Basic Instincts

As a former military man, Jack Carver's a natural born killer—he just doesn't know how much so until stranded upon the mysterious Jacutan Archipelago. Injected with an experimental formula by crackpot biochemist Dr. Krieger, the hero of Far Cry: Instincts™ suddenly finds his primitive hunting abilities unlocked.

Long buried deep within the human psyche, these talents allow the star to channel previously dormant animal instincts into ferocious bursts of speed and power, providing a much-needed edge over the mercenaries and mutants hankering for his blood. Behold a few of the skills you can summon while heeding the call of the wild:

Reach out and crush someone.

Super Strength
In his feral state, Carver is capable of literally ripping enemies apart with his bare hands. The star's so beefy, in fact, that he also punches gates right off their hinges. Don't bother being civilized and dropping your weapon; just press the B button. The headliner smashes circuit breakers, batters down barriers, and charges opponents seconds before walloping them so hard they go flying back several feet.

It's an especially useful talent at close-quarters range, letting you execute a series of one-hit kills. Watch out, though; each blow depletes your supply of adrenaline, which regenerates over time or gets restocked when you take damage, stalk opponents, or consume high-calorie MREs.

While attacking, you're also only able to concentrate on one opponent. So if half a dozen soldiers are standing nearby, consider holding back and attacking with grenade or rocket launcher instead. You can always go in afterwards and mop up the survivors, if not the blood they'll leave spattered across your torso.

I never should've eaten those mushrooms ...

Enhanced Senses
Courtesy of the serum coursing through his veins, Carver comes to possess sensory powers which far exceed those of normal humans. For starters, he can see in extreme low-light conditions, or even darkness, letting you get a fix on enemy positions without giving your location away. He can also detect the presence of living creatures in the near vicinity from a sizable distance.

Keep an eye on your radar for the immediate benefits in the form of color-coded dots which indicate adversaries' current locations. Unless you're charging through the jungle canopy at full gallop, you're certain to spot them before they notice you. Use this advance warning and observe their behavioral patterns, place branch whip traps or claymore mines, or facilitate backstabs and silent kills. Before you know it, you'll be the only thing breathing within a half-mile radius, as that intuition will confirm.

Follow the rainbow ...

Scent Tracking
The nose knows. What it knows here is how to alert you to the presence of scent trails. Hold Y, and spot fluorescent clouds floating around environments which mark the recent passing of living creatures. Follow them, and find baddies or bodies of fallen civilians and soldiers whose corpses are typically located near health or ammo pick-ups. Press Y again once you've got an idea where your target is or was headed; accessing this function consumes adrenaline, after all.

Use these abilities wisely too. If there's one thing your sniffer isn't, it's an excuse to go charging into fortified armories and harbors willy-nilly. Remember—helicopters and gunboats don't give off an aroma. Nor will snipers positioned high above ground in watchtowers overlooking key encampments be susceptible to your powers.

If anything, the talent is best employed as a means of seeking out objectives and noting foes you wouldn't under normal circumstances. As such, it should simply be part of a well-rounded strategic approach to each scenario presented.

Dude—what's with the adult diaper?

Improved Speed
So much for Power Bars; tap directly into your inner reserves of strength, and sprint for short bursts at speeds a Kawasaki motorbike would be proud of. The faster you gallop, the closer you move to the ground; a small price to pay for getting in touch with one's primitive side.

More costly is the narrowed field of vision you'll experience while doing so, and the increased rate at which your adrenaline is sapped. Still, when the chips are down, you know what they say about running away and living to fight another day ...

Additional bonuses while behaving like a brute include faster recovery times, health regeneration, and the ability to shrug off blows that would fell lesser men. Then again, there are those disturbing side-effects, such as intense fits of bloodlust. Either way, it's all in a day's work as you hit the beach and get back to nature ... after wiping the floor, that is, with the competition.

By Chris Zimmerman