Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Creators: Ubisoft
Original Release: May 1st 2013
PS3/PSNFREE ON PS PLUS/£11.99
Imagine you’re sat playing a game that is the best mash-up of the following ideas: Predator, Terminator, Tron, Far Cry, Retro Gaming and… Well, the entire 80’s.
That’s exactly what ‘Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’ is; with it’s crude sense of humour, incredibly over-the-top action, and brimming to the eyes with gore, this is one of the best offerings of this month’s Playstation Plus membership scheme.
Now it may seem a little strange to be reviewing a PS3 game, what with a Next Gen console like the PS4 out, but this is well worth telling people about - if you have a PS3 DO NOT PASS UP ON THIS!
The setting is Dystopian 2007, you are the American Cyborg-cum-Super Soldier Sergeant Rex Colt teamed up with another Cyborg ‘Spider’ as you chopper into a secret tech-base of Colonel Sloan (a rogue agent). The opening credits, and other cut scenes, are done in a fantastic 32-bit style that really jabs at old school gaming.
Ubisoft described it as an “80’s VHS vision of the future” as the tracking lines move up and down the screen, quality drops in and out, and really makes you feel like you’re playing a modern day arcade shooter, yet SO MUCH NEON! Serious amounts of neons and lights in play here that it really is a completely different world that you’re transported to.
‘Blood Dragon’ was created as a standalone DLC pack, meaning you don’t need the original ‘Far Cry 3’ to be able to play it; and that’s the beauty of having it for this month’s PS Plus.
It still uses a lot of the control and combat systems from ‘Far Cry’, which definitely isn’t a bad thing, it just takes the best things from that series and take you away from the nature and animals and islands and missions, and throws you into the jaws of Robot Dinosaurs… No, really, Man Made Cyborg Dinosaurs.
You really are thrown into the mix when the ‘Tutorial’ kicks in,the combat computer gives you hints from “Military Navigation for Idiots” and ‘The ABC’s of War”.
You get told “Running is like walking, only faster”, and asked to “Press Enter to demonstrate your ability to read”, and Rex’s responses are less than ‘Family-Friendly’, and this really sets the tone for the entire game.
The last, and incredible point to make are the composers of this game; the infamous ‘Power Glove’ - the crazy Australian Synthwave band best known for their work on this game, and films such as ‘Hobo With A Shotgun’ and ‘The ABC’s of Death’.
This soundtrack was met with critical acclaim and reinforces the energy and down-right insanity of this game.
This game really is the best reason to buy PS Plus, so go buy it or demand a family member gets you it for Christmas or you’ll haul them onto a remote island with Cyborg Dinos.
PLAYSTATION PLUS
PS Plus is a monthly subscription service that not only allows you to play online with your friends, but gives you free games, themes and avatars every month.
You also get free cloud storage for all of your game saves, so you’ll never lose your game but also can pick up from where you left off at a friend’s house. You can sign up monthly, or annually, online or grab a gift card in various stores (WHSmiths, GAME, etc).
Words: Aaron Champion
