Far Cry 4

4 December 2014 | 1:56 pm | Daniel Cribb

Have you ever ridden an elephant whilst throwing grenades at a rhino?

You've likely spotted the promo for Far Cry 4 splattered around town, maybe passing you on a bus with a smug, sinister looking gentlemen staring you down.

You don't know him, but he knows you. He’s a friendly kind of terrifying - a psychopath that strikes terror into almost everyone. His name is Pagan Min, and, unsurprisingly, he kidnaps you, which fits the concept surrounding the other games in the series, only the fourth instalment takes things to the next level. 

You’re quick to escape into the vast landscapes of fictional Himalayan region Kyrat, and join forces with rebels Golden Path, and from there a wealth of paths and options afforded to you, rendering countless possibilities and numerous endings, focusing your effects on combat and/or survival skills and short or long-term outcomes, the first of which probably the most fun as it contains the most action. With a more engaging storyline and immersive open-world gameplay, the realistic nature of combat requires more stealth and strategy to be implemented.

With so many paths to go down, the only downfall is the game's one save slot, meaning you can't have two games on the go. Luckily this is easily surpassed via logging into a different Xbox Live account and starting a new game there. 

Little feature tweaks like the ability to turn on autopilot when driving allows you to focus on other more important things (gunning everything down), but perhaps the biggest improvement is the introduction of drop-in/drop-out co-operative play.

If you’re on the edge about the next game to dive into, consider this: Have you ever ridden an elephant whilst throwing grenades at a rhino?

Nail-biting strategy, fast-paced action and absurd almost inside joke humour ties everything together nicely and makes Far Cry 4 a huge step up from past efforts and one of the best games of the year.