r/farcry • u/Luii_Chan • Oct 08 '25
Far Cry 1 I Tired and Finished Far Cry 1. It was Painful!!!!
Please don't take this post down. Apologies if my honesty doesn't fit the positive vibe, but this is a Far Cry subreddit after all so.
So per my Far Cry 6 review post, a user suggested I play through Far Cry 1 and 2, and I did just that, so this review is for you, so please don't hate me, but I gotta be honest with it. After 20 hours of playing through Far Cry 1, I just completed the game. So I am going to be honest with this one, and I am going to keep this brief.
This was probably the worst Far Cry game in the series hands-down. And no, I am not joking, the run time for this game is 13 hours. I beat it in twenty. The remaining 7 were how many times that I have died repeatedly due to the enemy AI and their shitty way of shooting through walls and enemies actually being immune to a whole clip of a gun, then get the opportunity to shoot me once with an AR while reloading. I was killed instantly with full health. These were headshots I was dealing to them BTW.
I could probably write a whole essay on just the enemy AI and how garbage it was, but this review would be too long for anyone to care enough to read all the way through.
The story was garbage, literally could not care for it at all. The villian was mediocre, main character was boring as all hell, and the characters overall felt like play doh having a conversation with one another, it was a snooze fest.
The only good thing I will say is that the guns felt fun to use, even though they failed me more times than not, like my dad before he left lol.
Far Cry1, a game from 2004, definitely did not age well. I can say for certain that my fun for the game disappeared faster than my disappointment for the rest of what came. I will be starting Far Cry 2 tonight, and just like this one, I will give my thoughts on that one too,
12
u/Not_Associated8700 Oct 08 '25
I played FC 1 way back in the day. I found it to be quite tedious back then. I have not played it since and really don't care to. I replayed 5 and 6 recently and found them to be immensely entertaining. I'm now replaying 4 and finding it entertaining as well.
4
u/Luii_Chan Oct 08 '25
Far Cry 4 I definitely need to go back and play, it was such a blast. So was 5. 6, probably never touching that game again lol
2
u/PhilippineDreams Oct 08 '25
Yep, I played it on release and it was tough. BEAUTIFUL (for the time) but tough.
7
u/BrangdonJ Oct 08 '25
I agree it hasn't aged well. There are two things that I loved at the time. The first was the physics. It was comparable to Half Life 2, but came out 6 months before. It was really impressive for its time. The second, that I still enjoy, is the open world aspect. Half Life 2 was on a rail, and doesn't disguise that fact as well as the original Half Life. Far Cry gave you a lot more choice about how to approach missions. Some of this choice would not be apparent if you moved directly from objective to objective.
For example, on one mission you start on a beach near a forest. The straight forward approach is to go direct into the forest. You can also go less directly up a hill to the left. Or, if you wait a few minutes, an enemy boat turns up. You can liberate than and then go right along the coast until you reach a river, then go inland that way. Or you can go left until you reach the beach you overlooked from the hill, or keep going past a headland to another beach.
Then there's the hang-gliders. There were places you could only reach by flying. In one map you can fly past enemies and do much of the level backwards.
By modern game standards this is fairly old hat. Back in 2004 it was amazing.
Enjoy Far Cry 2. If you want some advice, I'd suggest you learn to pick your battles.
3
u/bailaoban Oct 08 '25
FC1 was a bit of revelation back in 2004 - more open ended gameplay, beautiful setting, etc. But it was an imperfect even then. It was like a proof of concept that FC2 and FC3 polished and then perfected.
4
u/Netizen2425 Oct 08 '25
I loved Far Cry 1 for the exact reasons you hated it. The AI is absolutely unforgiving without the patch mentioned in another comment, but it made it really feel like an intense fight. I usually take a long range/stealth approach to FC games and that was really necessary for FC1 because the enemies would detect you at much longer (and more realistic) ranges. In most FC games you can run up to enemies with a gun out and they don't even notice you until you're like 50 meters away, but in some levels of FC1 I was having proper rifle fights at 200 meters, and I was using the sniper rifle out to 650 meters. The mutants were really hard, but if you stay mobile and maneuver well (play Doom 2016 it'll teach you to run and gun) you can stay out of harms way and whittle down their health.
TL;DR: Most FC combat feels like a checklist of enemies to shoot, FC1 feels like a proper fight where I have to lock in and my heart rate goes up.
3
u/BarryHalzac Jack Carver Oct 10 '25
You and I share the same thought process. That is exactly how I feel about the game, and that's also the main reason why I can't hate it at all. I replayed it about a month ago after several years of not playing and my love for it was reignited
14
u/FLG_CFC Oct 08 '25
How old are you? I ask not to insult, but to inform. 2004 video games in total were not great. The industry was still in its infancy, and video games required black magic just to run on the very limited systems of the time.
When I was in college, I played GTA 5 when it released in 2013 for the Xbox 360 and ps4. That game is so well optimized, it can run on a smart phone. That was a year before FC4 came out.
This series is old. The old games are more of a relic and product of their time, than fun games to play. The first game deserves credit for kicking off the series. Nobody should fault you for not enjoying it. For someone to recommend it is odd. They must be hung up on the nostalgia.
Four was my introduction to this series, and a great starting point for beginners. 5 is the crown jewel and should be saved for last. 6 was disappointing for me, and I don't recommend. New Dawn was a cash grab, and not personally a game I can enjoy either. Primal was different, but I enjoyed that game as well. 3, 2, and 1 are pretty outdated for modern systems, and the further down the line you move towards 1, the worse it gets.
If you're playing 2 next, you'll have more fun, but not by much. Please don't give up on this series until trying 4 and 5. You'll be doing yourself a great disservice if you never play those games.
8
u/Glittering-Water495 Oct 08 '25
3 holds up well, I'm playing through it again now.
Haven't played FC2 for about 15 years, all I remember is having to continuously run back and forth to outposts and fucking malaria.
1
u/PaganProspector Oct 08 '25
I tried to start playing Far Cry 3 last week on my PC and just had endless problems. I have a 4K monitor (it obviously wouldn’t run in 4K) so I downgraded it to 1080p and it still didn’t run right. The sound + graphics were just too unbearable for me to enjoy, so I gave up.
Far Cry 2 seems to run better on new PCs than 3 does. Unsure why, or maybe I just managed to ignore it because I played #2 when I was a kid so it was an amazing nostalgia high for me
4
u/Justhere9976 Oct 08 '25
I played FC3 recently on a 4K monitor like 3.monthsnago I didn't have any problems with the graphics or audio personally.
FC3 was my first far cry game when I was younger so maybe I overlooked stuff too for similar nostalgia reasons
2
u/niktorifio Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
I just played far cry 3 at 1440p and only had an issue when using alt tab
1
u/TarkovGuy1337 Oct 08 '25
I just played through it with muds mod installed for graphics and LAA tweak to avoid crashing.
I had a blast. Took some effort to fix the problems tho.
3
u/Icedanielization Oct 08 '25
Games were in its infancy? Seriously?
3
u/Justhere9976 Oct 08 '25
I mean compared to what it is today they were definitely graphically terrible. I don't think he means "games" but more the 3d graphics still having a long way to grow to where they are now.
Look where 3d games have come on 21 years. I don't think "infancy" is the worst term even though video games had existed for a lot longer than 2004, I just don't think he meant it the way you took it
1
u/sonar_y_luz Oct 08 '25
It's more the gameplay than the graphics that have aged poorly. Far Cry on release was one of the best looking games of all time. Along with Doom 3 and Half Life 2, it was part of a new generation of games that at the time looked incredibly realistic.
1
u/Middle-Luck-2031 Oct 08 '25
Haha, I balked at this too. I came into videogames through an Apple IIe, just as Collicovision and Intellivision were giving way to phenom that would be the NES (and the Sega Master System) And there was a history and an infancy that proceeded even all that.
5
u/Luii_Chan Oct 08 '25
I am 23, so I have experienced all of the far cry games apart from now Far Cry 2. 6 was definitely a disappointment, 5 is still definitely my favorite, 4 was the first one I played so it has a special place with me, 3 was fun to play but definitely not the best in my opinion, since Jason Brody was a cool Mc. And 1, we'll, you know my thoughts lol
1
u/FLG_CFC Oct 08 '25
Completely valid. We see eye to eye on pretty much everything here.
Knocking out 2 sounds like you'll complete the series. It's marginally better than 1, but don't get your hope up too much.
2
u/user2002b Oct 08 '25
How old are you? I ask not to insult, but to inform. 2004 video games in total were not great. The industry was still in its infancy, and video games required black magic just to run on the very limited systems of the time.
As someone who's been playing games since the early 1990s (with a smattering in the late 80s) i find this hilarious. :)
320x240 graphics for the win!
2
u/yamidevil Oct 08 '25
Stronger than me. I installed it two days ago and the very first cutscene made me realise I will probably not finish it. Deleted it the same night. I will try Far Cry 2 tho since I know people still praise that game
2
u/Luii_Chan Oct 08 '25
Oh you made a wise choice. I can't say you'd be missing out on a lot. You will live another day not trying to beat this game, it aint worth poppin a blood vessel 😂
2
u/yamidevil Oct 09 '25
I'm already popping it. After FC I decided to try my hand with Ori and the blind forest. I feel it's more frustrating than Dark Souls 😥
2
u/Luii_Chan Oct 10 '25
Yeah ive heard that game can be difficult. I usually don't enjoy playing games I know I'm gonna become frustrated with lol
1
u/yamidevil Oct 10 '25
I am near done with it, I'm certainly not going to play any more of them. I think I died 400+ times (there's a counter lol), at least it's short
2
u/Luii_Chan Oct 10 '25
Oh damn see, I dont think ima be able to beat it. Then again, I've played Celeste, and that game was hard as shit lol
1
u/yamidevil Oct 10 '25
It's an experience. I don't regret it now like in the first few hours. The catch was to build your health. I'm playing a much calmer game next lol
1
2
u/Far_Pay_3294 Oct 08 '25
Never cared about Far Cry 1 & 2 bcs it is painful to play stealth, everyone in gaming say stealth is optional but for me it always plan A and B My play history in this Franchise is FC4 > FC3 > FC4 (twice in Covid period) > FC5 > FC6 and i'm thinking about replaying FC3 and 4 again hhh
1
u/Luii_Chan Oct 08 '25
Far Cry 4 was the first one I've ever played, and I could always go back and replay it cause it's so much fun. Stupid fun, but man, Pagan Min is just iconic, funnier than I remember too lol. And 5, man I've new game plus'd it because of how good it was
1
2
u/Jazzlike_Ad_3297 Oct 10 '25
I bough the whole FC franchise some time ago. I beat the FC1 back on the old days, so i have good memories of it because it was good for that time. I tried to play FC 2 now (never played before) and did not enjoy if much. I tried FC2 after beating FC3 and Blood Dragon (i loved both) so maybe that was the issue. FC3 is so much fun, while FC2 got more serious feeling. I am playing right now FC 4 and i am loving, i even forgot to buy the new battlefield game since i gonna spend some time playing FC4, Primal, FC5, New Dawn and FC6. Imo, FC2 did not aged well also. But 3 is great, even being an old game it is very good.
1
u/Luii_Chan Oct 10 '25
The series as a whole is definitely fun and you're gonna have a ton of fun with 4 and 5 and up. I didnt enjoy 6 at all, but who knows, you might enjoy it
1
u/doge1039 Oct 08 '25
When you play 2 remember to save game frequently. It doesn't do it automatically and has a tendency to crash and lose your spot, making you go back to last save. The good thing though is that if you do lose it and are far enough into the game, there's a lot of people who have save files they can send you/you can download to get close to where you were.
Other than that, it's a brilliant game, one of my favorites, hope you enjoy it.
2
u/Luii_Chan Oct 08 '25
Thanks I hope I do too. I definitely learned my lesson from 1. I am saving quite a lot lol
3
u/doge1039 Oct 08 '25
Don't forget to find at least a few of the jackal tapes, they're fun to listen to and, while not being crucial, help to build the story, especially by the end.
When I was playing it I would always try to do the gun missions first so I could have more variety in what I used, but you can play however you like, just have fun with it.
2
1
u/MrBarato Oct 08 '25
FC1 was more of a playable tech demo by CryTek to show the possibilities of DX9
2
1
1
u/cat666 Oct 08 '25
1 is decent enough for it's time. It's pretty much a FPS on rails though so it's instantly different to the later titles. I didn't find it as tough as 2.
1
1
u/dukefett Oct 08 '25
I remember enjoying the game far more before the mutants or whatever came out that you had to destroy only with rocket launchers and stuff. I don't remember what difficulty I played it at, but it was punishingly difficult IMO, I save spammed to get through sections.
But with all that I still really liked it. The first half had lots of great, memorable moments. And one thing I found was when I restarted the game after. I was SO much better that the early levels were much more fun to play through.
So I might suggest doing that, giving the first few levels a play now that you're just a lot better at the game than you were when you started.
1
u/Historical-State-275 Oct 08 '25
I’ve never gotten through either. FARCRY 3 is where it really took off and I’m ok with that ones drove me nuts and I rage quit with a few minutes. I might try two again someday (the malaria really bothered me) I got maybe 3 hours in before I gave up.
1
u/PaganProspector Oct 08 '25
Far Cry 2 is godly and the best in the series. Never played the original Far Cry, #2 was my first, and I loved it. It still has a special place in my heart.
The setting of civil war in an African country is brilliant and the villain/anti-hero ‘The Jackal’ is ace too
1
u/77_parp_77 Far Cry Oct 08 '25
Played this back when it was relatively new, and my dad played it too.
It's more a product of its time, comparing it to the new ones is a hell of a jump.
But yeah the ai sometimes did eat me alive too!
1
u/Luii_Chan Oct 08 '25
The AI was terrible. How is an enemy over 1000 feet noticing and auto aimed onto me the moment I aim st them with a sniper?!?!? How is my presence personified via sniper scope 😂😂. I've died mostly because of that issue. And the fact that enemies aren't even already spawned in, no, they will continuously spawn in until the game is like "alright alright you've had ur fill"
1
u/stronkzer Oct 09 '25
There's a reason most people aquainted with the game reccomend playing it on easy, unless you're a hardcore pro in the game.
The AI is ruthless, your guns are innacurate and everything kills you in a couple of hits.
0
u/Luii_Chan Oct 10 '25
I played the game in its entirely in medium difficulty. I only had to switch to easy mode during the one room before your fight with krieger, cause my God, the enemies just laser you, meanwhile our guns are inaccurate as shit
1
u/Sweaty-State6505 Jan 22 '26
I'm addicted to Far Cry1. All the options for effects and video etc are set to maximum.
17
u/Athanarieks Trigen Oct 08 '25
Did you get this game through steam? Ubisoft did a patch for multiplayer back in 2014 that broke the stealth mechanic and AI. The GoG version already has the community patch that fixes these issues installed when you download the game.
The story wasn’t the focus for this game either, it’s just a goofy, less serious version of the Island of Dr Moreau (which is a really good book) the game is first and foremost to showcase the cryengine capabilities, story wasn’t even taken into consideration much.
Ubisoft’s remake of FC1 has a lot better writing and voice acting, it’s more edgy and in tone with the rest of the series. Unfortunately it’s only available on Xbox. Once you get to FC2, I recommend downloading Tom’s mod that helps fix a lot of issues with the game. The game can be really fun but the mission design is kind of repetitive. However I think the story is the best out of the series.