Multiplayer gaming is often easier on Xbox 360 and Xbox One, but a Far Cry 4 PS3 and PS4 exclusive Keys to Kyrat multiplayer “mode” may throw that assumption aside.
Keys to Kyrat, which is the only Far Cry 4 PS3 and PS4 exclusive content, allows any PlayStation owner to invite a few of their PSN friends to tackle the open-world game together. What’s so special about a multiplayer game invitation? The fact that the invitation from a Far Cry 4 owner will let even people who don’t own the game participate in the fun. (FYI, you can pre-order Far Cry 4 from Amazon using this link
Without owning a copy of Far Cry 4, it would seem nearly impossible to render the open-world environment and enemies on a non-game-owner’s TV screen. There wouldn’t be any challenge for the host who sends the invitation, because that PS3 or PS4 owner would obviously own the game.
For the recipients who don’t own the game, there’s some technical magic going on. And frankly it’s ingenious.
Rather than stream Far Cry 4 to invitees’ consoles using the PlayStation Now infrastructure, the Far Cry 4 PS3 and PS4 exclusive Keys to Kyrat is more akin to a demo. Unlike most game demos, though, the Keys to Kyrat mode doesn’t just apply to one or two levels, but the entire game.
So what’s the catch? That the non-owner can only play Far Cry 4 for an hour. And he or she also needs to be a PlayStation Plus member.
The one-hour model isn’t anything new to PlayStation Plus subscribers, who have gotten used to the one-hour trial concept for game demos. How it’s implemented in Ubisoft’s game is unique, though.
Here’s how the Far Cry 4 PS3 and PS4 exclusive mode works. The person who sends the invitation will receive 10 “Keys to Kyrat” that can then be sent to 10 different PSN friends. Each friend will receive a single unique key that allows him or her to download a PSN-exclusive trial of Far Cry 4 that supports co-op play.
The demo will have a countdown of sorts, though, that’s tied specifically to multiplayer action with the person who sent the invitation. Each of the 10 Keys to Kryat will only last for one hour.
All XP, loot and upgrades that the non-owning recipient earns will carry over if he or she decides to buy the full game. And honestly, after playing an hour of Far Cry 4 multiplayer with friends, that purchase is highly likely.
Far Cry 4 marks the first time in the franchise that players are able to hunt, fight and explore in the open world with a friend. With co-op Guns for Hire, you can invite a friend into your world to liberate towers, take over outposts and share in the spoils. Hurk, from the Monkey Business add-on content of Far Cry 3, joins in the fight to take over Kyrat.
Here’s the overall premise of the game: Hidden in the towering Himalayas lies a country steeped in tradition and violence. You are Ajay Ghale, returning to the country of your birth, the lush forests and harsh snow-capped summits of Kyrat, to fulfill your mother’s dying wish of spreading her ashes. This striking and unpredictable country offers visitors opportunity and peril. You quickly find yourself caught up in a rebellion to overthrow the oppressive regime of Pagan Min, a man known as much for his sense of style and charisma as his cruelty and calculated brutality. Navigating the treacherous landscape, you find your fate increasingly determined by the choices you make because in Kyrat, every second is a story.
In Far Cry 4, you’ll conquer fortress outposts from the back of a six-ton elephant and take to the skies as you rain down explosives from the seat of your gyrocopter. The vertical landscape of the Himalayas isn’t just a pretty backdrop, but a playground that encourages the player to fight, hunt and explore, grappling up cliffs or launching into the air, plummeting to the valley below in a controlled free fall with your wing suit.
You’ll carry with you a unique arsenal of weaponry that lets you play your way, whether it’s sniping, sneaking or all-out assault. When all else fails, animals can be your biggest allies or your greatest danger, as Kyrat’s wilderness delivers on the promise of a true open world anecdote factory.