Far Cry 5 suggests a world on the brink of a violence apocalypse, but the game's sanitised gameplay and clean-cut power fantasy ultimately ring hollow. If the series wants to make a case for human savagery, it should look back to Far Cry 2, a game that wasn't afraid to let things break.

Far Cry 5 finally got a new game plus mode last week along with its third and final DLC, a set of brief new zombie missions.

The new additions have inspired players, always looking for mysteries in the game’s fictional open world of Hope County, Montana, to desperately search for signs the game may be changing seasons to match our planet’s actual orbit around the sun.

Is there life on Mars? On the surface Far Cry 5’s second DLC seems to answer in the affirmative. The red rock is bursting with armies of alien insects. Some are small. Some are big. Some fly around like Pterodactyls and harass you by spraying firey chemicals at you.

As these encounters stack up, however, Far Cry 5’s vision of Mars turns out to be straightforward and tedious. Rather than provide a novel holiday from hunting mountain lions and blowing up convoys back in Hope County, Montana, I spent the majority of Lost on Mars desperate to return home to the world of Far Cry 5 proper.

When I start a new Ubisoft game for the first time, I don’t immediately play it. No, I find the Ubisoft Club option in the game’s menu, load it up, and start unlocking rewards. The rewards are rarely good and they sometimes imbalance my game, but I can’t help myself.

It's been a while since Ubisoft took the Blood Dragon approach to the Far Cry series. So why not take Far Cry 5 to Mars?

A little over three months since release, Far Cry 5 finally has a photo mode. I had issues with the game, but its sprawling, coniferous forests and beautiful Montana sunsets were not among them. A photo mode feels like a no brainer.

Unfortunately, the rest of this update serves more as a reminder of everything still missing from the game.

Last week, I realised I have a problem. I'd just finished browsing the Nintendo Switch's entire eShop for a second time in search of a new game. That's a weird thing to do, especially considering that I still haven't finished Breath of the Wild. I should finish it, but I can't bring myself to do it. Hours and hours and hours later, I'm bored.

Far Cry 5 has been out for just over two months. It's had its ups and downs. The game's first DLC, which came out this week, is also a mixed-bag. Throughout all of this, though, a number of players have been focused on one small disappointment: Far Cry 5's lack of blades.

The only part of my two-and-a-half-hour jaunt through Far Cry 5's new Hours of Darkness DLC that really stuck out to me was when a Vietnamese woman taunted me over loudspeakers, telling me the jungle was not my friend and would swallow me up whole.

Fred Baggs was making a level in Far Cry 5's map editor, putting the finishing touches on a project that he says took him dozens of hours. Then one morning something weird happened. The handful of silo doors peppered throughout the level had gone missing, leaving empty holes in their place. His map couldn't function without them.

He had no idea what had happened. One day his game design masterpiece was just a few tweaks away from completion, the next his artistic vision had been crippled.

Far Cry 3 Classic Edition came out yesterday for people who bought Far Cry 5's season pass and it's turned out to be the tropical island escape I didn't know I needed. After several weeks with the recent Far Cry 5 I thought I was done hunting wild boars and accidentally blowing myself up, but it's been refreshing to revisit the bright and verdant Rook Islands.

Ubisoft's personal gaming assistant, previously only available in Canada, is now out worldwide. Its name is Sam, a nod to Sam Fisher of Splinter Cell fame, although Michael Ironside doesn't do the voice (sorry, Stephen). Embedded in the Ubisoft Club app, Sam sounds like any other AI that might reside on your phone, although instead of giving you directions to the nearest coffee shop it tells you about Ubisoft video games.

The first time I clicked on a dog in Pillars of Eternity II, I was delighted. He went right into my inventory. Then I equipped him to my character, and he followed me around, wagging his tail and boosting my stats. What a good boy! So I clicked him again to give him the pets he so richly deserved. Nothing happened.

While on vacation last week, I finally finished Far Cry 5. Though I'd already spoiled myself on the ending (occupational hazard), I was surprised by how moving I found it when I finally got there. The end wraps up the game's biggest questions in a satisfying way.

Today on Highlight Reel we have Zelda moments, Far Cry 5 streaks, Harry Potter horror, and much more!

Today on Highlight Reel we have shattered wrists, late game God of War glitches, chocobo detours, and much more!

When it comes to recreating something in a video game, Minecraft is the tool of choice. Unless you're this guy, who used Far Cry 5's map editor to build a replica of the island from the TV series Lost. Yes, I thought I was done with that bloody show too.

Today on Highlight Reel we have Far Cry terror, racing moments and Titanfall 2 shots!

I hated fighting Faith Seed, the highest-ranking woman in Far Cry 5's fictional cult. She was confusing, annoying, and - like all the game's enemies - wanted to kill me. I was supposed to hate her, but I didn't relish winning our final battle. Faith embodies the ugliness of the game's cult, The Project at Eden's Gate, but, more disturbingly, the bind in which evangelical Christianity often traps women.