[h1]Only the DLC content holds the game back a bit![/h1]
Before I go into my thoughts on the game, I'll say that this is the first Far Cry franchise game that I've played, so I don't know how well it holds up in comparison to the rest of the series. This game was fun to play and had very interesting story elements, as well as likeable characters (some more than others). The only complaints I have pertain to the Arcade mode and some of the DLCs.
The gameplay feels like a very typical shooter game for the most part, giving you the choice to go in loud or stealthily for a lot of the game's missions and interactions, which is always a nice option to have. With this game, you also get the option to buy and customize a whole heap of weapons, providing a really big variety in what you want to use for your playthrough. I personally like silenced weapons, and since the game lets you roam free with your choices, I could have a silencer on all of my weapons. Some weapons were definitely worse than other choices, and some were definitely a LOT stronger (*cough* Lost On Mars guns *cough*), but overall, I feel like it was pretty balanced for the most part.
Joseph Seed is a great antagonist in my eyes. Not even because of his actions in the game exactly, but just because of how he is as a character. First off, his whole motivation goes toward appeasing the voice of God, which he hears in his head. This goes to the point where he's willing to [spoiler]kill his own infant daughter in the hospital for God[/spoiler], as well as start the cult in the first place. He's also an empathetic character, but not in a particularly normal way. He has nothing against killing anybody who gets in the way of his objective, yet at the same time, he's forgiving to those he wants to "help" [spoiler](especially the main character, who he forgives and lets go on several occasions, even after you make Joseph break down in tears by killing his family)[/spoiler]. Joseph's whole family is interesting as well. The only character I found a bit boring out of that whole cast was Jacob Seed.
Character wise, there were some standouts that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did, like Hurk, Nick, John Seed, etc. Hurk and Nick even get their own DLC together, which I found really fun just because I like both characters!
Arcade mode, as a little multiplayer game mode, isn't too awful itself. It's just really hard to find even a single person willing to play it since it's not very polished. Wanting to get some achievements done requires a friend who is willing to do it with you, since it's practically impossible on your own. The Arcade HERO achievement is pure RNG as well, which is just kind of cancer to get done when every single map you load crashes your game. So, you have to keep hoping that you get the few maps that won't crash, and replay them to finish the achievement.
Now, moving on to my issues with the DLCs (specifically two of them). If you already own Far Cry 3, I wouldn't recommend the Season Pass at all. For some reason, the Season Pass for this game includes Far Cry 3 in its purchase, which is honestly awesome for people like me who haven't gotten Far Cry 3 yet (which I believe is the most critically acclaimed Far Cry game? Correct me if I'm wrong!).
Overall, the Lost On Mars DLC was the most entertaining and fun DLC on this game's roster, mostly because it had an actually normal sized map, pretty fun (and OP) guns to mess around with, and the best part? Listening to Hurk badger on about the very obvious villain being a good guy. Is it slightly repetitive? Yeah. Does it take away from my experience? Not really.
Then we have the Hours Of Darkness DLC, which follows Wendell from the main game back in the day when he was in the Vietnam War. This DLC tries to focus really hard on the stealth aspect of the game, since you get very limited ammo and resources for the duration of the DLC. The only problem is that the stealth in this game is genuinely effortless. You could crouch one meter away from an enemy, and 50% of the time they stay blind and don't even see you. If you start getting spotted, just crouch and you become practically invisible. That, plus the fact that getting through the entire map and doing everything barely takes two hours, makes this DLC somewhat boring and easy to run through.
Oh boy, and then there's the worst DLC of the three in my opinion. Dead Living Zombies. At first, the DLC seems to have a semi interesting premise. This character Guy Marvel (also from the main game) is pitching his bad zombie movie ideas to popular movie directors and writers, with each level being an idea he pitches. However, the execution is just so unenjoyable to play for the most part. The zombies feel like they're completely destroying you through all the screen shake, yet they only do tickling levels of damage. They instantly die from headshots, but suck up body shots like a sponge. The only real, kinda fun part is listening to the dialogue between Guy Marvel and the director he's talking to. I only say "kinda fun" because listening to the 4th and 6th levels' dialogue was the most entertaining out of all of them for me. In the 4th one, [spoiler]the director actively hates Guy Marvel's idea and tries to change it entirely[/spoiler], and in the 6th one, [spoiler]the last director is absolutely in love with his bad idea, keeping up the intensity of the scenario and making a very generic "epic" movie[/spoiler]. Also, the achievement for killing 5000 zombies is genuinely bad game design. You could complete all six levels about eight times back to back, fail several times and have to restart from the beginning, then complete them again, and still not have enough kills to finish it. You actively CANNOT be bad enough at the game to get this one without having to sit down and grind it out after you finish everything else. Which is just obnoxious to do when the gameplay isn't all that thrilling on your first time through anyways.
OVERALL, the game has good gameplay, a good story, and interesting characters. The only thing holding this game back in the enjoyment department was the DLCs! They are completely optional to the game and won't impact your experience if you just don't play them. But if you want to 100% the game, beware of them...
