography section, you unlock new maps to purchase. Upgrade the workbench, and you can craft stronger weapons. Upgrade the first aid station to improve your health, etc.
As ethanol can be pretty rare, the game gives you the option to let the Highwaymen reclaim bases that you've already taken over. You can then come back and reclaim them again, albeit at a higher difficulty, for more ethanol.
The game also allows you to go on raiding missions that take place in locations outside of the game map, to bring home supplies or other needed items. While things are open world for the most part, these very much feel like "levels" to complete. Not that I think that's a bad thing.
My main companion was the dog for most of the game, as he can sniff out enemies and hidden items, and mark them for you. I don't know how people get by without the dog. I'm naturally bad at looking for things, so I can't imagine finding the secrets without him. He sure makes combat a lot easier too, as he marks the enemies in red for you. I don't know what it is about this game, but I had an exceptionally hard time seeing enemies for some reason. Sometimes I'd walk up to an enemy base, knowing there's probably at least ten people in there, but then I couldn't find a single damn one of them looking around visually with my eyes. That's why the dog comes in so much handy. Other times, I'd be in the middle of a fight with an enemy, getting hit by their bullets, and I still couldn't see them, even though their red icon was RIGHT in front of me on the map. Am I the only one who struggled with this?
Graphics:
The game looks great, as expected from a far Cry title. Good characters. Good locales. The rivers, roads, and countrysides are breathtaking, especially when viewed from up high. Maybe it is the nuclear effect on things, but the whole game was extra bright and shiny.
I found some of the landscape decisions to be a little weird, though. I get that the nuclear explosion created some mutated plants and animals. But the pink aesthetic is a little odd. I realize that much of that is graffiti from the Highwaymen, but I thought it clashed with how great everything else looked. As good as the game looked overall, there were other parts of the game where I found myself going "hmm" at some of the creative decisions.
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Sound:
I have nothing to complain about here. Voice acting is good. The score is good. The atmospheric effects are good. The guns sound like guns and the explosions sound like explosions.
The licensed music is what I'll remember the most. I always look forward to seeing what songs are going to be in each Far Cry game. This one definitely has some bangers, highlighted by Daydream Believer, That's the Way I Like It, Tequila, and Duke of Earl. Oldies, but goodies.
Overall:
The Far Cry formula hasn't stopped working for me yet. I suppose it's only a matter of time before I start to "judge" these games for all being the same, kind of like I do with the Lego games. But that time isn't here yet. I thoroughly had a good time with this game. I won't say I was jumping up and down out of my seat over it, but I liked it. It passes the time well. You can sit down with the intention of only playing a mission or two, and then get sucked into playing it for the entire night. It's that kind of game.
It's not a revolutionary title. It doesn't reinvent the wheel. You've probably seen and played dozes of games like this in your life. But dang it, I liked it. Maybe I'm easy to impress. Maybe I was just in the mood for a good "turn your brain off" game like this. Whatever it is, I'll remember my time with this game fondly. I can't see myself playing through this game again (as it would probably mean I'm replaying the entire Far Cry series again), but that's alright.
THE GRADE:
B
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