Review: Far Cry Instincts: Predator (360)

"Welcome to Paradise". Like taking part in your favourite 80s action movie, the gaming public at large loved the original Far Cry (and its ported console cousin, Instincts), controlling our hero, Jack Carver, as he hunted down mercenaries and other freaks across beautiful sunny islands. Sadly Ubi-Soft think they can get away with simply porting the game again, this time to the next generation of consoles, with only an extra (incredibly short) sub-story and shinier graphics. That isn't the case; as good as Far Cry was, there were still some niggling faults that ruined the experience... faults which haven't been corrected.

Starting with the Instincts story, Jack Carver is our protagonist, a retired Navy commando and now charter-boat captain, who finds himself stranded on an island with an evil scientist trying to create human-animal hybrids. The twist is that the serum used to create these creatures is injected into Jack, giving him feral abilities, allowing him to send people flying with a single punch, recharge lost health and run at super-human speed. None of these powers are yours to command until a hour or so in when Jack is injected with the serum, forcing another way of dispatching enemies: stealth.

While sneaking in the grass, you can creep up on your enemies and, with a quick press of the B button, stealthily knife them in the back; but more cleverly, you can set traps. Pull back a branch, fasten it in place and, with one nicely thrown stone, you can alert the guards and coax them into the trap. It's clever when it works, but a nightmare when it doesn't. Unfortunately, the AI issues from the original Instincts have made their way over the 360, making the stealthy approach a little hit and miss. At times, a thrown stone does nothing and it seems like the only thing the guards can hear are grenades and gunshots. Then you can stand next to some people and they won't notice you; yet crawl through incredibly thick grass and they can snipe you from a mile away. This isn't exactly Splinter Cell, and what makes it worse is that, for these initial portions of the game, stealth is a requirement, not a luxury. Running in all guns blazing will get you killed very, very quickly. The dodgy AI also comes into play when the guards are alerted to your presence and on patrol: seeing foes stuck behind scenery is a common occurrence and this isn't helped by the sloppy animation and graphics.

The original Instincts may have looked the business on the Xbox, but Predator doesn't stand out amongst the next generation crowd. Apart from the gorgeous water effects, nothing can be considered spectacular, and after playing in the wonderful world of Oblivion, Gamestyle was disheartened to find ourselves trapped by invisible walls made up of what seemed like grass. We didn't even stray too far from the path but were still obstructed and forced to follow the linear route to our objective. Surely the Xbox 360 is capable of so much more than this?

Once the Instincts story is done and dusted, the Evolution plot-line becomes available. Much like John McClane in Die Hard, Jack discovers that the same s*** can happen to the same guy twice. This time he comes up against pirates on the Pacific Islands, which later becomes a plot similar to Instincts. It's understandable that they didn't release this as a full price standalone title (although it was released as a budget game on the Xbox, entitled Evolution) because, while it's fun, its only half as long as Instincts and creates a strong feeling of deja vu... and then ends in a terribly frustrating boss battle.

What both stories have in common are the use of vehicles. A clever idea, but one that can lead to many unnecessary deaths. Handling of each vehicle is different, but the rocky roads around the island and the sloppy controls can mean your vehicle ends up in a ditch very frequently. The hang glider, though, is a stroke of genius, allowing you to truly get a good look at the island you're exploring.

Online multiplayer fans are well catered for with a number of game modes. These are your usual types, which include, Death Match (Chaos), Capture the Flag (Steal the Sample) and King of the Hill (Seek n' Secure). Far Cry is fairly competent online, especially fun with a few friends, but is nothing special (just make sure you have someone with a decent connection, otherwise the lag can ruin the game). The only reason the majority of people will even venture online are for the lucrative Achievement Points.

Far Cry Instincts: Predator would be something special on the Xbox (the original was given an 8, after all), but we've seen it all before and Ubi-Soft have clearly forgotten that we are now entering the next generation of gaming. Shiny new graphics alone don't hide that we’re playing a sparkly version of the flawed original. People who have yet to taste the world of Jack Carver may get their kicks from setting traps and stalking enemies; but those who have already played from beginning to end may choose to look elsewhere for their enjoyment (such as the budget Xbox version). Unlike the tag-line suggests, this isn't necessarily "paradise".

Rating: 6 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver