Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Developer(s) Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Shanghai
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Director(s) Dean Evans[1]
Alexandre Letendre
Producer(s) Fabrice Cuny
Designer(s) Kevin Guillemette
Programmer(s) Raphaël Parent
Artist(s) Olivier Nicolas
Writer(s) Lucien Soulban
Composer(s) Power Glove
Series Far Cry
Engine Dunia Engine 2
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)

PlayStation Network

  • NA April 30, 2013
  • EU May 1, 2013

Windows, XBLA

  • WW May 1, 2013[2]

Compilation

  • NA February 11, 2014
Genre(s) First-person shooter, action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a 2013 comedic first-person shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is a stand-alone expansion to the 2012 video game Far Cry 3 and the eighth overall installment in the Far Cry franchise. The game, a parody of 1980s action films and video games, takes place on a retro-futuristic open world island with players assuming the action role of the military cyborg Sergeant Rex "Power" Colt.

The game was released on April 30, 2013, for PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network and on May 1, 2013, for Microsoft Windows and for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. The game received generally positive reviews upon release.

Gameplay

Blood Dragon is a stand-alone expansion of Far Cry 3, meaning players do not need the original game to play it. Gameplay, though akin to Far Cry 3, using the same engine and general mechanics, is streamlined to provide a more linear experience. The skill tree, instead of a chosen path down three "ways of the animal", is replaced with a simpler leveling system that automatically unlocks benefits. The crafting is removed completely.

The gameplay is open world, first-person shooter, with the same vehicles from Far Cry 3. The player will find themselves using high powered explosives, heavily modified firearms, and a large knife in order to kill their way through the main missions. Side missions involve liberating garrisons, killing rare animals, and saving hostages. Stealth is rewarded with extra Cyber Points, the equivalent of Experience Points. The game also includes a plethora of hidden collectibles which, when found, unlock helpful rewards to assist with play.

Plot

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is set in a dystopian year 2007, where the world is suffering the aftermath of a nuclear war. Ubisoft described the game as "an 80s VHS vision of the future" where the player must "get the girl, kill the bad guys, and save the world."

The player controls an American cybernetic super-soldier named Sergeant Rex "Power" Colt (voiced by Michael Biehn). He and another American cyber-soldier known as Spider travel to an unnamed island to investigate Colonel Sloan, an elite agent who has gone rogue. Upon confronting Sloan, he reveals his treachery, kills Spider, and knocks out Rex.

Rex is awoken by Sloan's Canadian assistant Dr. Darling, who, disillusioned with his goals, betrays him. Rex teams up with Dr. Darling to overthrow Sloan's plan to revert the world to a prehistoric-like state with his rockets, armed with the blood of the "blood dragons" that roam the island. After liberating bases, saving scientists, and killing animals, Rex fights Sloan's assistant Dr. Carlyle, who has used the blood of blood dragons to turn humans into zombie-like creatures called "the running dead". After Rex fights Dr. Carlyle's cyber soldiers and blood dragons, Dr. Carlyle is killed by his own AI, who had been mistreated and acted out of revenge.

Rex then goes into a parallel dimension, where he fights legions of Colonel Sloan's running dead. Upon defeating them and "testing his might", Rex gets the Killstar, an arm-mounted laser gun that gives Rex the power necessary to defeat Sloan, at the cost of his own vitality. Following a training montage, Rex and Dr. Darling have sex, culminating in Darling's abduction the next morning. Rex then makes an assault on Sloan's base with the assistance of the Killstar and later, a Titanium Plated Cyber-Dragon.

Rex confronts Sloan who, having programmed Rex, prevents Rex from attacking him. However, Dr. Darling's and Spider's memories remind Rex of his humanity despite his cybernetic nature. With renewed strength, Rex impales Sloan with his robotic hand and fires the Killstar, killing Sloan. Dr. Darling appears immediately after, informing Rex of his success in stopping Sloan's plans, then proceeds to destroy the base. They embrace while looking on at the destruction, only for Darling to look behind with purple eyes and a sinister gaze.

Development and release

In March 2013, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was found listed on a Brazilian ratings site.[3] The lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem said: "I'm working on something now that will be surprising, I think, when it's announced. But it definitely is a 'strike while the iron's hot' thing, and we'll see."[4] More evidence was seen on March 27, 2013, when Xbox Live achievements were found for the game. The fact that they totaled 400G suggested that the title would be standalone on the Xbox Live Arcade, as this is the standard number. On April 1, 2013, Ubisoft released a teaser video and website for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, leading many to believe that it was an April Fools' Day joke.[5] Suspicions that the game was real were further confirmed when retro electronica group Power Glove uploaded music from the soundtrack to music hosting website SoundCloud,[6] and in-game screenshots were leaked.

The game was leaked on April 7, 2013, due to an exploit in Ubisoft's digital distribution service, Uplay.[7] This led to the service being closed until the exploit was fixed. On April 8, 2013, the game was listed on the Xbox Live Marketplace with a release date of May 1.[8] A few days later Ubisoft officially confirmed the game's release with a new trailer, confirming that the game would be released on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Microsoft Windows on May 1.[9] The trailer was animated in a 1980s style, including all the tropes of poor voice acting and imperfections designed to make the video look like a VHS tape.[10][11] A live-action video titled Blood Dragon: The Cyber War was released on April 16, 2013.[12] It was produced by Corridor Digital and introduces the "Apocalypse's Apocalypse", featuring cyborgs as a threat to the world.[13] On July 1, 2014, a physical copy of the game was released for rental to Redbox.[14] The virtual box art cover for the game was designed by James White, who had previously created artwork for the film Drive.[15]

Soundtrack

Australian synthwave duo Power Glove composed the game's soundtrack.[16] Four tracks were made available for streaming on the music sharing site SoundCloud.[6] The soundtrack was released digitally on May 1, 2013.[17] "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard is featured in the beginning of the game. "Hold On To The Vision" by Kevin Chalfant (the original theme song to No Retreat, No Surrender) plays before the final fight sequence. "War" from the soundtrack of Rocky IV plays during the game's last sequence. "Friends" by Dragon Sound (originally in the film Miami Connection) plays at the beginning of the credits.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings83.81% (PC)[18]
83.53% (PS3)[19]
82.00% (X360)[20]
Metacritic81/100 (PC)[21]
82/100 (PS3)[22]
80/100 (X360)[23]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer9/10 (X360)[24]
Game Informer8.5/10[25]
GameSpot8.5/10[26]
IGN8.0/10[27]
Polygon8/10[28]
Award
PublicationAward
Spike VGX 2013[29]Best DLC

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon received positive reception from professional critics.

At gamescom 2013, it was announced that the game had sold over 1 million copies, and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that physical copies of the game may be available at some point.[30] The game is the fastest selling downloadable title in Ubisoft history.[31]

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was nominated for several awards including Inside Gaming Award for Best Art,[32][33] D.I.C.E. Award for Downloadable Game of the Year,[34] and National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards for Original Light Mix Score, Franchise and Writing in a Comedy.[35] It won the VGX award for Best DLC.[36]

References

  1. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (April 11, 2013). "Far Cry 3 + Neon Skin + Awesome Soundtrack + Stupidity = Blood Dragon". Kotaku. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Tom (April 8, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon gets release date and... '80s film star Michael Biehn?". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ Yoon, Andrew. "Far Cry3: Blood Dragon Rated". Shacknews. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Kubba, Sinan. "Far Cry 3 lead writer hints at upcoming continuation [Update: Blood Dragon?]". Joystiq. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Good, Owen (April 1, 2013). "Whatever It Is, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is Looking More and More Bizarre". Kotaku. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Gaston, Martin (April 5, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon screens and soundtrack hit the Internet". GameSpot. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Ubisoft's Uplay Service Hacked, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon Leaked". Game Informer. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  8. ↑ Kubba, Sinan (April 8, 2013). "Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon listed on XBLM for May 1, stars Michael Biehn". Joystiq. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ Kubba, Sinan (April 11, 2013). "Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon breathes neon onto XBLA, PSN, PC on May 1". Joystiq. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  10. ↑ Yoon, Andrew. "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon's animated trailer is a retro throwback". Shacknews. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Kubba, Sinan. "Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon breathes neon onto XBLA, PSN, PC on May 1". Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Savage, Phil (April 17, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s live-action trailer is as silly as you might expect". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  13. ↑ Yoon, Andrew. "Blood Dragon: The Cyber War live action short features ninja cyborgs". Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  14. ↑ http://www.redbox.com/games/far-cry-3-blood-dragon-x360
  15. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (April 16, 2013). "The Man Behind Blood Dragon's 80s-Drenched "Box Art"". Kotaku. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ Budmar, Patrick (April 18, 2013). "Ubisoft talks about 80s nostalgia with Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon". PC World. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  17. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Original Game Soundtrack)". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - PS3". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - X360". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - PC". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - PS3". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - X360". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  24. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (April 30, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon review". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  25. ↑ Bertz, Matt (April 30, 2013). "Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  26. ↑ VanOrd, Kevin (April 30, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  27. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (April 30, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  28. ↑ Gies, Arthur (April 30, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  29. ↑ Dane, Patrick (2013-12-07). "‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Tops Spike VGX 2013 Award Winners List". Game Rant. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  30. ↑ MacGregor, Kyle (September 8, 2013). "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon sales surpass 1 million mark". Destructoid. Destructoid. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  31. ↑ Crossley, Rob. "Far Cry 3 sales surpass 6 million". Computer and Video Games. Future plc. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  32. ↑ Smith, Rob (November 21, 2013). "Inside Gaming Awards 2013 Nominees Announced". Machinima.com. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  33. ↑ P Rubin, Brian (December 4, 2013). "Winners of the 5th Annual Inside Gaming Awards Announced". Machinima.com. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  34. ↑ Karmali, Luke (February 7, 2014). "The Last of Us Wins Game of the Year at DICE Awards 2014". IGN. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  35. ↑ admin (February 17, 2014). "2013 NAVGTR Award Winners". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  36. ↑ Dane, Patrick (December 7, 2013). "‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Tops Spike VGX 2013 Award Winners List". Game Rant. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

External links

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