Far Cry: Instincts Predator, Evolution

• Platform: Xbox 360, Xbox
• Published by: Ubisoft
• Developed by: Ubisoft
• Release Date: Mar 28, 2006
• Genre: Action
• Multiplayer: Yes
• Online: Yes

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Far Cry: Instincts Predator / Evolution Interview

-- March 28, 2006 by: David Craddock

What do great view distances, lush environments, and awesome weaponry have in common? Well, for those of us that sit in front of televisions and/or computers all day, only two things: wallpapers—and Far Cry! It was just last fall that Far Cry made the rather successful transition to the Xbox platform (a PS2 version was in development, but was unfortunately canceled) in the form of Far Cry: Instincts. Today, approximately six months later, Far Cry returns to the Xbox and makes its Xbox 360 debut. Are Far Cry: Instincts Evolution (Xbox 1; henceforth FCIE) or Far Cry: Instincts Predator (X360; henceforth FCIP) worth your hard-earned dollar, especially if you already own the original, PC Far Cry or Far Cry: Instincts? I had a chance to talk with Ubisoft's Bertrand Helias, Producer of the Far Cry games, to find out.

The real difference (and yet similarity) between Evolution and Predator comes in what each game contains. Instincts Evolution is a brand new storyline that builds on the original Instincts from last September. If you already have Instincts, and you enjoyed it, you'll want to pick up Instincts Evolution. The real emphasis is on Predator. This Xbox 360 title includes the original Xbox Far Cry: Instincts, (with some sprucing up) as well as the brand new Evolution campaign—again, with some touch-ups to make it look more like an X360 title. So to make everything absolutely clear: if you own an Xbox 1 and you want a new Far Cry game, get Instincts Evolution. If you own a 360 and already own Instincts but want to play Evolution, (or you haven't played through Instincts at all for whatever reason) get Predator.

Now that we've got that out of the way, what are the other differences? Bertrand explains it best: "Our goal was to provide the ultimate FCI experience on X360. So, you will see enhanced graphics which uses the three X360’s processing cores." Graphical superiority is rather expected, so what else? "We also beefed up action sequences with more stuff happening on screen at the same time (i.e. certain scenes in Instincts were about a couple of enemies here and there and now the same scenes can have several enemies waiting for you plus some helicopters flying in with reinforcement, etc.). We made this version more challenging than the original Instincts."

What about Jack Carver? What's he been up to since Instincts concluded? Sitting around doing a lot of nothing, really. "He returned to his home port in Micronesia," Bertrand says. "He thought he’d found paradise. But when a gorgeous woman draws him in on a dangerous heist, their sun drenched days take a chilling turn. Hunted for a murder he didn’t commit, Jack must draw on his most savage instincts to make his predators his prey." Darn those gorgeous women. What can you do, really?

Anyone that has played through the original Instincts will be familiar with Jack's Feral Abilities, but for those new to the series or those of you that have only played the original Far Cry on PC, a bit of explanation is in order. Feral Abilities are essentially super powers. Some make you stronger, faster, what have you. All Feral Abilities from FCIE return in Evolution, (and Predator, of course) but as expected, there are new Ferals to sink your teeth into. "One new feature is Feral Climbing," Bertrand says, "which allows him to climb on some surfaces [e.g., trees and cliffs] that will become handy at certain points in the game. Jack is also capable of performing a Feral Attack from underwater. His Feral jump has also improved as he can jump and reach higher places."

Besides savage new Feral Abilities, Jack will also have access to some new vehicles and weapons; three of each, actually. On the vehicle side of things, Bertrand says, we have "a Pirate Boat mounted with a machine gun, a Military Transport Truck and a Technical Truck mounted with a weapon in its rear bed." As far as weapons, you'll see "a blow gun with poisonous darts (it can kill or remove Feral powers), a Molotov cocktail and a Pipe bomb (you can place up to 4 bombs before detonating them)."

A feature that, quite frankly, is quite new to console gamers, is a map editor, first introduced in the original Far Cry: Instincts. First and foremost, Instincts maps are not backwards-compatible with FCIE or FCIP maps. Bummer, but hey, out with the old... actually, no, that just sucks. However, there are plenty of new features to entice players new to the Far Cry universe, as well as lure back FCI veterans, and PC level lords eager to test their design prowess on the console crowd. "Zips lines, mounted guns, new brushes, new functions...." These are just some of the new features that Bertrand has whipped his crew into including. You'll be able to trade maps over Xbox Live, and it wouldn't be surprising to see official map (packs?) released on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Speaking of multiplayer... this is an FPS. It really should be there, and fortunately, it is. All game modes from FCI return, and there is a new to keep you from being productive: Seek and Secure. Bertrand explains: "Players have to locate the active station and hold it for his team. The station must be successfully defended for the duration of the countdown to be “secured.” The opposing team fights to seize the station from the defenders. Once the contested station is secured, a new station is activated. Of course our multiplayer modes support both Xbox Live and the System link up to 16 players."

Evolution might provide a good reason to keep your original Xbox console out of the back-of-the-closet-graveyard just yet. And of course, for Xbox 360 gamers interested in first-person experiences that showcase automatics instead of magic wands, Predator will provide the lush graphics and fast-paced game play FPS games are known for. Both games should be showing up in stores this week.

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