Why ‘Far Cry 5’ is the most veteran AF game ever
SUMMARY
The Far Cry video game series has always gone above and beyond in placing the player in a beautiful, open world and pitting them against a cunning and well-written antagonist. The graphics in the most recent installment are as crisp as you'd expect from the series, the gameplay is phenomenal, and plenty of critics are already singing its praise, but what sets this game apart from every other shooter is the storyline.
This time around, instead of exploring some scenic island fighting against drug-running pirates or a prehistoric valley against neanderthals, Far Cry 5 pits the player against deranged cult in a fictional county of Montana.
You play as a Sheriff's deputy tasked with arresting Joseph Seed, a cult leader who is a mix of David Koresh, Jim Jones, and a hipster douchebag. There's a palpable eeriness as you walk through his church's compound and Joseph is seemingly compliant at first. He lets you handcuff him before saying, "you'll never arrest me." As you make your way back to the helicopter, one of his followers hurls himself into the propellers, allowing Seed to escape back to his followers, kicking off the game.
The player is then saved by the first of many veterans you'll encounter in the game, Dutch. He's a loner Vietnam veteran who has shut himself off in a bunker while the world goes to sh*t outside. Inside his bunker, you'll find plenty of little references to real-life military units, like an homage to the 82nd Airborne patch (the "AA" has been replaced by the number "82" in the same style) and a patch that's the shape of the 101st, but with the XVIII Corps' dragon.
He offers to help you out and gives you something to wear something other than your uniform, which includes (and I'm not making this up) some 5.11 gear.
The next veteran who helps you out is Pastor Jerome Jeffries, a Gulf War veteran turned Catholic priest. He's holed up in his church with the few citizens who haven't been indoctrinated by the cult. While there, you set up a resistance to buy time until the National Guard can come reinforce. You must band together with the rag-tag group of remaining people to take down Seed and his followers.
Which brings you to the third main veteran in the storyline, Grace Armstrong, a U.S. Army sniper who deployed to Afghanistan. She's one of the characters that fights alongside you throughout the game, providing fire support from a good distance.
Though his veteran status remains unknown, you'll also come across a companion named Boomer. Boomer's a dog who, if he gets hurt, can be healed with a nice belly rub. It's the little things in this game that make it amazing.
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