Video Game Review: Far Cry 4

Last night I found myself at home with nobody around and 4 hours of uninterrupted "Me" time. As someone who spends 3 to 4 days a week away from home, I have no shortage of "Me" time and I would have much rather been spending the evening with my wife. However as she had plans to spend time with our 2 daughters, I took advantage of the situation and sat down in front of my television. I recently purchased a bunch of PlayStation 3 video games but also have a number of PlayStation 4 video games that have yet to have the wrappers removed. It probably took too long deciding which game to play but I settled on "Aliens: Colonial Marines."

Hey wait, that isn't the title of this review. Well it had been a while since I had turned my Utah PS3 on and so there was an update required. I then turned on my PS4 and figured out where I last left off in my game of Far Cry 4. It was not my intent to play it all night though. When my PS3 finished updating, I needed to download an update for the Aliens video game. Naturally I went back to the PS4.

Everyone had told me that "Aliens: Colonial Marines" was a waste of the $1 I paid for the game (wrapper still on the package) but I wanted to test it out for myself. I settled in to play the game with a nice refreshing beverage handy as I was ready for a workout. Oh was it a workout. I discovered I really suck at certain video games. It became painfully clear that I have no dexterity when it comes to proper use of the controller. I figured out that I can't fire and move at the same time. While I enjoy playing first-person shooters like Aliens, I am not very good at them. After restarting at the same point for like the 20th time, I turned off the game and went back to my PS4. I am probably done playing Aliens unless I want to work on my hand/eye coordination, which I may. I would like to add that it was well worth the $1 I paid for it so if you can find it cheap, it is entertaining.

Before continuing I have to give the following disclaimer: I met one of the developers of Far Cry 4 at a video game developers conference and he provided me with a code to download the game for free. I would have been willing to shell out $60 for the game as the trailers and reviews made it look that good.

I am only a few hours into the game and will continue playing it to completion. Yes, it is that good. The visuals are very stunning as you run through a beautiful alpine setting in the fictitious country of Kyrat. This is my first Far Cry game and so I am probably unaccustomed to the game mechanics familiar to long-time franchise players. Even then there are plenty of helps along the way and so it is fairly easy to pick up. There are a number of gun battles and my aforementioned controller deficiency doesn't keep me from enjoying the game.

Far Cry 4 is rated "M" for mature and definitely lives up to the rating. While the gun battles are not overly grotesque, there is a lot of strong language and I understand there is some nudity in the game. I have not gotten to that part but understand if I stay true to my morals, I shouldn't come across it in the game. I would recommend the game to college-aged or older guys looking for a visually stunning video game.