Review on the new add-on for Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars. American redneck saves the galaxy

Each part of the series Far Cry, starting with the third, has a special delusional add-on, which tries to raise the degree of patented Ubisoft madness to a new level. In the case of Far Cry 5, it is Lost on Mars.

Plot
Gameplay
Mars Attacks!
American rednek rescues the galaxy
Critic reviews on Metacritic

Plot

Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars

Like the previous downloadable add-on, Lost on Mars is a prequel to the events of the original game, showing the next flashback from the already familiar characters. This time, in the center of attention, shirt-guy Nick Rye, who never was afraid of flying to distant lands, but certainly was not going to visit the red planet in the foreseeable future.

In the spirit of classic films, Nick was kidnapped and transferred to Mars. And in the kidnapping took part another old friend — mercenary Hyrk. Somehow he got acquainted with the Martian AI and decided to help him save the Earth from the invasion of the Arachnids race. And he, literally losing his head, decided to enlist the help of a drinking companion.

As you might guess, Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars — is a team of hodgepodge of all stereotypes in the genre of Sci-Fi. Interest in itself does not represent a special plot, but it is quite amusing to stumble over and over again various references to the iconic works of the past. For example, to the Shiver of the Earth — the arachnids are hiding in the sand, and to avoid them, you should jump over the rocks.

Gameplay

Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars

The goal of the game is to assemble the power units and use them to launch the reactors of the AI that protects Mars. Of course, all the reactors are not in one place, but evenly distributed over a game map a few kilometers in size, and even at a high altitude. Those who hate towers in Far Cry, play Lost in Mars is strictly contraindicated. They are everywhere!

The basic shooter concept was developed taking into account the fantastic specifics. Weapons in the Lost on Mars do not require ammunition and recharge, just overheating with heavy use. This simplification makes the gameplay much more arcade. To get to interesting places, Nick needs to jump and fly using jetpack. Most monsters have vulnerable points on their backs, an attack from the above is exactly what you need. In addition, the gravity belt in combination with the cosmic wings allow you to quickly move around the level and climb into hard-to-reach places. For example, the local towers (distinguishing feature in each game by Ubisoft), are very high and require a certain accuracy when lifting.

Although visually all the weapons in Lost on Mars are similar to each other, it's interesting to shoot with each of it. There are analogs to the shotgun for close combat (not recommended), sniper rilfes, and even a grenade launcher. Single shot guns can sometimes be more deadly and more convenient than automatic weapons. Especially good are cannons.

In parallel to the search for energy carriers and the launch of the reactors, the protagonist may engage in side activities. The most amusing is the collection of parts of the body of Herc. Some of them, especially those below the belt, are hidden quite cunningly. Reward for resourcefulness — a portion of blunt "gags" from the mouth of the same Herc. Well, some rare remarks from AI.

Mars Attacks!

Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars

Enemies in Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars are bloodthirsty arachnids — a race of insectoid galactic invaders. They have several subspecies, each of which has some interesting feature. For example, some can move underground to come in from the flank and beat near, while others shoot from afar, but are very vulnerable to attacks from behind.

There are also special opponents, who with some stretch can be called bosses. These are great creatures, which are distinguished by special attacks and a large stock of health. In general, Ubisoft worked at least, but, alas, they did not catch a spark.

Something similar happened to the addon Hours of Darkness, which is not quite revealing the topic, but still was a good shooter.

To restore the infrastructure of Rina, you need to find energy crystals and clear the specified locations from monsters. Crystals are often found in the womb of the Arachnid King, huge and dangerous local bosses called critters. Only the first battle with the Queen is complicated. When you will receive more powerful cannons, you can fight simultaneously with three ugs. In total, in the crater in which the events of DLC occur, fifteen Queens are hiding. All of them are not necessarily to be destroyed, crystals can be found in other way.

In addition to the basic missions to restore the base, there are some side quests. First, you need to help Hurk find all the parts of his body, because Rina promised to assemble your friend again. Secondly, it is possible to pass six non-mandatory quests of Nixon Clutch. These are flights on the cosmic wings, the local analog of the costume-wing, along the Martian canyons. Third, find all sources of geothermal activity and explore them. In those caves filled with poisoned gas, special tasks are waiting for you. Something similar to narcotic trips of the Far Cry 4.

American redneck rescues the galaxy

Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars - this is a funny shooter in a fantastic scenery, which for some reason sometimes tries to seem serious.

Developers seem to forget to constantly surrender everything happening with useful jokes, and at such moments you can suddenly be left alone with the thought: Why do I play it?

Visually Mars is not very similar to the real one. There is almost a blue sky with clouds, Deimos and Phobos scaled to the size of our Moon, and the Sun is too bright. But no one promised us realism, it's a movie, baby. Nevertheless, the locations are looking interesting. Well, the graphics in Far Cry 5 are traditionally good. Plus, in addition, an excellent soundtrack, which picks up your partner, turned into a fighting DJ-robot.

The valley of Mars is about half of one of the areas of the original game. But due to the varied terrain types and a good set of tasks, you will spend here from 5 to 8 hours, depending on your meticulousness and pace. And this is twice as long as the duration of Hours of Darkness, and it is quite pulling on a stand-alone shooter.

Conclusion. Excellent fantastic DLC for Far Cry 5 with a completely new environment, opponents and weapons.

Critic reviews on Metacritic

There are some useful reviews on the DLC.

IGN Spain. 72 points — An interesting twist on the Far Cry formula that fails to offer enough variety in its action to keep players interested during its 5-hour campaign;
Everyeye.it. 63 points — Certainly not an unmissable experience, but for some it could still be worth the price of the ticket.;
Atomix. 60 points — Far Cry is a series that's versatile in the Ubisoft catalog. Only here we can travel to Vietnam or to Mars, as is the case of this second DLC of the fifth entry. But although I appreciate the sci-fi setting, I got bored after the first couple of hours.;
IGN. 55 points — Lost On Mars is a strange choice for a Far Cry 5 expansion, and this risky change of scenery doesn’t pay off. While it does feature a hilarious fan-favorite character, I just wish the gameplay was as inventive as the dialogue and gun nomenclature. It’s too bad Ubisoft couldn’t find a way to make an alien world feel more interesting than the Montana countryside. Even with the addition of a jetpack, lasers, and alien bugs this planet feels dull as red dirt.;
Push Square. 50 points — Lost on Mars is a decent sci-fi distraction from the main game, but it fails to really introduce any new ideas. The irreverent story is fine but isn't particularly memorable, and the silly humour accompanying the action misses more than it hits. The combat can be fun and frustrating in equal measure, while the various things to do don't exactly inspire. It's perfectly serviceable, but despite being set millions of miles away on our neighbouring planet, it's hard to shake the feeling we've been here before.;
Gameblog.fr. 50 points — This new DLC that takes us to Mars has a Hurk. It's cool if you like this talkative and dumb character, science fiction and jetpacks. However, it's not enough to have good fun on a shallow map full of generic quests and Ubitowers we thought disappeared with Far Cry 5.

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19 July 2018 14 July 2019 3198