Ubisoft are playing to win in 2016. Not only do they have feature-packed The Division set to drop in March, but they're taking a year out to let Assassin's Creed's reputation heal up a bit following Unity's still-bleeding wounds, and lastly, Far Cry should by completely revitalised by changing everything that's gone before. It marks the first spin-off instalment since the ludicrously brilliant Far Cry: Blood Dragon expansion for FC 3, or Far Cry Instincts/Predator way back on the 360. Point being, Ubisoft have so far done right by the Far Cry name, ensuring each main instalment has a proficiency not seen in their other long-term franchises. Speaking of proficiency though, Far Cry 4 was very much a re-skin of part three, from the weapons on-hand to the unlockable abilities - even down to another monologue-loving overlord ruling the lands. Now, we've got eyes on Far Cry Primal and it's been almost two years since the fourth main entry, but has that been enough time to really provide a sequel that doesn't turn out to be more of the same under the hood, fixing the issues that made part four so ultimately forgettable?
9. No More Healing Every Five Minutes
Far Cry's approach to healing was to take a slight left-turn away from Halo's 'just stand still and it'll be alright' model, which has become the industry standard for the genre itself. Instead, Ubi left quadrants of your health bar fill up this way, with the rest being replenished if you took a syringe to the gut, or later, patched up the wounds yourself. In fairness, this was a great way of making it feel like you really were in the midst of an intense firefight, narrowly avoiding death to tie a bandage around a fresh wound or dig a bullet out with the tip of your knife, but the flip side... was it happened every few seconds. See, the damage model for main-man Ajay Ghale could barely withstand a couple of shots before needing to take cover, which would be fine if the general pace of the game didn't require you to face everything head-on. Stealth is a viable option, but if you're going to have any action-heavy focus whatsoever, you either need a solid and reliable cover system, or more health to withstand a frontal assault.
