Far Cry 5  welcomes you to Hope County, a small town located in the state of Montana. Over the years Hope County has been tormented by a cult named Eden’s Gate who has been recruiting and purchasing as much land and local business as they could to make them stronger in their quest to fully take over. The Cult, whose leader is known as The “father” (Joseph Seed) has gained control over Hope County and has dubbed himself the saviour. Joseph Seed has managed to quarantine the county by using extreme military measures to ensure no one is able to contact the outside world. Seed will use any means necessary to convert and persuade you to join the cult. Joseph Seed is a stronger believer that without his guidance and control Hope County would be doomed for good. He is joined by his siblings Jacob, John and Faith who are tasked at controlling the 3 main regions in Hope County and keeping everyone in line.   Holland Valley – Controlled by John Seed is the farming Region for Hope County     Henbane River – Controlled by Faith Seed is primarily swamps and rivers. This region is mostly used for the production of drugs to convert locals into fanatical fighters. Whitetail Mountains – Controlled by Jacob Seed is a mountainous region for Hope County. This region is full of wild animals and is the main training ground for the cult’s armed forces. This is also a region that has the most resistance to the cult and they are a faction called the Whitetail Militia.     You jump right into Far Cry 5 as a Junior Deputy Sheriff. Your main objective is to arrest Joseph Seed a.k.a “Father” and band together with the local resistance fighters to help restore Hope County to the way it was before. Easier said than done right? Far Cry 5 is a non-stop action-adventure game that will keep your finger on the trigger button at every turn. From the opening scene in Far Cry 5, it really paints the picture as to how powerful the Seed family really is and frankly its quite chilling. The actor who plays Joseph Seed (Greg Bryk) is phenomenal throughout the game and he really does play the part of a psychopathic cult leader very well. Personally I am a huge fan of the Far Cry series and we haven’t seen a villain this good since Vaas in Far Cry 3.   [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdyTmzm6Y4Q[/embedyt]   In Far Cry 5, you are free to roam Hope County as you please, there is a lot to do that will keep you busy. One addition to this installment in the Far Cry series is you will no longer have to activate radio towers to unlock areas on the map. To unlock areas on the map you will need to gather intel that can be found in two forms. Information about characters, cult outposts, prepper stashes and quest givers or content throughout the world like fishing and hunting locations. As you progress and obtain intel the map will open up. Far Cry 5 encourages you to roam around and open up the map.   Completing missions, side quests and certain activities will gain resistance points in Far Cry 5. The world will react to your every choice. Disrupting plans that Eden’s Gate has will help build that resistance meter higher and higher. You quickly find out that disrupting their plans comes with a price as your resistance meter rises the cult will come at you with guns blazing’. This is what makes Far Cry 5 very enjoyable and a challenging game at that. I died and I died quite a bit because of my reckless run and gun style but that’s what makes this game a lot of fun. Once the resistance meter is fully jacked up you will have an epic showdown in every region once you reach that point. So stay frosty! Not all locations throughout Hope County will raise your resistance meter after completing missions and side quests. The following will help boost the resistance meter for you. – Completing story missions – Engaging in Cult Events – Liberating Cult Outposts – Destroying Destructible structures Each region has specific destructible that will help build resistance.

• HOLLAND VALLEY – Silo
• HENBANE RIVER – Shrines
• WHITETAIL MOUNTAINS – Wolf Beacon

Playing Far Cry 5 I felt in total control of how I wanted to play the game and at my own pace as well. I had the freedom to do whatever I chose to do throughout the game and this is where Far Cry shines. The resistance meter is what drives the narrative of Far Cry 5 and not just the missions you take on. You chose the way you want to take down the cult and cause chaos in Hope County. Combat feels smoother than ever in FC5 and with the weapon/utility wheel being very easy to navigate through you won’t have that much trouble taking down the cult. The A.I in FC5 seems to be pretty engaging and will try to take you down with every chance they get, this is what makes the game challenging and that isn’t a bad thing. The detection meter is a staple with Far Cry games so you always need to make sure you are spotting enemies before they spot you. equipping your binoculars will help assist you in taking down outposts and help your stealth play when sneaking up on the cult.   Perks Explained: Perks are a wide range of abilities for your characters progression. Your main progression comes in the form of perks and completing challenges. Complete challenges to earn perk points to help unlock the wide range of abilities to help boost your player in the fight against Eden’s Gate. Aside from challenges to earn perk points make sure to scavenge Hope County as you are able to find perk points in the form of collectibles. Your perk system is broken down into 5 categories. Survivalist: Improve your health and improve your survivalist skills, including fishing, looting, swimming and hunting animals Renegade: Improve your weapons proficiency, give you access to wingsuit and parachute, and let you sabotage your booby trap vehicles Assassin: Grant access to the grapple hook, and improve your stealth skills and use of stealth weapons Prepper: lets you carry more weapons and ammo Leader: Lets you command more guns for hire and improve their ability to return after they have become injured in battle Crafting returns in Far Cry 5 but did you expect it not to be?. Pretty simple here, hunt animals, roam Hope County in search of materials to help craft items such as explosives and homeopathic to give your player an added edge. You can visit shops to also sell your items such as animal skins to earn cash. You can purchase weapons, armour and other items from the shops as you progress through the game. A helpful tip would be to unlock the added weapon holster perk so you can carry a 3rd weapon. It goes a long way, trust me! Weapons in Far Cry 5 come in a wide range from your melee weapons to your heavy guns. Weapons can be purchased at the gun shops located at all liberated outposts or even your friendly hunter down by the shores will even sell you some guns. Weapon customization varies from weapon skins to attachments. Throwables and gadgets can be purchased as well from remote explosives to your trusty rock. Vehicles work in the same way and you will have some nice ones to choose from. Completing certain story missions will gain access to some pretty powerful vehicles. Here is a little gameplay to just give you a taste of what you can unlock.   [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjv5ubYZeYI[/embedyt]   Let’s talk Guns For Hire. Throughout your lovely visit to Hope County, there are set of unique Guns For Hire. These unique characters are upgradeable with your perk points as your progress through the game comes in handy at times. Guns For Hire aren’t super-soldiers and if you aren’t careful they can be run down quite easily and you will need to revive them to get them back on your side. There is a cooldown period as well so make sure you track that if they keep going down in firefights. Each GFH will have their special abilities so chose wisely in certain situations to help you gain that edge during your missions. Cheeseburger, boomer and peaches are all fangs for hire and once you unlock these FFH you will have a lot of fun. I don’t want to spoil the fun so I won’t go into details here. You’re welcome! Far Cry Arcade is a fantastic feature for Far Cry 5. Players can access a ton of maps that are created for and by the community themselves. Map creators will have a wild time with this and anyone looking to play endless amounts of community-built maps and adventures this is the place for you. PvP modes are present as well in FC5 in the forms of 6v6 options such as TDM. The Far Cry Arcade will in fact have you coming back for more especially during co-op sessions with your homies. Your progression in the arcade will in fact carry over into your main campaign which is a fantastic added bonus and the first time ever in the Far Cry series.   Graphically Far Cry 5 is beautiful on the Xbox One X. 4K Ultra HD and HDR enhancements make this game look fantastic from the details of the environment to that charging bear who decided to try to take me down while I was in my vehicle. The cutscenes in FC5 will have your jaw drop and is truly a next-gen experience you don’t want to miss. Far Cry 5 is put together beautifully and a sight for sore eyes as you play the game. Details with animal encounters are incredible and sends chills down your back when your face to face with a skunk that is pissed off! Far Cry 5 takes you on a wild journey as we have never seen before. Hope County is a perfect setting, with Eden’s Gate and it’s leader Joseph Seed sending chills down your spine. The story and gameplay in FC5 will have you coming back for more and with the ability to choose your own narrative as you progress it gives you the reigns to do what you want when you want. FC5 is beautiful from the landscape to the characters to the angry skunks who will chase you down at first sight. Progression systems and guns for hire give you options on how you want to play and with the added Far Cry arcade co-op gameplay can account for hours and hours as you play through endless community-driven maps, co-op story and PvP modes. Ubisoft has put the Far Cry franchise back on the map with Far Cry 5 and you will not be disappointed with this game. If you are a long time fan or new to the series Far Cry 5 is a game in 2018 you don’t want to miss.   Cheers Folks!