Far Cry 4's creative director has been talking up the open-world sequel ahead of its release in November, suggesting the next game in the series would be a "significant step forward" for the Far Cry franchise, at the same time as promising more player agency.
"The idea is always to build on the best and most successful elements from the previous game and integrate new features and ideas to make sure it's fresh and that the game takes a significant step forward. For me, the most important things are enabling more player agency, building better tools and adding co-op so people can create more interesting player stories, and trying to make a seamless experience," Hutchinson told Red Bull in a recent interview.
The creative director also explained some of the features that were successful in Far Cry 3 that are making a return: "The takedown system was great, the outposts worked brilliantly, although we're expanding those to include fortresses, which are like huge outposts. The climbable towers have been improved and expanded, and the weapon customisation are all making a comeback in bigger and better forms."
Hutchinson also explained the reason behind the Himalaya setting: "We wanted a unique open-world environment that challenged gameplay in a new way, so verticality was a big plus: it pushed us to include the grapple and the gyrocopter, which radically change gameplay and provide more options for the player."
Far Cry 4 is appearing on Xbox One, PS4, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and it will launch across both generations on November 18.