Review: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam for PC)

Okay, so what is Blood Dragon? Well, it’s based on last year’s excellent Far Cry 3. It’s out now to download on PSN, XBLA and Steam. It costs £10-12. And it’s a standalone game – Far Cry 3 isn’t required. There’s no connection to the story of Far Cry 3 – so not really a spin-off either…

Ubisoft have taken the mechanics, engine and gameplay of Far Cry 3 – and then transported them to the most awesome, incredible setting imaginable. The future – or, to be exact, the future of the Eighties. It’s VHS-era, action movie chic.

The future, as seen from the Eighties – what more could I ask for? The setting of such stories as Neuromancer, Blade Runner, The Running Man and Back To The Future II (I guess). As soon as you start the game, an old VHS style “LP” icon appears and the screen sets the tracking for itself, as if it were a favourite old worn out movie tape.

And straight away, the atmosphere of the game hits you – a fantastic soundtrack, dripping with 80’s synth starts to play. The Far Cry 3 logo is shown – but airbrushed with a fake 80’s metallic look. The background of the main menu is a wire frame mountain range that would look at home on a Vectrex screen. I began to grin like a loon within seconds and I never really stopped while playing.

The story is… well, get a load of this. You play as a Mark IV Cyber Commando, named Rex “Power” Colt. These are a cybernetic enhanced breed of super-soldier, created out of the ashes following a global nuclear war (naturally). Only two are left – Colt and his partner, Spider.

Colt and Spider are sent in to an island that looks similar but entirely different to Rook Island from FC3, with orders to take down their rogue former commander. This is explained to us in little snippets of 16-bit style pixelated 2D animation. Think any late-Eighties arcade machine… particularly Operation Wolf. It’s pretty amusing to watch, particularly the sex scene later on in the game.

So who provides Colt’s voice? Why, none other than Michael Biehn! That’s Hicks from Aliens, or Kyle Reese from the Terminator to the uninitiated. But, if you don’t recognise the name, maybe this game isn’t for you. To those of us that know – this is the icing on the delicious cake. Too cool!

And then the game starts – before things really begin, there’s a brief session driving the minigun on an attack helicopter. There’s a song playing – Long Tall Sally by Little Richard. As in the song played in the helicopter at the start of Predator. For one joyous moment, you can raze enemies to the ground from the chopper, with that old favourite playing in the background. I started giggling like an even bigger loon at this point.

When the game proper starts, it feels familiar to a Far Cry 3 player, but with a few twists. There is a tutorial – it starts by stating “Press A to prove you are literate and can read a tutorial” and goes on from there. When you get to take control of Colt, you immediately feel the differences compared to Brody in FC3. In this, you can sprint at great speed all of the time, there’s no falling damage and you can breathe forever underwater – perks of being a Mark IV Cyber Commando.

It also means that familiar controls such as pressing Y to heal, instead of wrapping the player’s arms in bandages as in FC3, play some amazing animations. For example, rewiring the internals of the player’s robotic arms, or welding up broken bits of arm metal with an oxyacetylene torch.

So, Colt is tougher than Brody from FC3. Colt also starts out much better equipped. From the start, you have a pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle and shotgun. These can all be upgraded – to a ridiculous extent. Also as you play through the game, various perks unlock for your character. It’s linear, so there’s no choice in the order you upgrade, but towards the end of the game Colt really is a one man army, it does make things pretty easy.

The island is smaller than Rook Island in Far Cry 3, but it is still pretty big, with many hidden places and items. These include VHS tapes! But, while the graphics look as polished as in FC3, the effect is very different. A dark, purple sky gives a very overbearing atmosphere – think of the future scenes from The Terminator. Overall, most locations are pretty dark, but every item and asset in them is bristling with neon. The weapons are all covered in glowing neon lights too – even the bow! Hey, it is the future.

Just like in Far Cry 3, there are strongholds to capture – however they are called garrisons in this game. There are 13 to capture in all and 7 story missions to complete. All in, there is at least 10 hours of gameplay here, more if you are a completionist and want to find all of the hidden items and locations.

And there are Blood Dragons too – that is what the game is named after! These are huge, lumbering beasts, covered with neon bits (naturally) that must be sneaked past at first, until you can level up enough to take them down. They roam the island and they can also make useful friends – it is possible to divert them into enemy garrisons, thus mopping up enemies for you. Oh yes, they also shoot laser beams from their eyes.

And that’s the game – zig zag from objective to location until everything is completed, all the while listening to an incredible synth soundtrack, listening to one-liners from Colt that would make Duke Nukem blush.

So, one half of the game’s appeal is the setting – the satire of old, much-loved action films from our youth. The other half of the game’s appeal, to me, is that while it plays very similarly to Far Cry 3, it’s a more streamlined, stripped-down game. I never got close to completing every mission on Far Cry 3, it was such a huge island that the task felt daunting. Not so in this – it’s a feel-good, guilt-free blast and such concerns never make themselves felt. Also I actually like the characters in this compared to FC 3, as well as the storyline!

If you can’t already tell, I love Blood Dragon. The satire is just right, the gameplay is solid and proven, the length (or lack of) I actually prefer. 10-15 hours is plenty – but I will certainly be replaying it to relive the hilarious scenes and missions at the beginning of the game.

When also viewed in the context of its price - £10-12, depending on platform, then I have to recommend this wholeheartedly. Sentimentally and for the hilarity this game has given me, I have to say that this is the game of the year so far – for me.

9/10

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is out now to download on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam for PC. Xbox 360 version tested.