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Far Cry Games Ranked Worst to Best

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 11/17/2018

Posted in: Blogs, Microsoft Consoles, Nintendo Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Ranked Worst to Best, Sony Consoles, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One. Tagged: 2, 3, 4, 5, blood dragon, far cry, instincts, predator, primal, ranked, vengeance, worst to best. Leave a comment

9. Far Cry: Vengeance – 2006

Vengeance was a weird experiment for the series and was exclusive to the Wii. The game engine was downgraded and crammed into a weak console and just didn’t work. The controls were awful, and the game just felt like a PS2 game, to be honest. It was ugly, clunky, glitchy, and was just not fun to play. I can only recommend this game for people only curious and want to have something to laugh at.

8. Far Cry 2 – 2008

Far Cry 2 had some big shoes to fill, especially after 4 years since the first game was released. What we got was a generic game filled with not much to do and a boring world to play in. The shooting was good and there were some fun moments, but overall the game was so boring to me and didn’t quite change enough to make this game feel like an amazing sequel.

Best Version: PC

7. Far Cry – 2004

The first game isn’t the best in the series, but it was mainly remembered as a technical marvel back in 2004 and crippled PCs like no other game before it. The insane draw distances, textures, and lighting effects were stunning for their time and the massive multiplayer maps were revolutionary. The game wasn’t remembered for its story or characters and was also bashed for its terrible stealth gameplay, but this is a fun game to go back to.

Best Version: PC

6. Far Cry: Instincts – 2005

Instincts were the first console outing for the series and it was well praised as both a technical achievement and well-rounded stealth gameplay and intuitive controls. Originally released for the Xbox and later upgrade to the Xbox 360, Instincts is just a solid game all around. While it still didn’t tread the story and characters path like later games did, the core gameplay is solid and is still one of the best shooters on Xbox.

5. Far Cry 4 – 2014

Far Cry 4 was too little too late for the series and tried to be too much like Far Cry 3. The game looked fantastic on its updated engine for next-generation consoles, but it was mostly boring and had awful characters. The “Ubisofty” gameplay was ever prevalent here and held the game back with formulaic item hunting and boring fetch quests. Honestly, this game is probably my least favorite in the whole series and is incredibly forgettable.

4. Far Cry: Primal – 2016

Primal actually tried the change the entire game for the first time by going back to prehistoric times. It seems drastic and over-exaggerated, but it helped the series break free of the typical formulaic “Ubisofty” gameplay and tone down the bullet heavy gameplay with spears and ancient weapons of the past. It is incredibly fun and different from the other games despite still not treading too much new territory.

3. Far Cry 3 – 2012

This is by far the best game in terms of story and characters. The main villain is memorable and vicious and the overall premise of the game just keeps you hooked. This was the first time Ubisoft changed up their game engine and started using next-generation effects and expanded the gameplay to what we see in Far Cry today. It was a well-rounded game with good stealth implementation and tons of action and things to do.

2. Far Cry 5 – 2018

Far Cry 5 is the culmination of the entire franchise and perfects it and pushes it towards a new medium and that’s an FPS RPG. The missions are more organic and pop up as you explore rather than a map marker hunter type of experience. The story and characters are further advanced and this is the most story-rich game since Far Cry 3. The game looks beautiful, plays well, has so much to do, and is just a great shooter.

1. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – 2013

Blood Dragon is an interesting game as it was a side project and was made on a low budget. Using actors from the ’80s to voice the characters and having an 80’s action movie vibe the animations to the guns themselves just ooze personality, and I honestly wish we’d get a sequel. I never had so much fun in the series as I did with Blood Dragon and it shows that drastic experimentation can work in the series and in games in general. This remains most fans’ favorite in the series.

Halo Games Ranked Worst to Best

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/25/2018

Posted in: Blogs, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Ranked Worst to Best, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One. Tagged: 2, 3, 4, 5, combat evolved, guardians, halo, odst, ranked, reach, wars, wars 2, worst to best. Leave a comment

Halo is one of the most well-known franchises of all time, even to non-gamers. It was a revolutionary entry in the FPS genre and single-handedly kept the Xbox afloat, and even still does to this day. The game is more than just shooting aliens with cool weapons, the entire world of Halo has deep rich lore that reaches far out into the universe with many characters and timelines. Comics, novels, short films, fan-fiction, the list goes on as to how far Halo’s story and the universe have spread. I myself have read the comic series and would love to read the books one day, but what started it all was the games. Here is every Halo game ranked worst to best.

9. Halo Wars 2 – 2016

Sadly, Halo Wars 2 couldn’t expand upon the great idea of a real-time strategy game in the Halo universe. The original was already fairly mediocre and was left in the dust by bigger PC heavyweights at the time, and Halo Wars 2 just delivered a buggy boring experience that is hard to care about. The balancing is off, the story is lame, and the characters just really don’t matter here. It’s still the very basics of RTS at its core and doesn’t expand beyond that.

8. Halo Wars – 2009

While slightly better than its sequel, Halo Wars was decent fun when it was released but didn’t reach the popularity the other games did. It was very basic, formulaic, and didn’t expand upon the Halo universe in any significant way. Even the Definitive Edition couldn’t really save the game. It’s fun and a good game for RTS newcomers, but veterans will scoff at its infant-like gameplay and tactical gameplay.

7. Halo 3: ODST – 2009

My least favorite game in the shooter series. It’s boring, uninteresting, and was offering nothing new to the series at this point except a boring large open area that acted as a hub. It felt devoid of life and was so dark and plain. It honestly took me several tries to actually want to finish this game, and thankfully it’s very short.

6. Halo 5: Guardians – 2015

With 5 Halo games, you’d expect that at this point the formula would be down pat and we’d get an epic memorable experience and fantastic visuals, sadly we didn’t get any of that. Halo 5 is a generic, boring, and unbalanced slog of a game that has dated visuals and unsatisfying multiplayer. It’s enjoyable for one playthrough, but even then you will be thinking about older Halo games while you play this. The environments all blur together with generic sterile steel walkways, garages, and boring lifeless environments. Not to mention the same damn enemies we have been fighting for a decade.

5. Halo 4 – 2012

Halo 4 was entertaining, but it changed so much from the original trilogy that it made a lot of fans mad. The memorable environments, cut-scenes, and interesting characters are pretty much absent, and the game looked dated as it was one of the last Xbox 360 exclusives released. It would have been better to hold onto it and release a launch title for Xbox One and improve upon it. The multiplayer was good (as it is with every Halo game) but the campaign just felt so generic. I honestly can’t remember the game at all and can’t recall a single moment, it’s completely blank in my head. That’s definitely not a good thing.

4. Halo: Combat Evolved – 2001

The first game isn’t at the top as it’s not the best. It lacked online multiplayer and felt simplistic compared to later games. It had some memorable moments, and of course, introduced some of the most recognizable characters and enemies in gaming history, and helped establish the Xbox as a solid gaming console. The game had revolutionary multiplayer and put a stamp on console FPS gameplay that was made fun of for years by PC gamers. Halo is a fun, yet dated, game and should be played by anyone who missed out on it.

3. Halo: Reach – 2010

Reach was an exciting time for Halo as it was a spin-off, but better than ODST. Everyone was excited for Halo 4, but it was far on the horizon. We got to play as a new team, and it had an interesting dialog, fun new gameplay elements, and great pacing. This game also has some of the most popular multiplayer modes and maps to date. It was a massive hit when it was released and for good reason. It wasn’t a reboot, but enough of a twist to make the series lemony fresh again.

2. Halo 2 – 2004

This is probably the most popular game in the entire series as it was the first online Halo game. It took the industry by storm and was one of the largest entertainment launches in history. I remember seeing on the news, hearing about it, and every nook and cranny of the internet was buzzing with videos and articles about the game. People were paid to train others on how to play Halo, real-money tournaments formed, and the campaign is one of the best in gaming history. It’s a phenomenal game, and sadly the game hasn’t been topped.

1. Halo 3 – 2007

Most people would pick Halo 2 as the top of the series, but Halo 3 is the most refined, balanced, and memorable game to me. It looks amazing on its Xbox 360 debut and was a larger launch than Halo 2. It featured some game-changing multiplayer modes, weapons, and had an amazing campaign that I personally enjoyed more than Halo 2. The story was interesting, Cortana and Master Chief’s characters were evolved and constantly moving forward, and it was just a fantastic shooter. Halo has yet to reach this point of greatness since, but Halo 3 has large shoes that need to be filled.

Forza Motorsport 5

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 02/28/2016

Posted in: Editor's Choice, Microsoft Consoles, Xbox One. Tagged: 5, forza, motorsport, racing, simulator, xbox one. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Turn 10

Release Date: 11/22/2013

Available Exclusively On

The racing simulator has always been a tough one to win. Lately, the series has somewhat died with Gran Turismo underperforming since the fourth entry and losing the crown. Games like Dirt, Project Cars, and various other indie PC titles have taken over for the most part. Forza has been the new champion for quite a while and Forza 5 takes the genre to a whole new level of quality and love. This is the best racing sim I have ever played and that’s coming from a die-hard Gran Turismo fan.

My first racing simulator was Gran Turismo for PS1. It taught me about cars, and how to drive them, but it also taught me patience and how exciting it was to finish 100 laps in one sitting and win a million credit prize pool. It taught me to be a perfectionist and go for nothing but the gold. I have played many racing sims since that day in 1998 and haven’t found one like it since. My first Forza game was Forza 3 as I didn’t have an Xbox during the first two outings. I was happily playing Gran Turismo 3 and struggling with GT4. Forza 3 was okay to me and the same was with Forza 4. Nothing really stood out and both entries felt the same. Fast forward several years later and Forza 5 blew me out of the water.

It’s not just the fidelity of Forza 5 on Xbox One, but the love and care that went into each car. This is the most realistic racing game I have ever even touched with perfectly modeled engines, being able to get into the cars, open the trunk, look at the dashboard, etc. It’s an exhilarating feeling and gets you giddy to actually start racing. Forza 5 has hundreds of cars to buy and I found myself buying a good 30 before I called it quits (more on why later). After getting into my first car I was astonished at how smooth the controls were, how easy the menus were to navigate, and how I was quickly advancing through each series.

Before entering each series, Top Gear hosts talk about that series and the famous cars within. It’s wonderful to watch, listen, and learn as cars are fascinating to me and I love the history behind them. Once I got into my first car I was scared I had to tune it. Thankfully you can completely forgo this tedious chore and just have the game auto-tune your car to the required class limit. I never once had to step foot into the tuning section of the game which is fine with me as I feel this can be a chore if not done correctly. Some purists may get upset about this feature but it allows millions of other racing fans to be able to enjoy the game who otherwise wouldn’t.

Once I got on the track I felt like I was driving in heaven. The cars were handled so realistically and smoothly; with the best racing controls I can ever remember. Gone are the kudos system of previous games and instead there’s more of a regular race here where you just earn credits. There are unlimited rewinds for crashes which are a blessing as I get tired of restarting races because I screwed up. Purists may also hate this, but it’s a welcome addition to racing sims as of late. You also only need to get into third place to get gold which seems like blasphemy but once you play you will realize that you don’t always need it first. I get tired of the racing sim grind of always needing first and this is a nice change of pace. Of course, higher difficulties require you to get gold so don’t worry too much.

Once I finished a series I could complete extra races which range from 8-10 extra. Honestly, these become a chore as there’re less than 12 tracks in the game. Repetition sets in before you finish the first league of races because you want gold all across the board. Earning XP for each manufacturer gives you more credit bonuses at the end of each race so you can buy cars faster. If you do these extra races in each series you won’t ever have to worry about not having enough credits to buy cars. I was always able to buy exactly what I wanted and it was a nice change of pace from the racing sim grind.

Forza has been known for community input and in Forza 5 this includes liveries which are always awesome to put on your car. There are endless possibilities as Forza 5 has a huge tool to create your own looks on your car. It’s deep and nearly endless when it comes to what you can create, but it’s very daunting and requires dozens of hours of practice and an artist’s touch to create the best. If they are good enough you can even sell them on the marketplace which is interesting. When you buy a new car the top liveries are usually listed and I always found something to make my car stand out and look awesome.

Outside of Forza Vista (viewing the cars in real-time), Top Gear narrations, and driving each track there’s nothing really left to the game. There’s enough here to keep you busy for dozens of hours, but the track fatigue sets in fast, and I got bored with the game after about 20 hours. I wanted to trudge on but the series started to feel the same after a while and I could NOT pay attention to driving tracks so I would space out for 7 minutes just to come back and flip through menus to space out again. That’s usually not a good thing which had me coming back several hours a day to force myself to play once a month.

Forza 5 looks fantastic, in fact, it’s still one of the best-looking games to date despite being on a console, but there’s just not enough content to justify spending 50+ hours to perfect every event. There are plenty of cars, but none of that matters if there’re not enough tracks to play on. There aren’t even DLC tracks which is a real shame. My only other gripe is that after you turn off so many assists to make the game more challenging you hit a wall. Either it’s too easy or way too hard. I turned off just enough assists to get some extra credit bonuses, but then I started upping the difficulty and turning more stuff off and it became a chore after that. Every car spun out of control and was terrible to drive unless I went and fine-tuned each car for no assists. This starts teetering into unfun territory for someone who just wants a realistic racing game without the chores tacked on.