10.10.2016

Like most people I raised my eyebrow when they announced a cave man FPS and thought to myself "nah, it will have magic or something in that basically means it has guns" but much to my surprise and pleasure it doesn't. It is just a legit cave man simulator.The design philosophy here definitely seems to be less is more after previous Far Cry games. There are less weapons but they all feel useful (except the two handed club which is bad and should feel bad), there are less characters but they were all memorable and in general there is just a bit less of everything but as a result it feels more consequential.The game starts as it means to go on with a genuinely exciting scene where you have to hunt a Mammoth with your tribe.It all goes a bit pear shaped as you realise just how dangerous life was for our hairy ancestors and by the time you have finished the tutorial and have access to the larger world of Oros you will be well versed in hunting and gathering.The survival aspect of Far Cry really comes to the fore in the first half of this game as you have to constantly hunt and gather items for crafting weapons and gear. You will spend a large amount of time collecting wood and stone but this time round there is an option in the menu to turn off the gathering animation. So when you do get bored of watching your arms skin animals, grab branches and pluck leaves you can turn it off and everything becomes much quicker. As you grow your tribe you will recieve regular deliveries of crafting equipment and your own gathering will take a back seat as you rely more on your stash to replenish your goods. This definitely feels like a reward for your hard work though rather than an easy mode.Weapons are obviously compltely different from previous games and even the bow and arrow doesn't handle anything like their modern counterparts in previous games. Off the top of my head there are I think, six main weapons and they all have their uses. There are also plenty secondary weapons like various bombs and throwing weapons. My favourite being the beserk bomb and dart which works just like it does in Assassin's Creed where you can make enemies go loco and do the work for you. In fact by the end of the game I would say most of time I didn't even engage in combat directly. Instead I relied on the enemies killing each other and my trusty beast companions.Onto those beast companions then. One of the main gimmicks of the game is that you have a way with fluffy things and they want to be your best mate. So you throw food at them and wave your hand about a bit to bond and then POW! You have a fluffy companion. Most of them are pretty useless. The game doesn't really limit where you can go once you are past the tutorial so you will probably grab the Sabretooth Tiger and then once you do you won't have much need for anything else. He is deadly, rideable and cute as hell. A real triple threat. It does add a nice additional layer to combat though as you can guide your beasts to murder people for you. You also gain an Owl buddy who works like the camera from Far Cry 4 if the camera from Far Cry 4 had wings and could drop bombs on people. Which it couldn't. Fly your Owl overhead and he will mark enemies for you, then with upgrades it will gain some extra combat abilities to cause extra trouble.As for those abilities. I would say this is the one area where the game could have done with chilling out a bit and cut some of them out. Each character you recruit to your tribe comes with their own set of abilities to teach you. So there is a the shaman, the hunter, the inventor and so on and so forth. All in all there are 77 skills and a lot of then you will only unlock so you can get the one next to it. Once you gain a certain amoiunt of XP you gain a skill point. Then on top of that there are a bunch of missions that will give you a skill point for completing them.So how about those missions? Again I would say there are less overall than previous Far Cry games. Both story and side missions. Most side missions will fall into a few different categories. Escort missions, animal murder, human murder. There is a bit of variety within each of those groups but you get the idea. The main story is a bit shorter than previous games but doesn't outlive its welcome. It also merges really well with the side missions and open world gameplay. There are no moments where you will be told "oh no, Mike the Cave Man is about to die if you don't help!" so you go and spend four hours messing about only to do the main missions and Mike tell you thank god you were just in time. Much like MGS5. Everything you do in the gameplay feels like you are advancing the story because the basic story is all about rebuilding your tribe and stopping the bad guy that is preventing you from doing so. So even though there isn't much in the way of drama, it does manage to provide a cohesive story in an open world. Something I think Ubisoft especially have never managed to get right before.Finally on a technical level the game is very good. I usually buy games on my PS4 if I have a choice but was running out of HDD space so decided to take a chance on the Xbox One version and it looks great and runs great. I don't remember getting any frame rate issues and had no crashes in the 20 hours I played. The only issue I had was with one particular defend a point mission. For some reason the enemies would run away on one of the waves and if you aren't quick they will just keep running and running but won't count as defeated. However it is an optional and recurring mission so not really a problem.Overall I liked it a lot. Played great, looked and sounded great and wasn't too long or too short. After finishing the main story I was left wanting more but that was just a result of it being very fun to play. Not of me feeling short changed.

24.2.2016

Game designers always seem to struggle to come up with something new, but Ubisoft seem to have hit upon something original with Far Cry Primal. Rather than yet another first person shooter with guns and remote third world locations Far Cry Primal is set way back in 10,000 BC. While many of the gameplay mechanics may seem familiar to fans of the Far Cry series the setting is completely different and brings a refreshing change to the franchise.2016 Seems to be the year for naturalistic games, first with Far Cry Primal, and then Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn due out later in the year. One of the reasons for this is the PS4's ability to render spectacular real world environments. The graphics in Primal are outstanding,with the vegetation and wildlife really bringing the world of 10,000 BC to life. It is a beautiful world to explore, with an imaginative mix of locations and creatures to discover.A lot of effort has gone in to making this world technically accurate. There are no anachronistic dinosaurs wandering around but only the sort of creatures and plants who were thought to inhabit the stone age world. Similarly the tribes of humans you encounter in the game are really well researched in regards to their technology and society. Clearly it is not 100% accurate, but neither is archaeology, there is a fair amount of guess work to fill in the blanks and provide colour. The creators of Far Cry Primal have designed this game with a surprising amount of consideration for the setting, much of it based on knowledge of Native American tribes. A good example of this is the fictional language the tribesmen speak, based on similar primitive languages but developed uniquely for this game.In the game you play Takkar, a member of a human tribe, fighting to stay alive and fend off both dangerous animals and enemy tribes. Takkar has a unique ability to tame wild beasts which develops as the game progresses. Similar to previous Far Cry games you earn experience to unlock skill trees, learning new abilities as you go on. Much of the gameplay involves exploring the land, finding crafting materials to upgrade your weapons and tools, and fighting with enemy tribes. You can find new tribe members as you explore, and each has specific story driven missions for you to fulfil. As you might expect weapons are fairly basic, ranging from clubs and bows to the highly versatile spear (the AK47 of the Stone Age).Sadly there is no multiplayer or co-op mode on Primal, which is surprising as previous Far Cry games have included these. However there are many, many hours of gameplay involved if you want to complete the game. As well as the story driven missions there is a lot of exploring to be done (the map is huge) and finding collectables (for the completionists). There are numerous missions to aid your tribe, and more unlock as you progress, as well as randomly generated missions which will still be playable long after you have finished the main story. A multiplayer tribe vs tribe game would have been the icing on the cake but for once its not really necessary in a game that offers so much.Overall I found Far Cry Primal to be a welcome change from the technologically heavy first person shooters of recent years. The chance to go back to basics and explore a unique and interesting world makes it stand out much more than another techno-shooter. However I think you do need to have some interest in this period of history, and some appreciation of the natural world to really enjoy the game. While there are some quite dramatic story developments as the game progresses the majority of the game is spent exploring naturalistic environments and cave and hut dwellings. If this is not your thing then you have been warned. But for those who like the idea of taming wild bears, hunting woolly mammoths and fighting tribes of vicious cannibals Far Cry Primal should be a blast from the past.

28.2.2016

Every year we get new updates of the same old stuff. Call of Duty, is a prime example. The same could be said about Assassins Creed. A franchise is ome thing, but same old tat with new colours is something else. The Far Cry series was edging close to this category. A bit samey.Far Cry Primal however, makes a bold and deliberate movement to keep fans of the franchise happy but at the same time take the game in a new and exciting direction. It feels as though FC Primal is a direct challenge to the culture of spin offs and endless add ons.To begin with, Far Cry Primal couldn't be more different than it's predecessors right from the offset. It's set 10,000BC for a start. It's still a 1st person shooter,

29.3.2016

It doesn't say much, but as far as open world games have gone on the PS4 so far, this is one of the better ones.Pros:-Lovely graphics, looks great all the time.-Nice rpg elements, not complex at all, yet not so simple that they're pointless.-Fun to play. I expected lots of walking around, doing samey things, which you are but actually it doesn't take long to get from a-to-b, especially once you start riding your tamed beast, plus there's always fast travel. And whilst the tasks can be samey, it's fun to try to improve your skills and get some additional XP for stealth or whatever.-Good action and gore. It's always fun to kill. Killing is fun.-Control system works very well.

24.2.2016

I have to say I was a little doubtful that this sort of change to the series would actually work, but I was way off.I'll start off saying that upon first look when I booted the game up first time was that the map was large, but after a bit of exploring its actually massive. And all of it is wonderfully rendered with its night and day cycles adding much more to the world in more ways then one.It does take about an hour to actually get into the game as a whole but its well worth it, hunting for meat and materials to expand your village and update your arsenal is a little grinding at first but its something that you can do really at anytime without feeling that you are being forced to do it in order to progress.

17.6.2016

After playing Far Cry 4 and loving every second of it I found it hard to imagine becoming a caveman with no guns, vehicles or flight. I needn't have worried. As soon as you start the game it guides you towards what you have to do. From crafting weapons to your aid - The Owl.The addition of your owl, which you can use as a weapon or a scout to survey areas, is a brilliant idea. Further on in the game you get the addition of animals to tame. From wild dogs, cats of various forms and bears. You can even use some of them as transport. I have to say that's it's pretty damn fun riding a Sabretooth Tiger like a horse.I barely even touched the storyline until about halfway through my gameplay as there's plenty of side missions,

3.4.2016

As a veteran of all the entries in the "Far Cry" series I'll admit I was a little dubious about this release as videos I'd seen just somehow seemed to make it look like a bit of a one trick pony. Now a dozen or so hours in, I'm enjoying it, but truth be known I'm still not completely sure I'm sold.It's important to note that I "am" enjoying it and I think that if you've enjoyed the previous "Far Cry" outings then there's certainly fun to be had here. There's a large map stuffed to the gills with things to do and the immersion factor is certainly high as you creep through the undergrowth going about your latest objective while trying to to end up on the menu of the local carnivorous wildlife

27.2.2016

I am thoroughly enjoying this game! I have played Far Cry 2,3 and 4, the latter on PS4, the former on PC, and loved them all, especially FC4.For those who loved FC 3 & 4 then you will like this. The game play and mechanics of the game are the same as FC4, so you'd quickly be able to get into the game.The graphics have been given a facelift from FC4 and in this Primal carnation they are simply stunning. Unlike the previous titles in the series there are no guns, no rockets, no vehicles or other modern day things. This one takes place in 10,000 BC, the Stone Age. As such you have bows, arrows, spears and axes. The terrain is vary much wilderness and the animals include woolly mammoths,

28.2.2016

Far cry primal is, in my opinion, the best in the series. First of all, the setting only allows for simplistic melee weapons and ranged combat. This makes combat far more fun and exhilarating. Kills are satisfying, an require a degree of skill, especially with the spear which never gets boring. The bow and arrow now plays a central role in the game, and as such it's fantastic mechanic in the game finally comes to light. You can't just gun down an enemy camp in two seconds, you need those vital headshots, and to plan ahead before you do so.Wildlife has always been a brilliant aspect of far cry. You never know when any number of beasts could jump you in the wild. Animals have realistic appearance,

24.2.2016

Less than 24-hours of its release and some people are already trying to slate this game for being underwhelming. Let me tell you honestly, Primal is little like Far Cry 4 and using a machine gun will always outweigh swinging a flimsy club about. But that’s the point of Primal, it’s taking you to an age that hasn’t been touched on in gaming since Chuck Rock back on the Sega Mega Drive. Remember, these same 1-star reviewers are quite happy to blow £40 on the latest COD every time it comes out and then whinge that it’s the same as the last one (and the last); but here Ubisoft are brave enough to try something entirely different and it works very well.Without going into too much detail,

11.3.2016

Brilliant Game. Fantastic Graphics and a completely unique concept. Those who are saying it is a rehash of Far Cry 4 are mistaken. The ideas are completely different. One has a focus on arms combat, the other a focus on developing a civilisation for a tribe. Granted it does have some of the key traits of a Far Cry game such as outposts and skill upgrading, but this is part of the same frachise after all!Pros:Hugely addictive - I can't get to my mission without ending up sidetracked claiming an outpost, rescuing a tribesman or trying to tame my latest companion.Tameable animals are very unique to one another - some have sheer strength that other animals are too frightened to even approach,

25.2.2016

I'll base this first review on the time I've spent so far (around 10 hours), and I'll update as soon as I finish the game, hopefully this will help some other people to make a purchase decision.The game may be called Far Cry but it could have been named differently, what this game shares with Far Cry is just some control and game mechanics such as using R3 button to take down other people, or the fact that you need to harvest and hunt to survive, just that in this case it actually makes sense to harvest and hunt!The immersion in this game is incredible, such is the level of detail and the amount of vegetation on screen that it's clearly a challenge to find what you're looking for without being spotted by anyone else (or animal),

28.3.2016

This did take a while to get into and generally a very similar game to FC3 & 4 (I.e. go to this place and kill these guys etc). However it's the story and the weapons and taming of animals that really set the game apart.1st the weapons, you will start with a 1 hand club and a spear, both of which is good and can be thrown (spear in particular). As you progress through the game you will be able to upgrade these weapons and obtain new ones, such as a 2 hand club and a long bow (my particular favourite). This obviously is to fit with the 10m BC time period (not entirely sure all of them would have been used during this time like bows so take this with a pinch of salt).Next the animals,

23.2.2016

I am a big fan of the Far Cry game series and I am in strong belief that Far Cry 4 was one of the best games that I've played in the last 10 years. I have been waiting patiently for this game but the wait has been well worth it. This game is captivating and enjoyable and fulfils the expectations of a Far Cry game.What I like:There are not many games which offer a stone age stroyline and the design and though that has gone into this game is brilliant. The graphics are what you would expect from a next gen game offering a wide array of landscapes across a huge map. My favourite aspect of this game so far is the wild animals, who ever thought you would be able to tame a wild Sabertooth Tiger to fight on your side,

25.2.2016

I've been a FarCry aficionado since the magnificent PC only original (which, incidentally, was much more open than it's stripped down console adaptation, Instincts).I admit I was sceptical about how this latest would play out with only primitive weapons to hand and It took a couple of hours for me to get it, but after the first major skirmish with an opposing tribe, and the subsequent retaliation, I was hooked. My advice to anyone wanting to get the most out of this game would be to start on Hard to bring in the survival factor. There is a much greater emphasis on planning your attacks, knowing your surroundings, and split second reactions in order to survive.

Far Cry: Primal - Reviews

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