All these things sum up into a very interesting fight, that goes something like fire a couple of rounds (preferably 'in' rather than 'at' your enemy), take cover behind a tree, 'crazy Ivan' for a quick check of your six, turn back around and fire a couple more rounds, check your ammo, and sometimes just hope you make it through in one piece. A stealth approach, as opposed to the guns blazing approach, doesn't always work either, because it's hard to spot your enemy through the bushes, while he's got no problem noticing you, but that's balanced by the fact that he lets you know when he notices something, you know, Thief style: 'Is someone there?' 'Hm, must be hearing things.'

The 'Research' level has you going through a mercenary base, to a cave where some shit happens, that's not the point. The point is it's very tough but also very rewarding as well. I desperately ran the last hundred or so meters left to the entrance of the cave because I just couldn't cut it anymore, I was being overwhelmed, screams, explosions, flying grenades, thundering bullets, flashes and smoke, I could even imagine pain and sweat and everything, what can I say, great feeling.
When indoor, things kinda change. The 'Carrier' level is about you exploring a rusty old World War II aircraft carrier and giving the tight (nonsexual) nature of the location, the AI is left with little space to manuver into surprising you and attacking you efficiently.

And then there's the 'Archive' - some sort of research lab that pits some less human enemies at you. They're not monsters or aliens or shit like that, but rather regular humans that have been genetically tampered with, you know, with a super-soldier purpose in mind, anyway, they kinda look like Doom 3 characters, which is not bad at all, actually. What's bad is that on medium difficulty settings, two of these guys just ignored my 100% life and armour readings and ripped me apart in less than three moves, elegantly and swift, because they're faster, more accurate, and unlike the mercenaries, they have no problem with fighting indoors.

Bend My Spine

Both the indoor and outdoor levels are very large and allow for more than one way to reaching your goals, as you could tell from the demo. Crytek's engine allows for beautiful textures, like in 'Carrier', where rusted surfaces and other realistically coloured textures make for a very credible level that gives you the feeling 'you're there'. Ranging from pixelshaders to poly-bumps, everything looks very nice. Characters are modelled and animated very realistic, though that 'plastic' feeling still exists somehow, but hey, it's only games after all. If you add excellent physics, bullet-impact traces on almost everything and the overall polished impression this game gives you, you get an extremely immersive experience.

There's also the dynamic lightning that's worth mentioning, because its increased quality is more noticeable in this review than it was in the demo, and then there's the deformable terrain, you know, grenade crates, rocket holes and stuff. That doesn't exactly mean you can up and dig your mother's grave or something like that, because the degree of deformability is limited, which means you can only alter terrain in limited 'amounts' and only in certain locations, like the beach or something like that, mainly an open, free of artefacts, surface. Therefore you can't go digging trenches in the jungles, the game just won't allow it, too complex right now. Imagine a hole being blown in the vicinity of a tree - normally the tree should fall or be thoroughly shaken at least, but probably the developers said not to go there yet, their game hogs the processor hard enough as it is. I wonder if instead of hugs I could have said humps and the meaning would pretty much stay the same, but with a mild sexual touch. Hmmm...

Crack My Skull

Farcry's advanced technological stuff adds a lot to the overall great feeling of the game. Huge environments, breathtaking landscapes and the ever-new jungle give you an explorer's feeling, always seeking out the new, eager to go on just to discover some never before seen graphical marvel. It's not just technical, it's great design as well. A waterfall pouring into a little gulf, the water perfectly reflecting every single detail of the tree covered coast, while underneath fishes rush by in packs... the 'Research' level sunk in a sweet crimson sunset... the lonely aircraft carrier of impressive proportions, drifted on the beach... oh, hold me, my love. The indoor levels aren't that rich in details, not that it lacks any, it's simple and not overcrowded, just the right amount of effort having been put into creating a very credible atmosphere, with realistic decor, credible displays and superb lightning.

So graphics and AI are what Farcry has to boast with. The overall impression is that of freedom of movement; vast locations, detailed environments, excellent physics, vehicles, holding your breath while sniping and other shit like that, make Farcry stand out from the 'just another shooter' category. It's not innovative through anything, but the attention put into graphics and artificial intelligence, the care for details and the great atmosphere make this something for FPS enthusiasts to fiddle with for quite a while. Like I said, this game is not that innovative, but as long as it keeps you glued to the chair, it doesn't really need to be.

Pull My Finger

So there we have it, long before Doom 3 and Half Life 2, Farcry will be the product that will nail your PC to the floor once it hits the shelves. Great graphics and better AI are very demanding, even of newer PCs, so again, the time for upgrade is near. Get that extra RAM, overclock your CPU a bit, try buying a DX9 card, it's obvious you can't go on playing new games with a GeForce4, not the way they're meant to e played, at least. What?

Oh, the save system is consolish and weird. The game automatically saves once you get to some specific location, but you can't save there again if you return. You can also have a 'save' screen pop up in the middle of a fight, though that rarely happens and surely will be fixed. And the main character's voice sucks, not as tough as he'd like himself to be I guess. Oh, and the sky is a freaking JPG, but other than that it's OK.

I can't really give a verdict just yet, but if shit gets fixed and the remaining levels of the game are just as polished, we could have a winner right here. Multiplayer should be an important factor as well, so if everything turns up all right, good for us, if not, whatever, we've had our fun with this press preview/beta shit. Oh, and maybe a sequel later? Or it's just me, running away in the corn field, Timmy, no, put that knife down, let go of your sister!