Far Cry 4
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The first 'FPS Boost' titles for Xbox Series X/S arrive today
The first batch of FPS Boost Xbox Series X/S games arrive today.
2015 DICE Award nominations led by Shadow of Mordor
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for this year's DICE Awards, recognizing a total of 56 games. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor received nine nominations, including the Game of the Year award. The other Game of the Year nominees are Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Far Cry 4 and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Far Cry 4 received seven nominations, one being for Action Game of the Year. Destiny and Hearthstone each had six nominations, whereas Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Monument Valley received five apiece. The 18th Annual DICE Awards ceremony will be held at the The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas following the 2015 DICE Summit, which runs from February 3 through February 5. The event will be livestreamed on DICE's Twitch channel, starting at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT). Head past the break for a partial list of nominees; the full list can be found on AIAS' website.
Far Cry 4 DLC, Escape From Durgesh Prison, now available
The expansive Himalayan world of Far Cry 4 just got a bit larger with the launch of the "Escape From Durgesh Prison" DLC mission. "In this new piece of downloadable content for Far Cry 4, Ajay and Hurk find themselves defenseless in the dangerous northern region of Kyrat after being captured, tortured and stripped of their weapons in Yuma's prison," reads Ubisoft's official plot description. "On their way to the extraction point, they will be able to complete a series of challenges kicked off by the tyrannical Pagan Min to acquire weapons and upgrade their gear before a final stand-off against Yuma's forces." Escape From Durgesh Prison can be played either alone or with a friend in co-op mode. This mission is a time trial, meaning that players will be vying for position on an online leaderboard. However, this also means that, on death, players will be forced to restart the mission completely. Escape From Durgesh Prison is now available on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PS4. The DLC is included in the $30 Far Cry 4 season pass, but can also be purchased a la carte for $10. [Image: Ubisoft]
Report: DRM not to blame for Far Cry 4 woes, says Microsoft
Following a sudden Xbox One Marketplace delisting that coincides with reports that some players could no longer play their legitimate digital copies of Far Cry 4, Microsoft has issued assurances that these woes were not the result of draconian Xbox One DRM. The argument, as outlined by Gamespot, is that the delisting was an accident, and one that was quickly rectified by Microsoft. During the delisting, numerous reports of players being unable to play the game - specifically, digital copies of Far Cry 4 - began to crop up, even after players had deleted and redownloaded the Ubisoft shooter. These reports ceased immediately once the game returned to the Xbox One Marketplace. This leads some to believe that the delisting also took down whatever online verification system is attached to the game, despite Microsoft's claims that the Xbox One does not require constant online verification. In a statement sent to Gamespot, Microsoft denies that the problems had anything to do with hidden DRM, though the Xbox One manufacturer offers no alternate explanation of what actually happened. Instead, Microsoft responds to the rogue DRM allegations with the following boilerplate statement: "If customers own the rights to a game, they can visit their download history and initiate a re-download whenever they please - even if the game has been delisted from Xbox Store and is no longer available for purchase." [Image: Ubisoft]
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Far Cry 4
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Far Cry 4 tells the story of a despondent man visiting a foreign land, just as hopeless, to fulfill the final wish of his late mother. Basically, the epitome of a good time! Despite its dour setting, Far Cry 4 offers a level of freedom and unfettered joy that most open-world games do not. As protagonist Ajay Ghale you scour this space for treasures, fight off terrifying beasts (like the vicious honey badger), join a national rebellion and, yes, try to put your mother's remains to rest.
Joystiq Streams: Far Cry 4 for four straight hours
There are only 2.5 days of 2014 left! How are we going to knock everything off our annual bucket list in less than 72 hours! There was so much left to do. Visiting a new country. Climbing a mountain near Everest without having to actually climb Everest. Tricking a honey badger into fighting an eagle. Jumping a jeep off of an exceptionally miffed elephant. Wait a second... we can probably knock all of these off in a single afternoon. To Far Cry 4! Joystiq's going to live it up Kyrat style today with four hours of Far Cry 4 starting at 1:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch. Tune in at the beginning to check out the very beginning of the game before we take a break and restart past the halfway mark of the campaign. Joystiq.com/Twitch regularly broadcasts at 4:00PM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Want to catch all our streams like this weirdo Far Cry 4 expedition? Follow us on Twitch.http://twitch.tv/joystiq [Images: Ubisoft]
Far Cry 4 plans a prison break for January 13
Far Cry 4's "Escape from Durgesh Prison" DLC will be available to download on January 13, Ubisoft announced today. The DLC will have players racing across Kyrat to finish challenges and recover lost weapons, upgrading their gear and skills along the way. Escape from Durgesh Prison will be playable in both single player and cooperative multiplayer modes, but should they die in the DLC, players will have to start the mission over from the beginning. Escape from Durgesh Prison was revealed as part of Far Cry 4's season pass in October, which gives buyers access to multiple add-on missions including the season pass-exclusive DLC, The Syringe. Those without the $30 season pass can still pick up Escape from Durgesh Prison separately for $10. Far Cry 4 launched in November and received praise for its "interesting and absorbing" world in our review. [Image: Ubisoft]
New PS4 bundle includes console, choice of game for $400
Just in time for the holidays, Sony unveils a new PlayStation 4 bundle that includes both the console and your choice game from one of four recent hits. Priced at $400, the bundle offers buyers a choice between Far Cry 4, Destiny, NBA 2K15 and LittleBigPlanet 3, all games that still fetch $60 at retail. Box art pack rats be warned: This bundle only includes a code that can be redeemed for a digital copy of your chosen game, and not a physical copy. [Image: Sony]
Grand Theft Auto 5 becomes the UK's all-time bestseller
The new king of Britain is Grand Theft Auto 5, after it claimed the crown for the most units sold in the nation in the ever of ever. On the back of hitting PS4 and Xbox One, Rockstar's latest crime circus usurped the former rule of Call of Duty: Black Ops, according to data-bods Chart Track. While Chart Track didn't report specific sales figures, MCV claims GTA 5 was at "almost 4 million" units sold in the UK ahead of its arrival on the newest systems. As per other re-releases, GTA 5 offers enhanced graphics on PS4 and Xbox One. In its case, however, there's also the undoubted showpiece of the new first-person camera. "Rather than lowering the camera and shoving it in the chests of its three protagonists, GTA 5's first-person mode adds detailed animations that give the perspective a feeling more akin to simulation than a shooter," said Joystiq's Xav de Matos in our updated review. GTA 5 isn't the only rock star in this week's UK charts, so head below the break to see how well Far Cry 4 and Dragon Age: Inquisition did, and just how badly Sonic Boom flopped. You'll also find the UK top ten and, as ever, the minimally-beloved customary music video.
Far Cry 4 Arcade Poker, Arena Master apps now in the wild
Far Cry 4 has a pair of companion apps awaiting iOS and Android users, provided they're up for a round of poker or controlling deadly arenas on the go. A press release from developer Ubisoft notes that both the Far Cry 4 Arcade Poker and Far Cry 4 Arena Master apps launched this week to complement Far Cry 4's high-elevation adventure. In Arcade Poker, players make hands out of a set number of cards that gradually fall to the bottom of the screen. Each card can be repeatedly flipped into a new suit and value, but if they reach the bottom before the desired card is found, they'll slide into a playing hand as-is. Hands must meet demands tied to objectives, such as making a two-pair or a flush in one hand. Victories are rewarded with in-app currency, with progress eventually leading to cash-outs for money to use in FC4.
Joystiq Streams: That's a tiger in my Far Cry 4 and I'm happy to see you
Smell that fresh air! Glory in the plush, pink suits! Grapple hook a gun-toting lunatic to an elephant and grab a drink, because it's time to head into the wilds of Far Cry 4 and see what there is to see. Today on Joystiq Streams, our very own Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) will climb back up the mountain after completing his 4.5-star review of Ubi's new open world shooter. Joining him for the stream and feeding your chat questions directly into his earholes will be Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello). All the action starts on Joystiq.com/Twitch at 4:00PM EST, just like it does every Tuesday and Thursday. Remember: if you dig these streams, make sure to follow us on Twitch and we'll serve up a whole lot more. [Images: Ubisoft]
Far Cry 4 on PS3 fix: Delete everything
Ubisoft has a fix for problems with downloaded versions of Far Cry 4 on PS3, but it isn't pretty. To fix the "delete FC3 game data" issue, players have to delete the entire game, including save files, and re-download the "correct version" from the PlayStation Store, this one with a download size of 9.4GB. Below, see Ubisoft's full instructions on how to delete Far Cry 4 and its save files on PS3. Ubisoft has a cleaner fix for the PC version of Far Cry 4, which has an issue that sends the game to a black screen when it detects external USB devices. Patch 1.4.0 will launch on Friday, and Ubisoft says it should fix this issue. "Some have been able to temporarily fix this problem by disabling USB devices and certain drivers, but we realize this is in no way ideal," Ubisoft writes. All of this info comes courtesy of Ubisoft's new blogs featuring Live Updates and patch information for Far Cry 4 and Assassin's Creed: Unity.
Far Cry 4 gets a 'live updates' blog too
In a post-Battlefield 4 world, where games launch with known (and significant) technical issues, standard practice is constant updates to quell negative word of mouth. Ubisoft's developing a shared strategy with Assassin's Creed Unity and Far Cry 4 with blogs featuring "live updates." Both the ACU and Far Cry 4 sites provide details on current and upcoming patches. On the one hand, it's great that publishers are providing these patch details on launch day to customers. But that also means consumers are being trained to not trust a game's quality at launch. Is that really the lesson triple-A publishers want to provide?
Holy crap, your wallet is screwed today
November 18 is the new October 7. Last month's $300 day tamed before it began, as the launch of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor moved up a few days while Dragon Age: Inquisition was delayed to the industry's new busy day, today. It's okay, friends, we're here to guide you through today's retail chaos. Dragon Age: Inquisition reached Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC today, and was received well in our five-star review of the game. Joystiq Streams took Dragon Age for a spin earlier this week, so those that want a taste of the game's first hour should watch the archived video. Meanwhile, Ubisoft dished Far Cry 4 out to current-gen, last-gen and PC players, a game deemed the "undisputed king" of open-world shooters that offers a "staggering number of adventures."
Far Cry 4 creative director sends a message in a bottle to pirates
Alex Hutchinson, creative director at Ubisoft Montreal, tweeted a message today to people having difficulties with the field of view in Far Cry 4 on PC. PC players! If you're online complaining about the lack of FOV control ... You pirated the game. - Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) November 18, 2014 Oh, snap. [Image: Ubisoft]
It takes less than 30 minutes to see Far Cry 4's alternate ending
Ubisoft's Far Cry 4 is due out on November 18, but you don't have to wait until next week to see a complete video walkthrough, from start to credits. Someone using the YouTube handle "Imperfect Players" has posted a video to the internet showing how the grand adventures of Ajay Ghale and the civil war of Kyrat can be reduced to a mere handful of minutes. To avoid spoilers, we've posted the video after the break. However, if you need some context, here's the skinny (spoilers ahead): you play as Ajay Ghale, a man returning to the fictional country of Kyrat to spread his mother's ashes in her native land. Unfortunately, your mode of transportation comes under attack by local dictator Pagan Min's forces, and you're quickly captured. Min forces you to attend a dinner party, but leaves partway through. It's at this point you can either try to escape or simply wait for Min to return. Wait around for roughly 13 minutes and Min will return, prompting a sequence that leads to an alternate ending and a line that seems to be not directed just at Ghale, but the player behind him: "Maybe now we can finally shoot some goddamn guns." This is a first-person shooter, after all.
Far Cry 4 map creator doesn't support competitive multiplayer
Sharp-eyed Far Cry 4 fans deduced that the Himilayan adventure's map editor can't be used to craft new maps for competitive multiplayer modes, a feature that helped previous Far Cry games retain dedicated followings. Ubisoft Forums user "legacyzero" posted screens from a recent Twitch stream of the game, which show options to create maps for the game's Assault, Hunt, Outpost or Extraction game types, but not for head-to-head multiplayer. When Ubisoft Montreal Creative Director Alex Hutchinson was asked about the missing option, he explained that Ubisoft "always squeeze in as much as we can, but we're always prioritizing." When asked what it would take to allow for the creation of competitive multiplayer maps, Hutchinson added that the team is "going to keep supporting the game so hopefully we can get it done post release. No promises but we will try." As for the rest of the game, Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann's review remarked that Far Cry 4 holds "another interesting and absorbing world to fall into, shoot through, burn and then guide to new beginnings." [Image: Ubisoft]
Metareview: Far Cry 4
The Far Cry series has gotten progressively more entertaining over time. Unlike Ubisoft's overextended Assassin's Creed army, its Far Cry team has had time to craft something that is beautiful and fun to play. Our review said it was "another interesting and absorbing world to fall into, shoot through, burn and then guide to new beginnings." Critical reception to the game has been positive overall.
Far Cry 4 review: Home despot
Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC Far Cry 4 is about a man returning home to scatter his mother's final earthly form. Only he gets distracted, goes mountain climbing for a bit, helps dismantle a despotic regime, fights a tiger, runs in circles looking for an ancient scroll, lands a gyrocopter on someone's house and develops a caustic vendetta against nature's sweet-sounding fur demon, the honey badger. This doesn't make him an absent-minded son so much as the protagonist in an excellent open-world game. Like the vessel enshrining his mother's ashes, Ajay Ghale can't accomplish anything without a player to move him, lugging him up and down South Asian mountains in pursuit of peril and the next exotic vista. And like Ghale, you get in so deep after a while that it doesn't really matter what brought you there in the first place.
Extensive PSN maintenance scheduled for November 17
Heads up, PlayStation owners: Sony plans to bring the PlayStation Network down on Monday, November 17 to "deploy a series of back-end improvements to the network." According to a notice on the PlayStation.blog, PSN will be unavailable for "approximately 6 hours" from 1PM to 7PM ET (that's 18:00GMT to 00:00GMT, Tuesday morning for our friends in Europe). The good news is that if you've logged into PSN at any time between November 13 and November 17, you'll still be able to play games online and use online apps like Netflix during this maintenance period. However, PlayStation Home, the PlayStation Store and your console's account management features will be unavailable. This is where we cross our fingers and pray to the gods of tech support that nothing goes catastrophically wrong with these backend updates, as they come mere hours before the debut of a number of high-profile PlayStation 3 and PS4 games including Far Cry 4 and the re-release of Grand Theft Auto 5. [Image: Sony]
