Far Cry

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About

Far Cry is a series of first-person shooter video games known for the expansive, open-world environments that allow for more interactive gameplay. The series are well-known for their colorful villains and supporting characters such as Vaas Montenegro and Pagan Min.

History

Released on March 23rd, 2004 for PC, the original Far Cry followed ex-Special Forces operator named Jack Carver in search of a missing journalist he was escorting across a mysterious set of islands. The game sold more than 730,000 copies within four months of release and led to five spin-offs, including Far Cry Instincts (2005), Far Cry Instincts: Evolution (2006), Far Cry Instincts: Predator (2006), Far Cry Vengance (2006), and Paradise Lost (2007).^[1]

Ubisoft released Far Cry 2 on October 23rd, 2008 without the help of the original game's developer, Crytek.^[2] The game took place in Central Africa with the goal of assassinating a ruthless arms dealer.

Four years later, Far Cry 3 was released on November 29th, 2012. The game followed several American tourists besieged by pirates in the pacific. A spin-off, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon followed the game on April 30th, 2013.

Far Cry 4 was released on November 18th, 2014 and takes place in a fictional Himalayan country, allowing players to explore the mountains, forests, and villages of the region.

Far Cry 5

On May 26th, 2017, Ubisoft announced Far Cry 5, which, for the first time, brought players to America. Set in Hope County, Montana, the game pits players in a violent war against a cult who seeks to take over the area.^[4] The game is set for a released date of February 27th, 2018.

That day, Ubisoft released the first trailer for the game. WIthin 12 hours, the video (shown below) has been viewed 440,000. The trailer was also posted to the subreddits /r/gaming,^[5] /r/pcgaming^[6] and /r/xboxone,^[7] where it received more than 1,000 points each, respectively, in the first 12 hours.

The initial announcement also included several character videos, detailing some of the members of the resistance of Hope County. The trailer for the character Nick Rye (shown below, left) received more than 111,000 views in under 12 hours. The trailer for Pastor Jerome Jeffries (shown below, right) received more than 118,000 views in under 12 hours.

Far Cry 6

On July 10th, 2020, Twitter^[24] user @anjonh0422 reported that Far Cry 6 release date, cover art and additional information were leaked due to the game being accidentally listed in PlayStation Store Hong Kong.^[25] On the store page, the game was scheduled for a February 18th, 2021, release. The game will take place on an island of Yara, "a tropical paradise frozen in time." The main villain of the game dictator Anton Castillo is portrayed by actor Giancarlo Esposito.

On the same day, Ubisoft^[26] released a teaser trailer for the game, with the full presentation scheduled for the July 12th Ubisoft Forward event. At the event, the trailer for the game premiered (shown below),^[27] with the leaked release date also confirmed.

Online Presence

As of May 2017, the official Far Cry Facebook^[16] page currently has more than 2.6 million likes and 2.6 million followers and the official Twitter account, @farcrygame,^[17] has more than 294,000 followers.

Reception

The main entries in the series have generally fared well with critics and players. The first Far Cry game scored 89% on Metacritic,^[3] while its successors have generally scored in that range, between 85% and 90%.

Far Cry 5 Release and Reception

On March 27th, 2018, Far Cry 5 was released. Regarding the controversy surrounding its main antagonists, both Polygon^[21] and Select All^[22] commented with disappointment that the game ended up not taking any hard political stances, which caused Polygon to opine Far Cry 5 doesn’t want to offend anyone, so it will end up annoying everyone, and Select All to call the game's vision of rural America "toothless." However, many of the reviews of the game ended up being positive. On Metacritic,^[23] the game received a rating of 81/100, with some critics praising it as the best game in the series, with praise given to the open world, content, and story.

Fandom and Criticisms

Vaas Montenegro

Vaas Montenegro is the secondary antagonist of Far Cry 3. Vaas has been a popular subject of memes online due to the quirks of his character and his memorable "Definition of Insanity" monologue.

Far Cry 5 Antagonist

On May 26th, 2017, people discussed the game's new locale and villains, commenting that this would be the first time a Far Cry game took place in America. Some on Twitter discussed Ubisoft's decision to make rural Americans the antagonist in the game. That day, Twitter user @Spacekatgal^[8] wrote, "I played and enjoyed Far Cry when it had unsettling right-wing themes, and I'll play this one too. But, wow, they really went there." Another user, @patrickklepek^[9] tweeted, "I don't know anything about Far Cry 5, but a game about white identity and extreme nationalism would be awfully appropriate in 2017."

Twitter published a Moments page^[11] to document the reaction to the announcement. Several news outlets covered the announcement as well, including Polygon,^[10] Kotaku,^[12] Forbes^[13] and more

That day, Redditor wolfram^[14] posted a photo of himself made to look like the antagonist from Far Cry 5 in the thread "I didn't realize I was cast as the villain for Far Cry 5." The post (shown below) received more than 50,000 points (60% upvoted) and 2,200 comments.

White Genocide Controversy

That day, more reactions to the trailer, particularly its use of a white, Christian cult as the antagonist, caused some online to call the game a "white genocide simulator." An anonymous 4chan user created the thread "Far Cry 'White Genocide Simulator 5'" and wrote "From a purely business standpoint, I don't understand what their strategy is here. In my experience most gamers are white and seem to be more right-leaning than left. How does alienating the majority of their prospective buyer base seem like a good idea? Do they honestly think this will sell well, or are they just doing it anyway because it's 'the right narrative?'"^[18] The thread received more than 575 replies before archiving.

Since the trailer's release, an online petition on the website Change.org^[19] started, asking Ubisoft to "Cancel Far Cry 5." The author of the petition writes, "Enough is enough UbiSoft. We’ve sat through your multicultural lectures and your preachy games aimed at degenerates and miscegenators. We’ve tolerated it in the name of gameplay design and innovation. But no more! Far Cry 5 is an insult to your fanbase, the Americans who make up the majority of your customers, and it’s time you woke up to that fact. Change this, or cancel it." As of May 30th, the petition has more than 680 signatures, roughly 300 short of its goal.

However, many have wondered if this is a real controversy or an example of Poe's Law, in which the controversy itself is a satire. Redditor FindMeTheTruth^[20] posted about the petition in the /r/KotakuInAction subreddit under the thread "SJW's have been faking outrage by 'white supremacists', possibly Ubisoft themselves as Ghostbusters tier marketing, for the upcoming Far Cry game. Problem is that they forgot to word things so it doesn't sound like them (includes blaming Gamergate for attacking gamers)." The post received more than 1,000 points (77% upvoted) and 150 comments.

Twitter users have also said that they were skeptical as to whether this was an actual outrage or not.