Far Cry 4 Preorder Screen Leaks Story Details

[Andy Chalk]

Far Cry 4 Preorder Screen Leaks Story Details

A Far Cry 4 preorder screen that briefly appeared on Uplay revealed that players will take on the role of a Nepalese expatriate caught up in a civil war against an oppressive dictator.

The Far Cry 4 cover revealed last week [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134538-Far-Cry-4-Will-Take-You-to-the-Himalayas-in-2014] was rather bland to my eye, but it stirred up no small amount of controversy over what some people saw as blatant racism. At the very least, I don't think anyone could reasonably say that the bleached-blonde guy in the blistering purple suit isn't in an obvious position of power over the local kneeling at his feet with a grenade cupped in his hands. But to what end?

Based on a Far Cry 4 preorder screen that popped up on Uplay before being quickly taken offline, that guy is the bad guy, and it's your job to take him down. "Hidden in the majestic Himalayas lies Kyrat, a country steeped in tradition and violence," the game description stated. "You are Ajay Ghale. Traveling to Kyrat to fulfill your mother's dying wish, you find yourself caught up in a civil war to overthrow the oppressive regime of dictator Pagan Min."

Okay, it's not the most detailed plot synopsis of all time, but it's something. It also bears noting, as Gaje Ghale [http://www.nowgamer.com/news/2404156/far_cry_4_story_protagonist_details_unintentionally_revealed.html], a Gurkha who won the Victoria Cross in 1943 for leading a successful charge against an entrenched Japanese position in Myanmar. Ghale served with the Gurkhas from 1936 to 1964 and died in 2000 at the age of 81.

As noted, the Uplay preorder screen is gone, but it can still be seen thanks to a screen capture posted on Noelshack [http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/21/1400594603-fc4-uplay.jpg]. Far Cry 4 is currently scheduled to come out on November 18 for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Source: AllGamesBeta [http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2014/05/far-cry-4-story-details-leaked.html]

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[josemlopes]

So we play as a non white guy (at least not american white, you know what I mean) liberating its own race? What an actual twist!

Im not usually the guys that wants diversity for the sake of diversity (and in Far Cry 3 there was some reason for him being white) but it would be nice to see a story being told from the perspective of a character that belongs to the foreign place.

 

[SKBPinkie]

Seems different enough so far. But I'd like to hear more about the gameplay.

Cause while FC3's story was 'meh', the gameplay was absolutely great. Especially when it came to capturing bases. After I realized that there's a menu option where you can reset all the bases, I find myself going back to that game every once in a while.

 

[Poerts]

It wasn't obvious that the guy in front was the hero and the guy sitting on the statue's crotch was the villain?

This is the exact same dynamic they used in the cover for Far Cry 3, with Jason Brody buried up to his nose in the beach and Vaas knelt over him.

 

[josemlopes]

It wasn't obvious that the guy in front was the hero and the guy sitting on the statue's crotch was the villain?

This is the exact same dynamic they used in the cover for Far Cry 3, with Jason Brody buried up to his nose in the beach and Vaas knelt over him.

Its actually not the main character in 3, Brody has a lot more hair (the triple) and the head actually exists in the game.

Sure its an easter egg but the guy on the cover doesnt look like Brody at all other then the fact that he is white.

 

[saltyanon]

On another note, the fabulous guy on the cover art is also the main villain and isn't white.

https://twitter.com/BangBangClick/status/468555813963845632

 

[VoidOfOne]

Are we sure this isn't another prequel to Star Trek, or perhaps another rendition of a Shakespeare play? The flamboyant man strongly resembles, in my eye, Sir Patrick Stewart.

Heck, maybe it's an X-Men side story... In any case, these games never struck me, but the art is interesting at the least.

 

[teh_Canape]

Considering the indirect racism of Far Cry 3's set-up, and just how god-damn often we play as Americans in these kinds of games, I'd say this is a welcome change.

I still have this nasty feeling in my gut that Pagan Min is going to be an offensively stereotypical gay man though.

idk man, he strikes me as more the type that is disgustingly powerful and is flamboyant about it
like, that russian dude in alpha protocol

oh well, I guess we'll have to wait and see

 

[MrSchmeiser]

Considering the indirect racism of Far Cry 3's set-up, and just how god-damn often we play as Americans in these kinds of games, I'd say this is a welcome change.

I still have this nasty feeling in my gut that Pagan Min is going to be an offensively stereotypical gay man though.

I don't think he's gay, he reminds of that murder suspect in phoenix wright. I can't remember his name but he was the head honco of that security firm i think, the mia fey case He wasn't gay and was just confident and flamboyant

 

[zombiejoe]

Considering the indirect racism of Far Cry 3's set-up,

At least it's not another white guy becoming the chosen one of an indigenous race.

I'm sorry, but I just have to say this. There was an actual point behind Far Cry 3's choice of a white character in a foreign land, and it was not for the sake of "white hero" or "white chosen one." The game even calls out that idea.

The game makes it pretty clear that Jason becoming a "hero" is in fact a very bad thing. Jason's mental state deteriorates the more he embraces this idea that he's a chosen hero, and this is shown multiple times through the game (ex. Jason saying that "killing feels like winning", Jason cheering with joy after killing a bunch of people and almost dying, completely ignoring the mental state of his loved ones).

Jason becomes so obsessed with the Rambo Hero Save The Natives mentality, that he's unable to realize that he is just being used by the natives, and that they don't really want him to stay as their chosen one.

Come on people, a game actually has something to say that involves race, and people just assume that the game must be racist because a white guy is saving people who aren't white.

 

[zombiejoe]

Considering the indirect racism of Far Cry 3's set-up,

At least it's not another white guy becoming the chosen one of an indigenous race.

I'm sorry, but I just have to say this. There was an actual point behind Far Cry 3's choice of a white character in a foreign land, and it was not for the sake of "white hero" or "white chosen one." The game even calls out that idea.

The game makes it pretty clear that Jason becoming a "hero" is in fact a very bad thing. Jason's mental state deteriorates the more he embraces this idea that he's a chosen hero, and this is shown multiple times through the game (ex. Jason saying that "killing feels like winning", Jason cheering with joy after killing a bunch of people and almost dying, completely ignoring the mental state of his loved ones).

Jason becomes so obsessed with the Rambo Hero Save The Natives mentality, that he's unable to realize that he is just being used by the natives, and that they don't really want him to stay as their chosen one.

Come on people, a game actually has something to say that involves race, and people just assume that the game must be racist because a white guy is saving people who aren't white.

I get that. That's why I said it kind of worked. Kind of. I don't see how they couldn't have had the same story from the perspective of one of the native Rakyat people though. I like Jason, and I like his story, but it does somewhat fall into the "White Guy Saves the World" trope, even though it's trying to subvert it.

The reason you're playing as Jason instead of one of the Rakyat is because the player is meant to go through the same transformations as Jason too. The player, like Jason, is a foreigner who's being told that they're the only one who can save the day. The player is going around, killing countless people, and treating the island like his or her personal playground, much like how Jason would see it as the more he embraces it. There are tons of people who choose to stay on the island in the end because they really did want to keep playing that fantasy. But of course, one of the big themes of the game is that having that mindset does more harm than good, so the ending they get for staying is less than perfect, to say the least.

Being one of the Rakyat, someone who lives and understands his culture, unlike Jason, would tell a different story.

I'm not saying that having a game from their perspective wouldn't be good, I'm just saying that the story they did choose to tell does have purpose, and shouldn't just be grouped into "white guy saves the world."

 

[fezgod]

Hopefully the villain featured on the cover is just as interesting (and terrifying) as Vaas. And if he is, I hope he doesn't get killed off halfway through the game in favor of a less interesting villain.

Granted, Hoyt was still a scary ************ in his own way.

The Himalayan environment has gotten me pretty excited too. Imagine the gameplay possibilities in a mountainous region - scaling a mountain to reach an enemy base, hang-gliding with nothing below you but a thousand foot drop. I can't wait.
Also, we should definitely get a kukri in this game, if the main character is actually a reference to a famous gurkha.

I wonder if the main character will be a local or a foreigner to Kyrat, my money is on foreigner since that's how FarCry protagonists usually are. I actually want the main character to be an American; how many games let you play as a non-white American?

 

[otakon17]

Considering the indirect racism of Far Cry 3's set-up, and just how god-damn often we play as Americans in these kinds of games, I'd say this is a welcome change.

I still have this nasty feeling in my gut that Pagan Min is going to be an offensively stereotypical gay man though.

idk man, he strikes me as more the type that is disgustingly powerful and is flamboyant about it
like, that russian dude in alpha protocol

oh well, I guess we'll have to wait and see

FUCK MAN! I thought of Brayko too when I saw him.

OT: Who cares, it's Far Cry. The strength of the game isn't in the story, it's in the open-world and the expanse and choice of how you go about murdering every bastard that so much as LOOKS at you wrong in it.

 

[zombiejoe]

I'm sorry, but I just have to say this. There was an actual point behind Far Cry 3's choice of a white character in a foreign land, and it was not for the sake of "white hero" or "white chosen one." The game even calls out that idea.

Really? Please explain, because all I see is a game that was almost completely unaware of the fact that it plays out like straight-forward adventure story with the unfortunate subtext of a white guy just showing up an becoming almost instantly better at everything the native brown people have been doing for centuries. Even going to the point where they end up genuinely deifying him.

The game makes it pretty clear that Jason becoming a "hero" is in fact a very bad thing. Jason's mental state deteriorates the more he embraces this idea that he's a chosen hero, and this is shown multiple times through the game (ex. Jason saying that "killing feels like winning", Jason cheering with joy after killing a bunch of people and almost dying

And if the game didn't make it explicitly clear that killing, is in fact, winning, I'd buy that. I mean, come on dude, the game even goes as far PREFERRING a certain kind of mass slaughter.

(completely ignoring the mental state of his loved ones)

Again, you need to elaborate. All we really get is a couple of throw away bits of people being sad. And, it's not like the shift in Jason's personality is portrayed as a wholly villainous thing. I look at it, and just see a guy adapting to a new way of life.

Jason becomes so obsessed with the Rambo Hero Save The Natives mentality, that he's unable to realize that he is just being used by the natives, and that they don't really want him to stay as their chosen one.

What, are you talking about the VERY LAST scene in the game that only happens if you choose a certain ending, and plays like a straight-forward expression of culture? Because, I don't think a game is very good satire if it's entirely possible to be literally unexposed to the whole point of the satire.

Come on people, a game actually has something to say that involves race, and people just assume that the game must be racist because a white guy is saving people who aren't white.

No, I don't think it did. But, if it did... it was laughably inept.

1. The game is completely aware of how it plays out. Why do you think that during the final mission, the vision of Jason's girlfriend tells him that he's not a hero just because he runs around putting on tattoos? And then go on to criticize the fantasy world that he has built for himself.

2. Yes, killing IS winning in this video game. The player feels like they are winning when they kill people. And so does Jason. But in reality, that is a horrible mindset to have. When Jason says that killing feels like winning, it is meant to show how creepy that actually is. Once again, the player and Jason are meant to be going through the same mental journey.

3. But the new way of life Jason is adapting to is not portrayed to be good thing. After saving his girlfriend, he doesn't try comforting her, he just laughs and says "wow, that was awesome!" He, of course, is talking about killing people. The shift in personality is clearly made out to be villainous. There's a scene where, to continue his quest, he needs to torture his own little brother. Granted, he did so to keep cover, but if this is part of his transformation into a warrior, it is clearly not meant to show that it is a good thing.

4. It's obvious that Citra is manipulating the player the whole game. She constantly tells you that your friends are weak, to ignore them and go kill her enemies instead. But it is presented in such a way as to make Jason feel like he's a big strong hero man, when in reality he was always a tool.

5. And yes, I do think it had something to say. I think it was saying that the "white hero fantasy" is just that, a fantasy. I think it was saying that the hero fantasy we make in video games is unrealistic and possibly damaging. I think that it was attempting to combine the standard FPS one man killing machine style with its more human story to create contrast.

But hey, opinions.

 

[otakon17]

Hopefully the villain featured on the cover is just as interesting (and terrifying) as Vaas. And if he is, I hope he doesn't get killed off halfway through the game in favor of a less interesting villain.

Granted, Hoyt was still a scary ************ in his own way.

The Himalayan environment has gotten me pretty excited too. Imagine the gameplay possibilities in a mountainous region - scaling a mountain to reach an enemy base, hang-gliding with nothing below you but a thousand foot drop. I can't wait.
Also, we should definitely get a kukri in this game, if the main character is actually a reference to a famous gurkha.

I wonder if the main character will be a local or a foreigner to Kyrat, my money is on foreigner since that's how FarCry protagonists usually are. I actually want the main character to be an American; how many games let you play as a non-white American?

From the sounds of things, he seems to be the son of a former native. So yeah, he has ties to these people through his mother... I don't know what that counts for though to be honest. As long as there are upgrades, lots of guns to choose from and multiple ways to clear the enemy out like wheat before the scythe I'm game.