Poor Ubisoft. They crafted this enormous open-world icon-riddled niche of their own, trod it into the ground while flogging it to death, and then other people came along, borrowed their ideas, and built superior games with them. In the last year, despite decent showings from Far Cry Primal, The Division, Watch Dogs 2, and Wildlands, players and critics were beginning to weary of yet another open map of odd jobs. None was particularly at fault, but we were experiencing perhaps the sense of diminishing returns, and certainly the weariness of fatigue. And then this year we got Zelda: Breath Of The Wild from Nintendo and Horizon Zero Dawn from Sony. Pow. Two platform-pushing monoliths that schooled Ubisoft at their own games.

In the wake of being so astoundingly outshone, what can Far Cry 5 [official site] do to reclaim the crown?

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My calendar tells me we’re now over halfway through April. The Met Office tells me astronomical spring in the northern hemisphere started on March 20. Yet the weatherman told me yesterday that I can expect highs of a whopping nine degrees centigrade here in Glasgow this weekend. I’d swear it was still winter had the annual Uplay Spring Sale not kicked off this week, with big discounts on the likes of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Rainbow Six Siege and Far Cry 4, among others. Which others, you say? Find out after the drop.

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There’s a scene in the new Far Cry Primal [official site] trailer in which the player character instructs his pet owl to eat someone’s face. It’s amazing how inconsequential the lack of vehicles and rocket launchers seems now that the full extent of the animal-taming can be seen. Feed wild beasts and they can be tamed, which leads to big cat snuggling, guard bears and tiger ridin’. Given that sniping the locks off animal cages was my favourite way to take out a baseload of baddies in Far Cry 3, Primal suddenly looks very tasty indeed.

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Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every weekday of the year, perhaps for all time.>

Far Cry 2 is the cool Far Cry game to like, and it’s certainly the most interesting and coherent, but if we’re measuring in pure silly joy then Far Cry 4 beats it every time.

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Ubisoft attempted to announce Far Cry Primal [official site] with a tantalising livestream, which was rather spoiled by a brief leak of the game’s name and basic details. Now we know more, including proper trailers, screenshots, and a release date… which will see the game land on PC the month after it’ll arrive on console.

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Update: There’s now proper trailers and everything, embedded below, or hop to this post for Far Cry Primal’s release date, screenshots, trailers and more.

Viral marketing isn’t entirely going Ubisoft’s way lately, but at least having their own promotional rug for the next Far Cry pulled from under them by a loose-lipped IGN Turkey means exciting news rather than quizzical looks. Yep, the next Far Cry is, it appears, to be named Far Cry Primal and is set during the Ice Age.

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Once a week most weeks, the RPS hivemind gathers to discuss An Issue. Sometimes it s controversial news, sometimes it s a particular game, sometimes it s favourite things and least favourite things, sometimes a perennial talking point. This week, off the back of most of us being obsessed with Metal Gear Solid V, we’re talking about open world, or sandbox games. Big map, go where you please, kill or don’t kill – the GTA, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry formula. And it’s very much a formula now. How do we feel about that? Has the promise of earlier open world games such as the first few Elder Scrolls been lost? And just why are we apparently giving MGSV a free pass given we often roll our eyes as Assassin’s Creed? … [visit site to read more]

Haven’t you always wanted to meet Sam Fisher and take home a photo of him pretending to snap your neck? Why not bungee from a Venetian rooftop into a haystack (don’t worry, it’s not real hay!)? Dare you ride a rollercoaster named Uplay? All these dreams and more may very well – let’s say it: will almost definitely – come true, as Ubisoft have announced plans to open a “next-generation theme park” in Malaysia.

That “next-generation” bit has caused some confusion in the RPS treehouse, but we think we’ve cracked it. Read on for our ideas:

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Global illumination.Volumetric clouds.Sub-surface scattering.

These are words that make me hot.

But I know this feeling is forbidden. I should care about games>, not the empty pursuit of photorealism. But oh my, it s so exciting, and not empty. In fact, I think that right now photorealism is becoming crucial to games, and that we should celebrate it.

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Sometimes you need a hand to hold, so we ve compiled a list of the 25 best co-op games to play on PC with a headset-wearing friend or a muted stranger.

Whether solving puzzles, sneaking, shooting zombies or stabbing mythical creatures in the face, the existence of another player adds an element of unpredictability. The reality of your co-op partner constantly alerting the guards is drowned out by the experience in your head – the synchronised stealth takedowns, the perfectly executed plan – but both success and failure are more compelling when you can take credit for the former and blame someone else for the latter.

There is a co-op game for every duo and our selection includes a variety of the most bestest. Don t worry if your favourite co-op game doesn t feature – it just means you re wrong. All mortals are, on occasion. … [visit site to read more]