Far Cry is a first-person shooter that includes plenty of open-world exploration elements. As special forces veteran Jack Carver, you're alone on a tropical island, searching for a missing journalist. Opposing you are squads of mercenaries as well as other, more exotic opponents. You'll have to explore the island, take down the bad guys and get to the bottom of the case.

Welcome to the jungle

Far Cry pioneered the combination of open-world exploration and first-person shooter action; it was a critical success and spawned a series of sequels. The concept isn't as innovative today as it was when the game was first released in 2004 -- after all, success breeds imitators -- but the game is still tense and exciting. Even compared to modern games parts of it are well-polished, such as the genuinely challenging enemy AI. If you've played other first-person shooters, you won't find too much out of the ordinary in the controls here, although the gameplay focuses a little more on stealth and tactical thinking than on heavy firepower -- Jack Carver is certainly tough, but he's not indestructible. Although dated by modern standards, the graphics are still attractive.

Revisit a classic

Far Cry isn't the state-of-the-art visual tech extravaganza it once was, but the gameplay is still engaging enough to return to -- or dive into for the first time.