''Far Cry Instincts'' is a 2005
first-person shooter game developed and published by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
for the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
. A
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
of the original
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
version of ''
Far Cry
''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequently, Ubisoft obtained ...
'', ''Instincts ''is less open-ended and more linear, due to the console's reduced processing power which prevents the full rendering of the Windows version's vast islands and landscape. However, ''Instincts'' adds new multiplayer modes, weapons, and 'feral abilities', the latter being reflected in the modified storyline. Ports of the game for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
and
GameCube
The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
were also planned, but were ultimately cancelled. ''Instincts'' received generally positive reviews from critics.
A sequel, ''Far Cry Instincts: Evolution'', was released for the Xbox in 2006. ''Far Cry Instincts: Predator'', a compilation of ''Instincts'' and ''Evolution'' for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
, was released alongside ''Evolution''. An
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game
** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware
** Arcad ...
version of ''Instincts'' developed by
Global VR was released in 2007 under the title ''Paradise Lost''.
Gameplay
Being a remake, ''Far Cry: Instincts''
' gameplay is identical to that of the PC version of ''Far Cry''. However, because of the Xbox's technical limitations, the game is more linear and does not offer the same level of freedom. ''Instincts'' introduces several features absent from the original ''Far Cry'', most notably the "Feral Abilities" and a trap system that allows the player to create a
booby trap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may b ...
by wrapping a spiked tree branch around nearby foliage. When an unsuspecting
NPC walks by, they are killed by the branch-whip.
Claymore mines are also available, and can be set up in the paths of enemies for devastating results. These traps can be employed in multiplayer as well.
There is also a map editor that allows the player to create their own maps with access to many vehicles, guns, buildings, and trees, as well as the ability to change the landscape. Water cannot be added; it is at a constant height and a player can choose whether or not water is accessible by making the land higher or lower. They may upload the maps and use them on
Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...
to play against friends. While Xbox Live for the original Xbox was shut down in 2010, ''Far Cry Instincts'' is now playable online using replacement online servers for the Xbox called
Insignia
An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body.
An insignia, which is typically made of metal or fabric, is a standalone sy ...
.
Plot
After being dishonorably discharged from the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
for his illegal actions, Jack Carver (voiced by
Stephen Dorff
Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. Starting his film career as a child appearing in the Cult following, cult horror (genre), horror film ''The Gate (1987 film), The Gate'' (1987), Dorff first rose to prominence ...
) became a
gunrunner in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, until he was forced out of business by a gang, who performed a hit on a
Mafia
"Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
heir, using weapons supplied by Jack. Consequently, a price was put on his head by the Mob, and he was forced to flee the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and settle in
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
. Here, Jack purchased a used boat from a government auction and started another business: ferrying tourists and diving clubs around the area. Eventually, a journalist named Valerie Cortez offered Jack a large sum of money for taking her to a remote archipelago known as "Jacutan". Jack accepted the job, albeit with caution.
The game begins as Jack and Val arrive at Jacutan. After Val takes off on her own with a
jet ski
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat.
P ...
, Jack's boat is destroyed by
UH-60 Black Hawk
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) ...
helicopters, forcing him to take cover inside a nearby wrecked Japanese aircraft carrier. After acquiring a headset, Jack begins to communicate with a mysterious man calling himself "Doyle", who reveals that Val is an undercover
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
agent and came to Jacutan to rescue him. Doyle has been on a mission to expose the works of a mad scientist named Dr. Krieger, who is working on a serum to enhance one's physical abilities and "unlock" hidden animal traits in them.
Doyle convinces Jack to find and rescue Val, who has been captured by Krieger's mercenaries. While covering Val, Jack himself is captured by Krieger's right-hand man, ex-
Apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
Colonel Richard Crowe, and taken to Krieger, who notes Jack's resourcefulness and tenacity and remarks that he would make a good test subject. Jack is injected with Krieger's serum and is to be transported to an observation area when he recovers prematurely and escapes. To his shock, Jack discovers that he now has "feral abilities", such as increased speed, night vision and a violent melee attack. However, along with these powers comes an implant designed to regulate the serum's effects and allows for specialized weapons to be used against Jack.
Doyle commands Jack to find him so that the implant can be removed. Along the way, Jack must prevent a mercenary
computer programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming.
The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...
from deciphering Val's
pocket PC
A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile operating system, which is based on Windows Embedded Compact, Windows CE/Windows Embedded Compact, and that has some of the abilities of modern ...
, which would blow Doyle's cover. Descending into an old
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
-era Japanese bunker to stop the decryption, Jack is cornered by the mercenaries as he attempts to escape. He retreats through an old underground mining complex and follows Doyle's instructions to the main research facility. Jack then makes his way to the facility, where he discovers the extent of Krieger's work and the mutant monsters he has created. While in the facility, Jack discovers Crowe is gathering the mutants for an unknown purpose. After finally meeting with Doyle and having the implant removed, Jack begins to exhibit an uncontrolled evolution (represented in-game by Jack's adrenaline bar now decreasing with each use of one of the powers, and the ability to carry mounted weapons like a
.50 caliber machine gun).
As Jack escapes the research facility, he discovers that Crowe has taken Doyle and the mutant serum and has unleashed the mutants in a plot to betray Krieger. Jack must fight through the middle of a war between Crowe's mercenaries, the feral mutants and an elite group of special forces under Krieger's personal command, under orders to "sanitize" Crowe's troops. Rescuing Doyle, Jack discovers that Crowe has injected himself with a quadruple dose of the serum Jack received and without an implant. Assuming control of the "
Alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...
" creatures, the most powerful and intelligent mutants with abilities similar to Jack's own, Crowe has gone straight to Kreiger's base of operations. Jack follows him and fights his way to Krieger's mansion atop an active volcano, where he battles and defeats the physically deformed Crowe. Krieger, in a last-ditch effort to use the Alphas against Jack, realizes that they now view Jack as their leader due to his victory over Crowe. The mutants turn on Krieger and kill him, viewing him as a threat to Jack, and thus allow him to escape as the volcano erupts.
Jack is able to retreat onto a Black Hawk piloted by Val and Doyle, who promise to pay for a new boat to replace his destroyed one. Doyle also promises that they "can do one better" and slides a metal case to Jack, who opens it and laughs cryptically at the unseen contents as the helicopter flies away.
Sequel and remakes
''Evolution''
A sequel to ''Far Cry Instincts'', sharing the same name except for the addition of the subtitle ''Evolution'', was released for the Xbox on March 28, 2006. In addition to a new single-player campaign, which is considerably shorter than that of ''Far Cry Instincts'', the game also features new weapons and vehicles, a bonus multiplayer mode, and an expanded map-maker. ''Evolution'' is not
backward compatible
In telecommunications and computing, backward compatibility (or backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, software, real-world product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with inpu ...
with the Xbox 360, and maps that are created on the Xbox version of ''Instincts'' cannot be transferred to the Xbox 360 version.
The storyline of ''Evolution'' picks up sometime after the events of ''Instincts''. Jack is hired by a woman named Kade for an arms deal between pirates and the government in Micronesia. However, the deal is ambushed by rebels led by a native Chieftain named Semeru, who along with his elite warriors, exhibit the same feral abilities as Jack, who is framed for the attack. After fleeing to a safehouse with Kade, Jack is confronted by Doyle, who is here for damage-control. He offers Jack and Kade amnesty in exchange for their help in destroying a refinery controlled by the rebels. After successfully doing so, Doyle is wounded and Kade is captured by the rebels. Jack saves Doyle, due in part to him knowing the way out of the jungle, but while finding transport, Doyle is also captured. After tracking Doyle's blood through the jungle and a base built in the forest canopy, Jack finds Doyle dead at the footsteps of a mountain temple. Jack then makes his way through the temple where he encounters Semeru again. Semeru taunts Jack, saying that without focus or devotion, he is just a fake with powers he does not deserve, before revealing that Kade offered to give him part of the money from the deal in exchange for letting her go. However, Semeru refused to release her unless she helped him kill Jack. Semeru then overpowers Jack before Kade stabs the latter with a knife laced with a poison that neutralizes his feral abilities. Despite losing his powers, Jack is able to defeat Semeru, who dies after being impaled on bamboo rubble. Jack then confronts Kade, who pleads that she did not know what else to do to save herself. Instead of killing Kade, Jack gives her back the money from the deal, saying "Save your tears. In another time I would've done the same. It's all too... human".
A
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
remake of ''Evolution'', titled ''
Far Cry Vengeance'' and featuring additional levels, weapons, vehicles, and changed controls, was released on December 12, 2006, in North America, January 5, 2007, in Europe, and February 28 in Australia.
''Predator''
''Far Cry Instincts: Predator'' was released for the Xbox 360 on the same day ''Evolution'' was released for the Xbox. It includes graphically enhanced versions of both ''Instincts'' and ''Evolution''.
''Paradise Lost''
''Paradise Lost'' is a
rail shooter
Rail shooter, also known as on-rails shooter, is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video game. Beginning with arcade games such as the 1985 '' Space Harrier'', the gameplay locks the player character into a set path, only allowing for limited or no di ...
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
of ''Far Cry Instincts'' developed by
Global VR and published by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
in 2007.
Its
light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol.
Early history
The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensi ...
s are similar to those of ''
Aliens: Extermination''. Players use stationary turrets armed with rockets and grenades as
power-up
In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...
s.
Reception
''Far Cry Instincts''
''Far Cry Instincts'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
[
]
''Evolution''
''Evolution'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.[
]
''Predator''
''Predator'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.[
]
References
External links
Official website
via Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
*
*
*
{{Far Cry series
2005 video games
Cancelled GameCube games
Cancelled PlayStation 2 games
CryEngine games
Far Cry games
First-person shooters
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Rail shooters
Ubisoft games
Video game remakes
Video games developed in Canada
Video games scored by Paul Haslinger
Video games set on fictional islands
Xbox games
Xbox-only games
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Video games set in Oceania