It's a Far Cry from a New Game, but Fun Nonetheless

Let's start by getting this straight off my chest, Far Cry 6 is definitely not a 'new' Far Cry game. It may have the number 6 after it, but it feels like a game stuck in the same era as its great, great grandparent. That's not necessarily a bad thing as there is still some retro-cool fun here, but nothing that makes it stand out in the series. Before we look at Far Cry 6, it's worth taking a look back down the line of main games. I have always been a fan of the Far Cry series, from the first initial outing all the way through. Far Cry 2 was a flawed, but brilliant open world, with the immersion level cranked up to 10. Far Cry 3 was possibly my favourite in the series, becoming what would be a winning formula for open-world games far into the future. The brilliantly portrayed Vaas Montenegro is the best antagonist in the entire series for me - his memorable line Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact... same fucking thing... over and over again, expecting... shit to change. That... is crazy now seems particularly appropriate as the numerous Far Cry games roll out. Far Cry 4 was a beautiful setting, but the story just didn't grab me personally. with the endings proving that no matter what you do, things might just turn to shit anyway. Far Cry 5 was set in the gorgeous Hope County, with some gorgeous vistas for you to venture between - from mountains to luscious fish-filled lakes. Though this world is one of the most realised in the Far Cry series, its antagonists and story were quite cookie-cutter and bland. This leads me onto Far Cry 6, the game I'm reviewing today. Let's start with the technical side of things... Graphically we're still on the same engine (Dunia 2) as previous games, with a few tweaks here and there to enable ray tracing, not that the ray-tracing adds enough to make it look 'next gen' for want of a better phrase. Sound-wise we're pretty good, the voice-acting, weapon sounds and ambient noise is still on point. The gameplay, well this may as well be a DLC for any of the previous three titles. So, it looks okay, it sounds okay and it plays okay... got it. The story plays out okay, there is a dictator who is looking to run these islands by force. Using propaganda to try and show him in a good light, whereas actually, he's just an arsehole. We see him taking lives without so much as batting an eyelid; treating people, including his own family, with disdain and generally just trying to be the big dog. Dani is your protagonist and she/he goes about trying to help the freedom fighters regain control and overthrow the regime. She does this with the help of a number of different NPC's, some interesting and others not, and a giant back mounted arsenal of weapons. That about sums it up. Now we come to the crux of my issue, the game is just incredibly tedious once you've sunk a good 40 hours into it. It's the same shit, different island. Same side quests, same looking locations and it's just rinse and repeat. I have yet to complete this Far Cry and to be honest, I don't think I'm going to bother. If you like open world games and exploring for the sake of exploring, then by all means try it out. It's NOT a bad game, that said it's also not a very good one either. ——— Original ratings: • Visual Design: 7/10 • Sound Design: 8/10 • Gameplay: 7/10 • Longevity: 7/10 • Fun: 7/10