Far Cry New Dawn | Xbox One Review
Just when you thought the madness of what occured in Hope County was over, Ubisoft’s Far Cry: New Dawn surfaces to drag you back. This time, however, you are experiencing the aftermath of what happened seventeen years later. After the bombs fell and the world was ravished with nuclear fire, life still found a way to continue. The survivors of Hope County, though thrust back into the world without the majority of modern amenities, have begun to rebuild a new civilization. Unfortunately a set of twins named Mickey and Lou have taken it upon themselves to impede progress and have their own bit of fun. You play as a character affectionately known as “The Captain.” An officer for a man named Thomas Rush who has been traveling around the country helping small communities rebuild the world.
The World Goes On With a Twist
The game begins with an fairly short introduction and quite an memorable action sequence. It was a pretty amazing way to thrust you into the game. You encounter the twins almost immediately, and they dispatch their own brand of justice in fairly brutal fashion. After this, you are rescued by a young woman who contacted Thomas Rush, and she leads you to the settlement of Prosperity. From here the game really begins, and your wild ride to take back Hope County starts.
One thing you notice right away is how different the area looks compared to what it was in Far Cry 5. Everywhere you look, nature is slowly reclaiming the world in its own way. Familiar building from the previous entry are somewhat recognizable, but the thought and detail put into their decay looks amazing. The wildlife even has changed during the fallout, introducing new monstrous versions of bears, boars, and cougars. Some familiar faces pop up along your travels as well. Survivors include Grace ,the sniper, and even one of my favorites, the gung-ho hillbilly Hurk. However, not even these hardened self-proclaimed preppers escape the damage unscathed. You may even come across some New Eden survivors during your crusade.
Insane New Fun Guns
One of my favorite new introductions is some of the new weapons, including the overpowered Saw Launcher. This weapon fires circular saw blades with devastating results on whomever is on the receiving end. Once again, you must collect materials along your travels to build new weapons as well as upgrade your old ones. Some of the names they have concocted for said weapons as hilarious in their own right. Examples include a sniper rifle named “The Space Force” or an upgraded Saw Launcher dubbed “Bear with Me.” The most precious resource in the game, however, is ethanol, which is used to upgrade Prosperity and unlock new items and abilities. The game comes across as almost a hybrid of Fallout, Far Cry, and just a dash of Mad Max.
There is quite a large amount of side missions in the game as well. You can wander around and try to find some old MP3 players to unlock more music. There’s also a story chain involving old photographs of buildings taken before the bombs fell to discover. One of my favorites is going back to your old fishing spots and trying to catch fish, including the new Demon Fish. Not to mention you can find old prepper stashes, that are now called treasure hunts. Also, there’s plenty of new challenges to help upgrade your characters abilities as well, much like in previous Far Cry titles.
Loads To Do, But at a Cost…Literally
With all that being addressed, the game is not without it faults. Some of the missions become quite repetitive, even annoying. One of the missions in particular prevents you from progressing the story if you have not upgraded Prosperity to a set point. This doesn’t seem like much of a challenge, but tracking down enough ethanol and being strong enough to take it can be a burden. One of my biggest complaints with this entry in the series is the main villains. The Twins seem very two-dimensional and not fleshed out enough to hate them like Joseph Seed was in 5. The map also doesn’t come across as large or grand in scale as well. In my opinion the game feels more like a large DLC pack and not a stand alone entry.
Far Cry New Dawn Final Verdict
Despite Far Cry: New Dawn fault’s I found the game to be quite enjoyable with a pretty solid twist in the end. I think the game could have used a few more missions and areas to explore as well. It was very enjoyable to wander around Hope County again and see how life in the area found a way to keep moving forward despite all the hardships. If you were a fan of Far Cry 5, or the series in general, this continuation of the story is a fun little side adventure to dredge up some old memories.
Far Cry New Dawn
$39.99
Pros
- Fun Run-and-Gun Style Gameplay
- Fun Exploration
- Lots of Side Missions
Cons
- Short Game Overall
- Flat, Underdeveloped Villains
- Frustrating Progression
