Far Cry has traveled a long way since its conception by German developer, Crytek. What we now know as Far Cry, the upcoming game, started life as a technology demo for nVidia's nfinite-FX engine, called X-Isle featuring a tropical island and plenty of Dinosaurs. So impressed were the Crytek team with the results that they decided to put their other two projects, Engalus and Silent Space, on hold in order to concentrate all their efforts on Far Cry. The results have, so far, been mighty impressive with the game winning the coveted Best of Show title at this year's ECTS exhibition.
At the heart of Far Cry lies Crytek's CryEngine which is their real commercial effort, this makes Far Cry ..well pretty much a tech demo still. But the entire company was built around Far Cry, with developers realising that they needed a structure to support their ambitious effort.
As a company, Crytek faced a number of challenges. They started everything based on nothing more than a tech-demo, without even an office in place. They started by creating technologies and tools and of course, CryEngine. Crytek's CEO and President, Cevat Yerli explains, We had to create successful prototypes of our core-gameplay. We had to establish a company and its organization. We had to create tools more productive than conventional tools to make-up for our lack-of experience, for the majority of the team Far Cry is the first game ever to ship! Our expectations were never success really, what drove us was to have no fear and the strong desire to innovate in any single element of the game.
Story
As we all know any self-respecting tech demo needs a good story if it wants to take it to the next level and become a successful game. Far Cry attempts just that by introducing us to Freelance mariner Jack Carver. He is cursing the day he ever came to this island. A week ago, a brash female reporter named Valerie had offered him an incredible sum of cash to take her to this unspoiled paradise. Shortly after docking, however, Jack's boat was greeted by artillery fire from a mysterious militia group swarming about the island.
With his boat destroyed, his money gone, and the gorgeous Valerie suddenly missing, Jack now finds himself facing an army of mercenaries amidst the wilds of the island, with nothing but a gun and his wits to survive. But the further he pushes into the lush jungle canopy, the stranger things become. Jack encounters an insider within the militia group, who reveals the horrific details of the mercenaries'true intentions. He presents Jack with an unsettling choice: battle the deadliest mercenaries, or condemn the human race to a maniac's insidious agenda.
