Far Cry Instincts is not just a simple port of the hit PC title 'Far Cry' to its little Xbox brother. Instincts is instead an adaptation which seeks to not only bring the title to a new audience but introduce a new experience not available in the original. Instincts adds a new 'feral' mode into the gameplay which imbues the character with some very Predator-esque attacks and powers. It also extends this mode into the included multiplayer, complete with Xbox LIVE support, and 'drum roll please', these guys managed to include a map-editor into the Xbox version so you can actually build your own MP maps and host/distribute them over Xbox LIVE! Needless to say, we were a little impressed with, at very least, the evident integrity of the team and the level of effort they're putting in to show us that Ubi isn't just caching in.

Here's what we know so far:
The story mode we saw was only about 10-20% complete so we spent more time looking at multiplayer. Many of the final FX were not yet in the game but even with that said it looks very acceptable for an Xbox title. In the course of adapting the title to Xbox the team wanted to shift the player's point of view a bit from that of the prey to predator. You start out in a very similar situation with your boat destroyed and tasked to 'save the girl' but you'll soon find the game encouraging you to adapt to the environment to survive. The first feel was this was a much more stealth oriented version of Far Cry - sort of a Far Cry meets Snake Eater if you will. You even had the ability to set traps for your prey, including one rather nasty demo we watched where we set up a tree branch with sharp spikes which was pulled back and then released to grisly results.

This time out you'll have a chance to experience a new mode dubbed 'feral mode' which is exclusive to this version. Mid-game you're going to be captured by the enemy forces and injected with a drug. The results may not be what they had in mind as you'll now find you have new deadly skills including feral vision (Predator vision baby), feral attack, which is a bare hands style attack – rather ghastly actually. Some other features found in feral mode will be feral smell, the ability to actually see the trace of a scent on screen, feral run, allows you to run faster and jump farther and finally, feral strength, which allows you to run with a heavy weapon. Feral mode will also allow for slow regeneration over time - as long as you can stay alive.

Similar to the forthcoming Pariah from Digital Extremes, Instincts adds an adrenaline factor into play. Adrenaline is consumed when using your feral powers and will need to be regained with rest thus adding a layer of strategy and limitation to the use of these rather power new skills.

The game is spread out over 12 maps with many objectives and is expected to last an average of 10-12 hours.

Bring a friend
Instincts will support 16 player Xbox LIVE play or 4 player split-screen on a single Xbox or over system link. The usual deathmatch, team deathmatch, CTF (yes, you can pass the flag), and a new mode called 'chaos' – we're not sure what that is just yet. The MP experience will offer varied gameplay just by virtue of the environments and vehicles. You can go stealth and snipe for your points and go in guns blazin' while riding shotgun on a jeep. You make the call! Did we mention you can set claymores – oohhhh, this brings back pangs for GoldenEye. The Feral Mode will also make an appearance in MP mode along with a game type that has one team defending a helicopter supply drop.

Probably one of the niftiest additions to Instinct is the included map editor. Don't get me wrong here, this is not as deep or complex as the PC version but hey, there aren't many Xbox FPS titles that are going to let you get under the hood and build up your own environments to game in, let alone share them online. The editor includes a few templates with which to kick off your environment. You can demo the map at any time with zero load or render time involved. The pressure sensitive buttons are actually utilized in the editor to give some finesse to the map making tool. Plenty of prefabs and pieces will be available in the pack as well as additional downloads potentially via LIVE. Again, think simple here, but it could offer a break from the normal pack in maps. We'll be curious to see if the LIVE community latches onto this or not.

Just the Facts Ma'am
Far Cry Instincts will ship for Xbox in Sept 2005 with support for 16 players in multiplayer mode over Xbox LIVE.