Ubisoft announced Far Cry 4 a few days ago, and since then a number of illuminating details, as well as a bit of controversy, have cropped up. Read on for the tantalizing details…
Far Cry 4 recently went up on the Uplay store as a preorder-able item, and when it did a brief summary of the plot was included on the game’s store page. As it turns out, that was something Ubisoft didn’t intend for, as the description was promptly removed from the store page.
However, thanks to a Reddit user who preserved a cached version of the page before it was changed, we have a clearer idea of what Far Cry 4 will be about:
Hidden in the majestic Himalayas lies Kyrat, a country steeped in tradition and violence. You are Ajay Ghale. Traveling to Kyrat to fulfill your mother’s dying wish, you find yourself caught up in a civil war to overthrow the oppressive regime of dictator Pagan Min. Explore and navigate this vast open world, where danger and unpredictability lurk around every corner. Here, every decision counts, and every second is a story. Welcome to Kyrat.
The plot isn’t a far cry (pardon the pun) from the previous game in the series, which involved a hapless college graduate caught in a conflict between pirates and a tribal people. Still, there’s hope that Far Cry 4‘s protagonist, who, from the sounds of it, is on a noble quest, will have a better reception with players than Far Cry 3‘s Jason Brody.
Additionally, retailer GameStop has just revealed that Far Cry 4 will also have an optional $30 season pass, which will entitle players who buy it to all future downloadable content for the game. It must be noted that the season pass is currently not available for the PC version of the game, although this is likely to change.
The news of the season pass and the DLC it entails is part of Ubisoft’s new initiative to prolong the lifespan of their games with additional content and more multiplayer offerings, as indicated at their recent post-earnings financial call.
In other news, there has been some controversy over Far Cry 4‘s box art, which depicts a man in a pink suit sitting on what used to be a religious statue, with his hand on a submissive looking darker-skinned man. Users on gaming forums, such as NeoGAF, have discussed whether or not there is racism in the box art, prompting Ubisoft creative director Alex Hutchison to take to Twitter, saying: “Just so it’s clear for those jumping to conclusions: [The pink-suited man is] not white and that’s not the player.”
Similarly, Far Cry 3 attracted criticism from gamers who felt that the game was racist, considering that the plot seemed to revolve around a white protagonist (the player) acting as the savior of a tropical island’s native inhabitants. The game’s writer, Jeff Yohalem, refuted these claims in an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, stating: “The game’s argument is that [the player] is basically used by everyone on the island – [The player] is basically a gun, that is upgraded by the natives on the island. It’s the opposite of Avatar.”
At any rate, Far Cry 4 will be arriving on the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 18.