Far Cry 4 -- Tips for Surviving in Kyrat

Far Cry 4 can be a downright punishing game to the uninitiated. Its vast open world offers spectacular views and an abundance of activities to enjoy, but it's also home to vicious animals, hostile soldiers and treacherous environments.

Want to swim across that big, beautiful lake? You'd better be ready to acquaint yourself with demon fish. Feel like grappling up the side of that mountain? Go ahead, but beware of the snakes at your feet and the eagles over your head.

Kyrat's wildlife is unrelentingly aggressive and the Royal Army members that patrol its lands are equally as dangerous. To help you survive, I've put together a few tips and tricks that have aided me in my journey.

Hunt. A lot.

Hunting in Far Cry 4 is as enjoyable as it is necessary, so do it! It's presented to the player as being entirely optional, but you're going to have a hard time surviving without making use of the various upgrades that can only be obtained by hunting and skinning wild animals.

When you get tired of your inventory filling up after just an hour of gameplay, you'll want that inventory upgrade. When you realize how much the game opens up when you can carry more than just one weapon and a sidearm, you'll want the holster upgrade. I can't tell you how much fun I've had - and how much more effective I've become in combat - now that I can carry an assault rifle, a shotgun sidearm, a sniper rifle and a longbow all at once.

If you have animal pellets that can't be used for crafting, you can instead use them as bait. Having trouble claiming an outpost from the Royal Army? Throw some bait at a cluster of enemy soldiers and watch as a wild cougar hops into the fray and tears them apart. Just remember that it'll attack you as well if it sees you.

Be quiet.

I'm a sucker for stealth. Few things are more satisfying in Far Cry 4 than overtaking an outpost without being seen. It's a great way to play this game and it can make your life a lot easier. If you want to pull it off, though, you're going to need the right gear.

The longbow is your best friend here. Not only can it take out most enemies with just one shot - it's also completely silent. You'll also want a silenced sniper rifle with an enhanced scope for long-range engagements. Many outposts feature rooftops guarded by soldiers. Taking these guys out first will make approaching the outpost easier, and since they're up on the roof, the risk of their bodies being discovered is quite low.

When you're up close and personal, take-downs are the way to go. Approaching an enemy while crouched and clicking the right stick will allow you to perform a stealth take-down. You can spend skill points to upgrade your take-downs and tailor them to your playstyle.

Find a different path.

One of the frustrations many gamers face when playing open-world games is being unable to reach a waypoint. We've all been there - invisible walls, unclimbable mountains, dead ends. I get it. But in Kyrat, if it looks like you can get somewhere - you probably can.

If you follow a path that seems to end abruptly, look up! There may be a ledge for you to climb up. If you're trekking up the side of a mountain and can't reach the top, search for grappling locations. They're everywhere.

Climbing and grappling aren't always necessary, but there are times when running around on foot can put you at risk. Finding higher ground from which to attack your enemies is often worth the extra effort, and sometimes you'll want to avoid combat altogether.

Hopefully these tips prove useful for you during your adventures in Kyrat. If you have a tip of your own, let me know in the comments!

Halo: The Master Chief Collection -- First Impressions

"I need a weapon."

At long last, the highly anticipated Master Chief Collection has been unleashed upon the masses in celebration of Halo 2's 10-year anniversary. The second installment in the acclaimed series of first-person shooters is joined by Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3 and Halo 4 in one massive, content-packed collection available exclusively on Xbox One.

After downloading the digital version of the game (and a 15-gigabyte patch), I booted it up and was welcomed by the iconic "chanting monks" theme music that has become a staple of the franchise. Chills ensued.

I skipped the remastered rendition of Combat Evolved that was released on Xbox 360 a couple years ago, so my first order of business was to play through the classic campaign in glorious HD.

I came away quite impressed.

The game looks terrific and runs as smooth as butter. Controls are tight, soundtrack is epic and the storyline is still, in my mind, the best of any Halo game to date. Being able to instantly switch between the original and remastered versions with the click of a button is thoroughly fascinating and really highlights how far graphics have come in a relatively short amount of time.

My nine-hour journey through Combat Evolved was a fun-filled trek down memory lane - though a far more difficult one than I remembered. Even playing on normal difficulty, I must have died at least a dozen times at the hands of the Covenant and those pesky Flood. Not that I'm complaining, mind you - it was a welcome challenge that kept me on my toes but never felt harsh or unfair.

If I had one complaint about the campaign, it would be the less-than-stellar level design in some areas. Too often I found myself backtracking through the same narrow hallways, running up the same ramps and killing the same set of enemies in rooms that looked identical to one another.

I've always felt that first-person shooters should guide the player forward, creating a constant sense of progression. This isn't a game that involves looting or questing, so why am I revisiting the same locations?

Moving on from the campaign, I would like to quickly touch on the multiplayer component of the Master Chief Collection. After all, the selling point of this package is the ability to play iconic Halo maps and game modes online on a next-gen console.

Unfortunately, we can't. Not yet, anyway. Matchmaking is completely broken at this point in time, though some players have been able to find games with limited success. In my five attempts to find a match, I was only successful once and was placed in a game where - of the six players in the lobby - four were placed on one team and two on the other. Within thirty seconds everybody had been disconnected but me.

It sure was fun running around Lockout all alone with a battle rifle and nothing to point it at!

343 has issued a statement on the connection issues and will undoubtedly implement a solution. Hopefully that fix isn't too far out.

In the meantime, there's plenty of content here to keep me occupied.