The first part of the game is more like a shooter in that you’re a lone
gunman making your way through enemy territory. However, things will change
dramatically when you are captured by the island’s resident mad scientist and
given a special inoculation. This inoculation will give you beast-like powers
and needless to say the gameplay will change from this point on. Super strength
and speed are just part of the package. You’ll also gain the ability to heal
yourself and pick up a devastating claw attack. The really unique one in the
bunch, though, is your heightened sense of smell. This will allow you to see the
scent trails left behind by your enemies and let you know exactly where they are
– or at least where they are headed. All of these traits run on adrenaline, so
you do not have unlimited use of your powers. However, you’ll find plenty of
adrenaline packs lying around and if you “stalk” your enemies you’ll build it up
naturally. Couple the plentiful adrenaline packs with your ability to self-heal,
and you have quite the killing machine. This almost makes the game too easy at a
point where the difficulty should be ramping up.
 |
| I told you that the scenery is beautiful. |
There are a number of vehicles in the game, and basically if the mercs can
drive it so can you. Jeeps, jet skis, zodiacs, and even a hang glider are at
your disposal at various times during the gameplay. They’re more a means of
getting you around the large island faster than they are weapons. Vehicle
control can be tricky though, and you won’t make as good time as you’d think
when you have to deal with your vehicle flipping over far too often.
The game excels at creating a realistic jungle island. The graphics are about
the best you’ll find on the Xbox, with amazing lighting, water, reflection, and
weapon effects. The island itself is huge, and you’ll more often than not have
your choice of multiple paths to reach your objective. You’ll even be treated to
some sweeping vistas as you make your way around the island, making you feel
that you’re actually on an island rather than a collection of bounded levels.
Once you make your way through the thoroughly enjoyable single player
campaign, you can go on Xbox Live for multiplayer action. Of course you get
deathmatch and team deathmatch modes (with the added feature of being able to
set traps for other players), but there’s also a capture the flag variant and a
mode called predator. This last mode gives one player all of the animal powers
from the single player game while all the other players play as mercs and it is
a lot of fun to play. For the level designers out there, Far Cry Instincts
includes a map editor. It’s pretty powerful and will let you create maps to
share online, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world to use and will take a
lot of time and patience on your part to put together a quality map.
Far Cry Instincts is highly recommendable to shooter fans. The island setting
is realistic enough to make you start to sweat from the heat, and the advanced
AI makes for some exciting action. It’s just one of those games that is
experienced as much as it is played.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
90%. It’s time to rumble in the jungle.
« Page 1 of 2
