Yes I know it's kinda moot talking about a leak literally one day before it's full exposure but I think it might be a good test of my predictive capabilities. I mean, how better to guess what we might hear about in the near future than to literally give it a 24 hour deadline where I'm really on the clock to give this thing a once over, and then I can cover the actual game itself tomorrow? It's the perfect set-up for blogs. (I'm a genius!) Thus for today I'll be going over a beloved subject here in this blog, my opinion of the former biggest European games company, (Congrats to CDPR) Ubisoft, and their upcoming game which is going to likely get a blowout tomorrow; Far Cry 6. (Jesus, are we on Six already? Someone needs to teach Ubisoft how to think out the box.)
So in the lead-up to the Sunday event tomorrow there has been a pretty huge 'leak' which has worked to drum up interest in a new Far Cry title after the largely meh, 'Far Cry: New Dawn'. (And yes, I put quotations around 'leak' because I think there's reasonable doubt considering whether or not this was an intentional details slip or not.) Over on the Playstation store in Hong Kong there was a brief period of time wherein the boxart for Far Cry 6 was shown alongside a listing that seemed just legit enough to be real. It should be noted, by the way, then when I say that I being slightly facetious, Ubisoft have since slyly validated the leak so it's really more of a spoiler for tomorrows 'surprise'. What we have is a, honestly rather bland-looking, front cover (at least when compared to some of Far Cry's other boxes) with the likeness of none other than Giancarlo Esposito. (Well hot damn guys, that's a good actor you've managed to bag!)
But then let me throw some cold water all over those folk that are getting all hot and bothered by reminding them that this is by no means that first time that Ubisoft have bought quality actors to voice their villains, that's been around as long as this tradition has been. Vaas from Far Cry 3 was voiced by Micheal Mando, a Canadian actor who, let me remind you, was such a credit to the role that it was his idea to coin the manic personality that we know and love the character for. (The original script had him being all stoic and boring.) Far Cry 4's Pagan Min was voiced by none other than Troy Edward Baker, a ludicrously prolific and legendary video game actor who rocked the roll in a manner distinct to Vaas yet equally as memorable. Far Cry 5's actor was- lesser known in the gaming world but I'm told he did a good job. (I never played that one.) So what has really changed for this game? They stuck the actors mug on the character for free publicity? (That's hardly the most encouraging thing in the world, to learn that the team are resorting to gimmicks to sell their title.)
However, we're just talking about the cover and I think there's some old saying about not being so judge-y in such a situation, so let's look a little deeper. We also learnt a few details to go off on. Giancarlo plays Anton Castillo, a dictator for a fictional island called Yara which is based in Cuba. He's trying to restore the 'glory' of his country alongside his, soon to be dictator, son Diego, and I imagine this means there's going to be a whole lot of fascist tendencies to the way Anton decides to achieve his goals. Given the setting, I'd imagine there being some significant CIA involvement in the background this story as you take control of a local fighting for their freedoms, and I'll bet that Diego, who's just under the legal age to be killed in a video game without guilt, will likely survive the events of the game in order to succeed his father and do something really heinous that'll justify another in-between game that Ubisoft like doing so much. (Too much.)
It's hardly the most inspired guess in the world is assume that the gameplay is going to be the copy and paste (take-down outposts systematically) as it has been for every Far Cry since 3, but I think, in the light of the latest Assassin's Creed games and the less-than-stellar reception towards 'New Dawn'; there may be some steps taken to revise the formula. If I were to guess, I'd assume there may be some sort of newer system built into the game to add an extra layer to the gameplay loop, ideally I'd want something like the Nemesis system from 'Shadow of War', in order to enrich the gameplay, but I wouldn't bemoan them too heavily if the team opt for something more generic like a 'huge battles' system. Oh, did I forget to mention? This title is being slated to launch on Playstation 5 so it's likely that whatever gets planned will push forward the technology significantly from what these games have been using for so long now.
Although, I cannot offer a hand of peace without waging a little war, because I must admit that I think no matter what Ubisoft do with this newer Far Cry, they'll end up disappointing. (As evidenced by the way that they still charge £55 for Far Cry 5, which is now 2 years old. What, you guys think you'll need the backup?) The biggest clue in this direction is the Anton himself, I just don't trust Ubisoft to have a celebrity be the face of their marketing; it's like their goto in lieu of good writing. Then there's the fact that, despite all these titles having great villains, their contribution to the game is usually incredibly minimal and their final encounters are typically laughably bad. (I loathe to call anyone incompetent; but I've literally never seen a memorable final encounter in a Ubisoft game so the title really awards itself for that department.) I just suspect that Ubisoft are preparing to throw all their eggs into a too-thin basket that'll crumble in no time. Then there's the fear that Ubisoft might decide to go 'live service' with this game; but they wouldn't be that stupid. Not after Breakpoint... would they?
In summary, 'Far Cry 6' worries me. I like seeing a great actor make their debut into the gaming world, but I see the cynical nature behind it and I worry for the overall product. (You know, the thing that Ubisoft should be putting their attention into.) The Far Cry formula has grown impressively stale over the years and though I still somewhat enjoy their games, I think it's takes a truly haphazard mindset to rationalise investing triple-A money towards their latest game without a considerable step forward in quality from the team's part. (And especially not full-price for their 2 year old last entry. Get out of here with that price, Ubisoft, are you people out of your minds?) I'd be glad to have Ubisoft completely blindside me and change my mind tomorrow with their presentation, but I already know they won't; you know what they say about tigers and their stripes. (I just hope for a minuscule level of conceptual commitment from the team this time around, that'd be nice.)
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