Rumble in the Jungle

In Far Cry: Instincts™, Jack Carver is having a bad day. First, his boat's blown up. Next, he's hunted by mercenaries. And then, adding insult to injury, the man's injected with a chemical that affords him special powers at the price of his humanity. Mind you, that's to say nothing of the missing girl, isolation on Jacutan's uncharted isles, and the fact he left his suntan oil back on the ship.

Bummer—although, in retrospect, not so much as the fact he's being stalked for sport by armed gunmen. Alone and vastly outnumbered, the poor castaway's got only his instincts and any weapons purloined from pursuers to rely upon. Still, there's one secret weapon he can call on that hyper-aware enemies can't: your intellect, and inside strategies like these ...

The perils of a head-on approach.

Guerrilla Warfare
With anywhere from two to two dozen soldiers stationed at any given outpost, one of you isn't exactly a worthy match in terms of pure firepower. So skip going head-to-head with opponents, who call in reinforcements if needed. Instead, use your natural surroundings.

Whenever possible, go slow and stay off clearly defined paths. Creep slowly through the underbrush from a prone or crouching position. Enemies find it harder to spot you. Take time to track their movement and proclivities. Plotting tactical approaches becomes much easier when you scout out the terrain ahead or circle around concentrated troop groupings. Best of all, it's pretty darn entertaining just eliminating enemies one by one and watching their buddies freak out when a guard goes missing.

Sticks and Stones
Now that we're on the same page and you're moving at a pace that allows for reconnaissance and strategic planning, start thinning the herd. The more enemies you pick off before alerting their allies to your presence, the less opposition you ultimately face, and the better chance you have of neutralizing opponents before they sound the general alarm.

A fun way of doing so is to set up branch whip traps, which are placed on any stout tree. Hide in the foliage and throw a rock to attract baddies' attention. When they step forward to investigate, WHAM! Don't like getting your hands dirty? Lure an opponent near and finish them off with silenced pistol shots.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Head Case
Don't even bother aiming for a mercenaries' body; they take five, six, or even seven shots to drop. By the same token, a single bullet in the head slays them instantly. Go for the cranium whenever possible ... it saves you time, trouble, and several dozen clips of ammo.

Total Control
Relax—you're only dodging grenades and automatic gunfire. The quickest way to get killed is to start spraying bullets haphazardly.

Take time, aim, and shoot at adversaries using quick, controlled bursts. Several slugs delivered at once to the torso beats one in the leg on a single pass, one in the chest on a second trigger squeeze, and so forth. Likewise, hold your breath whenever sniping (in-game, that is, you blue-faced goof) for increased accuracy.

Who or whatever you're shooting at, keep plugging away until they fall down or the targeting cursor goes completely white. There's nothing worse than leaving a wounded assailant alive to crawl behind a rock, grab a mounted machine gun, and execute his revenge. Although, truthfully, let them do so, and you see just how ineffective large bursts of gunfire are from anywhere besides point blank range.

Two guns are better than one.

Double Trouble
Unless, that is, you're surrounded, and the opposition is especially fierce—then it's OK to go hog-wild with the double-fisted machine guns. Dual-wielding doesn't make much sense when you're angling for precision; in that case, it's best just to click the right stick and zoom in on baddies with your revolver or sniper rifle.

Should you find yourself cornered by half a dozen hostiles though, the fastest way out simply involves utilizing ambidextrous gunplay to quickly punch a hole in their ranks.

Silent, But Violent
Even when you've got the jump on opponents, hold back on tipping them off to the fact you're lurking in the shadows. They may do something stupid. Seriously — environmental props aplenty are featured, and for good reason. Watch closely as foes wander off and use the bathroom or enter bamboo huts alone. Creep up behind and backstab them or flip onto your back and blast them through the floorboards, and it'll be one less mess to take care of one the sirens start sounding.

Sitting in the hot seat.

Driver's Ed
There you are, cruising along on a Humvee, ATV, or motorboat when enemies approach. Yes, you can always lean out the window and unload on them while driving around in circles, strafing the bums. I recommend a subtler approach, because most vehicles can take a beating. Simply stop, switch into the turret gunner's position, and start mowing down mines, mercenaries, and whatever else gets in your way—even helicopters! Fire up the ignition once the road or river ahead is clear ... of everything besides their bullet-riddled carcasses.

The freaks come out at night.

Back to Basics
There's a reason you have feral abilities, and not just so you can see the blood spray as you rip rivals a new tushie. Use your super strength to leap into enemy encampments when a handful of soldiers are in close proximity, shredding each with instant kill abilities, then jumping to the next.

Lost in the rainforest? Activate your superhuman senses and follow scent trails until you're back on track. When in doubt (or trouble), let Mother Nature, and your own primal thirst for blood, offer a helping hand. Take a moment to pause and savor your triumphs too ... it gives your adrenaline and health a chance to regenerate.

Firing Blind
You may have heard the old adage: "You can't hit what you can't see." Yeah ... it's a bunch of baloney. As long as your targeting cursor is red, an enemy is in your sights. So if, say, you're standing behind a bush and visibility is nil, yet that circle's a lovely shade of crimson, don't be afraid to squeeze the trigger. Your bullets slice lethally through the canopy and strike your target regardless.

I know—it's a jungle out there. Take your time eliminating individual enemies before confronting sizable squadrons, and annihilate larger targets (like gun emplacements or vehicles) prior to firing on foot soldiers or single mutants. Keep your cool and you'll be fine. Well, apart from the whole slowly devolving into a half-human beast-man thing, but I digress ...

Article by Steve Richter