Eight Lasery, Lizardy Mins Of Blood Dragon's Open World
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, wherefore art thou Blood Dragon? Well - and this is just a hunch - I'm gonna go ahead and say it's because of all the blood dragons. Thing is, our peeks at the neon-drowned shurikensplosion of a game have thus far been confined by story, (somewhat oddly) removing said retro-future laser reptiles from the spotlight. Now, though, it's time for a tour of the expandalone's open world, and the dragons are done tip-toeing about. They are real, they are pissed, and they want cyber hearts for some reason. Watch them frolic, romp, stomp, and shoot helicopters out of the sky using only their eyeballs and their wits after the break.
A shotgun that shoots explosions and immediately catches neo-future-chromegrass on fire? Oh my. Oh my yes. And sometimes, after firing a shot or throwing a grenade, your character just flips people off? For no reason? That is truly magnificent.
Unsurprisingly, Blood Dragon seems to ape Far Cry 3's structure, except bigger and loonier and "that's my kind of blowjob"-ier. Imposing, tall-walled garrisons replace rinky dinky outposts this time around, and their laser fences are impregnable except to other lasers. At the end of the day, however, the goal is still to eliminate all enemies and claim bases as your own, so the core of this one is still definitely Far Cry 3.
But then there are blood dragons. They chase cyber hearts like slavering mongrels, surfboard-sized tongues lolling in the breeze. As a result, it looks like you have some degree of control over them, but only until your temporary distraction dries up. I like it as an upgrade to Far Cry 3's already insanely amusing wildlife dynamic, though, and am praying to the cybergods that blood cassowaries turn up at some point or another.
Blood Dragon's out on May 1st. That is not many days from now. Are you ready?