With open worlds teeming with wildlife to hunt and outposts to overrun, the Far Cry campaigns have always seemed like natural candidates for cooperative play. With Far Cry 4, you can finally bring a friend along for the ride.
Though you can't team up to complete the story missions, any time you are exploring the open world you can call in support with the Guns For Hire feature. Here, a friend, stranger, or A.I. companion can drop into your world to even the odds against whatever threat emerges from the Himalayan setting.
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| Far Cry 4 Game Review |
Taking a fortress is one of the most likely scenarios where you'll appreciate having extra firepower. Each major region of the fictional territory of Kyrat features one of these strongholds, which is nearly impossible to take when you first venture into the area. As you take down outposts and turn the region toward your cause, the fortress will begin to show weaknesses.
I teamed up with an Ubisoft representative to test the defenses of one of these fortresses. To begin our assault we both hopped on the Buzzard, a small helicopter that gives you a great vantage point but has hardly any armor, leaving you exposed to gunfire from below. With my comrade marking targets with his binoculars, I lobbed grenades toward clustered groups of enemies on the ground. The soldiers aren't helpless against these attacks; in response they started shooting mortars in our direction, one of the new tactics enemies have when responding to attacks from afar.
The mortar shots drove us away from the base, so we decided to switch up our approach. Landing on the other side of the fortress, I jumped on the back of an elephant and led a charge right through the fortress gates. The power of these majestic beasts is impressive, as they crush enemies underfoot, toss them to the side with their trunk, and ram through vehicles. The ensuing explosion took out the elephant, but I was able to retreat to a room in the fortress where I stumbled upon a rocket launcher.
A helicopter arrived for the fortress' last stand, and we peppered it with rockets until it crashed into the countryside. This was just my first taste of marauding through a Far Cry world with a friend, and I look forward to continuing the campaign.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Style: 1-Player Shooter (2-Player Online Co-op, Multiplayer TBA)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release: November 18
