“We could have, in retrospect, gone a lot further in bringing some of that narrative into the world,” he admits. He's not really a gameplay function, he's just a motivation. “He's really there to give a high-level target and a goal that the player doesn't have any expectation of being able to get to until they've worked their way through the content. “He's really kind of the MacGuffin, right?” Hocking says. Compared to the bad guys who will succeed him, though, The Jackal’s role in Far Cry 2 is relatively straightforward. But despite his link to the original Far Cry only existing within the minds of the people who made him, The Jackal’s warped moral compass makes him a great villain in his own right. This fascinating origin story is, sadly, nowhere to be seen within the world of Far Cry 2. But he's also been through a lot more and he's seen a lot of messed up stuff.” But the idea is, a decade later, he has leveled up his smuggling game, and he's gotten embroiled in this conflict. Maybe it was drug induced, maybe it's post-traumatic stress disorder, or maybe it's real. “The idea was is just him, 10 years later or something, after he's seen whatever he saw on this island. “Jack Carver in the original Far Cry was this shifty, smuggler, gun runner kind of crook,” says Hocking. These details have convinced some fans that the two characters are related, but Hocking’s confirmation finally transforms the theory into fact. Both Carver and the Jackal have a history in the US Navy, and – perhaps most tellingly – some texture files for the Jackal in Far Cry 2 are named after the original Far Cry protagonist. “The Jackal is actually supposed to be Jack Carver from the original Far Cry,” Hocking reveals, confirming a long-held fan theory. But beyond the game’s story, there’s a fascinating history behind the Jackal that few people outside of the walls of Ubisoft know. This shifting of his moral compass leads to an unexpected finale in which the player works with the Jackal to aid the country’s civilians. Once the hornet's nest has been kicked he thinks, ‘I'll show you what a real bad man is’."Īs Far Cry 2’s story progresses, the Jackal begins to regret the scale of the atrocities that he’s fuelled. It's almost like he's trying to teach them a lesson. “He just decides ‘Screw these guys who are trying to rip me off and cheat me or kill me’, and he embarks on this path to pit them against one another and show them what real wickedness is. “The Jackal is just a utilitarian, pragmatist gun runner,” says Clint Hocking, Creative Director of Far Cry 2. Providing weapons for both sides is Far Cry’s first prototype for its now-signature brand of villain an arms dealer called The Jackal. Set in an open world based on Africa, it cast players as a mercenary working between the two sides of a bloody civil war. In 2008 it released a sequel that would redefine what Far Cry was. Krieger, a villain really only notable for tarnishing the ambitious shooter with packs of his annoying Trigen mutants.įar Cry’s journey towards more nuanced villains began when Ubisoft parted ways with Crytek and took over development duties of the series. That first game saw main character Jack Carver butt heads with genetic scientist Dr. The original Far Cry, developed by Crytek and published by Ubisoft in 2004, did not have a particularly memorable antagonist. They even inspire cosplay and fan fiction within the series’ community. Played by the cream of video game and Hollywood talent, they stand in the spotlight for each game’s promotion.
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This is the inside story of the evolution of Far Cry’s villains, and how they were all created.įar Cry’s villains are always on the front of the box. The journey to this high point has been the result of wild audition tapes, ambitious writing, dedicated performances, and an E3 demo that miraculously turned a cut character into Far Cry’s iconic bad guy that started it all. Over time, the role of the villain in Far Cry has become increasingly important to the series’ identity, so much so that in the latest installment – Far Cry 6 – the antagonist is played by one of the most recognisable villain actors of all time: Giancarlo Esposito. Characters like Vaas, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed have all easily earned their place in the bad guy hall of fame. If there’s one thing everyone remembers about Far Cry it's the villains.