Thursday, April 11, 2013

My Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Thoughts & The First 15 Minutes Over @ IGN



by Joshua Pruett

You had me at that logo. Look at it. It was a sealed deal with "Blood Dragon" in the title. I am just completely enthralled with that hot pink/electric blue gridded terrain and the font that looks like word art from Microsoft Works. (Yeah, I went there.) It's actually what piqued my interest to even look into the game a couple months ago. I loved Far Cry 3, don't get me wrong, but another game in that sandbox would get kind of old for me.

However, if you slap on a coat of paint that layers over-the-top, ridiculously outlandish throwbacks to my favorite '80's action movies/cartoons, then count me the heck in. Speaking of the 80's, the color palette in Blood Dragon makes this a far cry from being Far Cry. Not to say that Far Cry 3 wasn't colorful. Blood Dragon just magnifies the saturation levels to such greater heights.














Crimson red skies and bright cyan lens flares serve as a backdrop to brilliant fiery-orange explosions as you rip your way through the world's firefights. (I couldn't help but love the evil emblem of Colonel Sloan's army being projected from the rooftops. Reminds me of Cobra. Nice touch.)  I mean, you run around with a blade that glows light purple? Okie-dokie! I assume you will see every color within the spectrum. So much as they should have called it Far Cry 3: ROYGBIV. If you are color blind, it should be even more of a wild ride. Sure it's bold and flashy, but it's a world that I would love to explore because of it. Although it probably won't be for everybody, you got to admit it grabs your attention. Everything you do produces the results of rainbows hemorrhaging more rainbows.

This shouldn't deter FC veterans and fans too much. As far as story goes, there doesn't appear to be any correlation with the FC universe. It does take place on a remote island, but it seems like the only familiar thing to Far Cry 3 is that Blood Dragon just utilizes the engine and some of the game mechanics. It's not a rehashed, uninspired ripoff with a new skin either. That's clearly obvious. I am pretty curious to see what kind of surprises unfold, what enemies you will encounter and what weapons you will have access to as the game progresses. Another interesting venture would be multiplayer. I haven't seen anything concerning that, but given the setting, some co-op and/or deathmatch options would be wholeheartedly enticing.




Yes, the picture above actually happens. I loved it so much that I took this screenshot to use for this post. Cut scenes are righteously crafted. Pixel art is the perfect medium to totally capture the cheese factor for this game and to my knowledge, all of the cut scenes make use of it. The beginning shots of Rex being assembled had me rolling. There is plenty of voice acting that is just downright hilarious as well. (Rex is voiced by Michael Biehn from Terminator.) Check out the tutorials and note the animations. They are some of the funniest I have seen in a game. As far as music goes, the band Power Glove takes care of the soundtrack and boy, it really amps up the atmosphere with a Tron meets Terminator vibe. (PC players get the digital soundtrack when pre-ordering as a bonus.)




The most radical thing is, it's a standalone game. You don't have to own Far Cry 3. The asking price is $14.99, which is well worth it if you ask me. Do yourself a favor and go watch the video of the first 15 minutes from the boys over at IGN. You will laugh at this game's awesomeness and you will want to play it yourself. Trust me, if you love any references to action movies and cartoons from the 80's, this should be your bag. Who wouldn't want to mow down evil baddies with a chain gun from your helicopter while Little Richard blares in the background?



So who's planning on playing this?! What are your thoughts?! I want to know what you think!
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is expected to release May 1 on XBLA, PSN and Steam.
(However, PSN says April 30th?)

Photo credits: PC GamerIGN
Video credit: IGN

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