
[News] 'Far Cry 5' Is Probably Set In Montana, Probably Should Not Be A Western

There
are a flurry of rumors about Far Cry 5, Ubisoft’s
not-announced-but-certainly-happening next game in the franchise after the
success of the series to date. Like Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft decided they
would take some time off from Far Cry to avoid overexposure, but now
it’s looking like Far Cry 5 may be arriving this fall.
The
reason for this speculation is based on a number of sources, namely that the
production company that filmed the live action trailer for Far Cry Primal is filming another trailer in Montana, and Montana residents
have been interviewed by Ubisoft about an upcoming game. Kotaku’s Jason
Schreier, the man with all the secret sources, has said he too has heard that
the game is set in Montana, but has pointed out that everyone is assuming it’s
going to be a western based on that location, though there’s no actual evidence
exists to prove that’s the case.
Fans
are pretty convinced it’s a western regardless, however, mostly due to the fact
that once upon a time, Ubisoft sent out a survey about future Far Cry locations/settings,
and a western was an option. Answers on these surveys have indeed been turned
into actual games in the past, like with Assassin’s Creed Unity and Far
Cry Primal, though it’s far from a sure thing.
A
good question would be that if Far Cry 5 is set in Montana and it is not a
western, what would it actually be?
I
can think of a few possible alternatives:
A)
The game is based on the original Native American residents of the region,
before settlers ever showed up. This would probably be too mechanically similar
to Primal, however.
B)
The game could be sent in present day and based on some sort of modern
weed/meth/drug/arms trade in the mountains. I’ve been watching a lot of Bates
Motel lately, and most of the seasons are based around that violent
industry in the Pacific Northwest. I could see that being a possible setting.
C)
The game isn’t actually set in Montana, and Ubisoft is just scouting the
location to be a wooded/mountainous region that could stand in for a number of
places elsewhere in the world in a number of different time periods. Hell, you
could probably set a Viking game in virtual Montana and tweak it so it fit.
But
even with these possibilities in play, I don’t think it’s out of bounds to
guess that a western could be in the cards. It certainly seems like something
that could work in the Far Cry series, given that it can essentially
go anywhere and still function as a Far Cry game. There would be
plenty of animals to hunt in the old west, and lots of period weaponry to use
and bad guy bandit/industrialists to kill.
However,
there’s one factor that makes a western Far Cry at this particular
moment seem ill-advised: Red Dead Redemption 2.
Rockstar’s
return to Red Dead is going to be absolutely massive, and I wouldn’t
be surprised if it came close to Call of Duty to be the best selling
game of whatever year it comes out in. Currently it’s slated for 2017, but
knowing Rockstar, it’s almost certain to be delayed to 2018. Still, does Far
Cry really want to produce a rival western with Red Dead on the
horizon?
If RDR2 wasn’t
delayed? I think this would be suicidal. But since it almost certainly is going
to be, I can see the logic here. Another rumor says Far Cry 5 is
coming out in September, and I would be amazed if we saw RDR2 before
March 2018, at best. Going first by this wide of a margin would mean that Far
Cry: Old West could carve out its own market with RDR2 still
barely on the radar. That is something I can see working.
Still,
it seems like a big risk. The Montana setting (or something that looks like
Montana) could be used for a number of storylines, and I’m just not sure a
western feels right for Far Cry. Maybe, but even if RDR2 doesn’t
come out at the same time (which would be an utter disaster) it’s still going
to be compared to that all-time great game regardless. Part of what makes Far
Cry, Far Cry is that it usually feels like a unique entity, like it’s not
copying anything else (except itself, periodically). I don’t know, I can see
both sides of the coin here. We’ll have to wait to know more for sure. E3 is in
a month, and my guess is that we’ll see the official reveal then (and a bunch
of leaks before that).
Source: Forbes
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There
are a flurry of rumors about Far Cry 5, Ubisoft’s
not-announced-but-certainly-happening next game in the franchise after the
success of the series to date. Like Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft decided they
would take some time off from Far Cry to avoid overexposure, but now
it’s looking like Far Cry 5 may be arriving this fall.
The
reason for this speculation is based on a number of sources, namely that the
production company that filmed the live action trailer for Far Cry Primal is filming another trailer in Montana, and Montana residents
have been interviewed by Ubisoft about an upcoming game. Kotaku’s Jason
Schreier, the man with all the secret sources, has said he too has heard that
the game is set in Montana, but has pointed out that everyone is assuming it’s
going to be a western based on that location, though there’s no actual evidence
exists to prove that’s the case.
Fans
are pretty convinced it’s a western regardless, however, mostly due to the fact
that once upon a time, Ubisoft sent out a survey about future Far Cry locations/settings,
and a western was an option. Answers on these surveys have indeed been turned
into actual games in the past, like with Assassin’s Creed Unity and Far
Cry Primal, though it’s far from a sure thing.
A
good question would be that if Far Cry 5 is set in Montana and it is not a
western, what would it actually be?
I
can think of a few possible alternatives:
A)
The game is based on the original Native American residents of the region,
before settlers ever showed up. This would probably be too mechanically similar
to Primal, however.
B)
The game could be sent in present day and based on some sort of modern
weed/meth/drug/arms trade in the mountains. I’ve been watching a lot of Bates
Motel lately, and most of the seasons are based around that violent
industry in the Pacific Northwest. I could see that being a possible setting.
C)
The game isn’t actually set in Montana, and Ubisoft is just scouting the
location to be a wooded/mountainous region that could stand in for a number of
places elsewhere in the world in a number of different time periods. Hell, you
could probably set a Viking game in virtual Montana and tweak it so it fit.
But
even with these possibilities in play, I don’t think it’s out of bounds to
guess that a western could be in the cards. It certainly seems like something
that could work in the Far Cry series, given that it can essentially
go anywhere and still function as a Far Cry game. There would be
plenty of animals to hunt in the old west, and lots of period weaponry to use
and bad guy bandit/industrialists to kill.
However,
there’s one factor that makes a western Far Cry at this particular
moment seem ill-advised: Red Dead Redemption 2.
Rockstar’s
return to Red Dead is going to be absolutely massive, and I wouldn’t
be surprised if it came close to Call of Duty to be the best selling
game of whatever year it comes out in. Currently it’s slated for 2017, but
knowing Rockstar, it’s almost certain to be delayed to 2018. Still, does Far
Cry really want to produce a rival western with Red Dead on the
horizon?
If RDR2 wasn’t
delayed? I think this would be suicidal. But since it almost certainly is going
to be, I can see the logic here. Another rumor says Far Cry 5 is
coming out in September, and I would be amazed if we saw RDR2 before
March 2018, at best. Going first by this wide of a margin would mean that Far
Cry: Old West could carve out its own market with RDR2 still
barely on the radar. That is something I can see working.
Still,
it seems like a big risk. The Montana setting (or something that looks like
Montana) could be used for a number of storylines, and I’m just not sure a
western feels right for Far Cry. Maybe, but even if RDR2 doesn’t
come out at the same time (which would be an utter disaster) it’s still going
to be compared to that all-time great game regardless. Part of what makes Far
Cry, Far Cry is that it usually feels like a unique entity, like it’s not
copying anything else (except itself, periodically). I don’t know, I can see
both sides of the coin here. We’ll have to wait to know more for sure. E3 is in
a month, and my guess is that we’ll see the official reveal then (and a bunch
of leaks before that).
Source: Forbes