REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED TO GAMEFAQS ON: April 2, 2015
In case you don't know, Far Cry 3 is an excellent game, but what would happen if you took the gameplay and visuals of the game, and painted a coat of the 1980's over it? You would get Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, an awesome downloadable game.
Set in the distant future of 2007, the world has been partially devastated by nuclear attacks and Vietnam War 2. Sergeant Rex Power Colt, a veteran of the war, has been resurrected as a Mark IV Cyber Commando. With his best friend, Spider, the two of them head to the mysterious Blood Island after word got out that Colonel Sloan may be hiding there. It isn't before long that while attacking Sloan's base, the two of them get captured and Spider is killed right before Rex's eyes by Sloan. Now, it is up to Rex Power Colt to avenge Spider's death and stop Sloan's plans to cause an all out nuclear war.
Blood Dragon's story is silly and entertaining, and the game is very much aware of that. The story and writing poke fun at video games, the 1980's culture, and films of the decade like Robocop, Aliens, and The Terminator. While some of the references in the game may fly over your head, a lot of the humor in this game will make you laugh hard. Besides that, some story moments, particularly the final act, will leave your jaw dropped on the floor due to the awesomeness happening onscreen. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that during the final act, there is a training montage, and Rex will get his hands on an ultra powerful laser called the Killstar.
Also, it goes without saying that the main character, Sergeant Rex Power Colt, is one of the coolest characters ever to appear in a game to date. From his cheesy but awesome one liners to the way he reloads or equips some of his guns; everything about the character feels like a combination of characteristics from action stars of the 1980's, and frankly, that's just plain awesome.
The same great gameplay from Far Cry 3 has carried over into Blood Dragon. You'll be completing missions, liberating outposts controlled by Sloan's cyber-soldiers, and finding collectibles that include VHS tapes and TV sets. Some changes have been made to this downloadable game, some of which involve Rex Power Colt himself. Unlike Far Cry 3 protagonist Jason Brody, Rex is able to sprint really fast, jump higher than a normal human, and he can withstand falling from great heights. In addition, he also has all four weapon slots available at the beginning of the game as well as a couple of advanced takedowns to perform that were unlockable skills in Far Cry 3. Other aspects of Far Cry 3's gameplay, such as climbing radio towers or hunting animals in order to craft different stuff, are not in this game or in the case of the RPG aspects from Far Cry 3, have been simplified. When Rex levels up, he either learns a new move, gains some sort of damage resistance, or his overall health increases, rather than have different skill trees wit different skills.
Rex also has access to a good variety of firearms, including Robocop's pistol, a machine gun, shotgun, and a sniper rifle. Over the course of the game, he'll also obtain a minigun, flamethrower, and the all powerful Killstar. Most of these weapons have attachments that can be applied to them including less recoil, faster fire rates, extended magazines, or more crazier attachments like one that makes his shotgun become a quadrupled barrel shotgun, and another one that makes his machine gun fire laser rounds. These attachments can be unlocked for purchase by completing side missions or finding collectibles scattered around the island.
While the game reuses enemy types and most of the wildlife from Far Cry 3, albeit with a cyber makeover, the one new creature that has been added is the titular Blood Dragon. A blind dinosaur that's attracted to sound and the smell of cyber hearts extracted from cyber-soldiers, the Blood Dragons can be hard to kill (unless you have the Killstar), but thee creatures can be used to your advantage as if one of them is lured to an outpost guarded by cyber-soldiers, it can cause major carnage.
Visually, the game looks similar to Far Cry 3, in other words, it looks great. Though as stated earlier, the enemies and wildlife, as well as the environemt, have all been given redesigns to reflect the science fiction vibe of the game. The skies are now always cloudy with lightning flashes from time to time. In addition, the cutscenes in this game are animated and done in a style similar to that of cutscenes from 8-bit games like Ninja Gaiden.
Voice acting, like the story and writing, is equally silly and entertaining, in particular, actor Michael Biehn (Aliens, The Terminator) gives a great performance as the main protagonist, Rex Power Colt. The music in this game is awesome, every track is rocking/ominous synth and guitar riffs which are memorable and will always stick inside your head.
Much like Far Cry 3, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is an excellent game, but what makes it stand out is the laugh out loud story and writing that pokes fun at and spoofs stuff from the 80's, as well as featuring the gameplay that made Far Cry 3 so fun.
Final Score: 9/10
Link to Gamefaqs Review: http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/710754-far-cry-3-blood-dragon/reviews/review-160402
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