At the GameStop Expo last week, I was able to get my hands on the Far Cry 4 demo. Far Cry 3 was my game of the year in 2012, and the sequel is easily my most anticipated game of 2014.

Yup, even over Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (more on that demo in a future post).

My time with the game was brief (around fifteen minutes), but I left impressed and a bit daunted.

You could choose between three options to infiltrate a particular outpost: stealth, slightly less stealth, and super un-stealth with an unwieldy gyrocopter. I was warned that I would likely die if I chose the gyrocopter option.

So I chose that first.

And they were right! That thing was so bizarre to control that I crashed and burned. Literally. It was sort of hilarious.

For the next option, I chose stealth ( in which I fared far better). The stealth option allowed me time to explore a bit, and that’s when it really dawned on me: this game is beautiful. The visuals are crisp, and the environment is gorgeous. I ignored the waiting outpost and took the opportunity to meet the elephants. How wonderful! I scampered up on one of their backs and we had a grand old time playing splashy in the river with the water lillies.

Was this the Far Cry experience I thought I would have? Nope. Did I love it and did it make me look forward to the game even more? Yup.

(There I am riding on Mr. Elephant with my sniper rifle. I will protect all the elephants. Just like Tony Jaa.)

When I eventually got to the outpost and started to clear it, I noticed a few changes. The game overall seems a bit less forgiving. I was fairly adept at FC3, and maybe it was just the time away from the controls, but I didn’t clean out that outpost in a way I was proud of. Hopefully once I have a bit more time, I will get a better feel for the controls and the AI.

Or perhaps the game really is more punishing. I will know for sure on November 18th.

I can’t wait to hear more about the Shangri-La segments of the game, especially after seeing a few stills. The color saturation and the stylization have me fully intrigued. It’s also a plus that you have a majestic elephant friend-beast, as well as a tiger companion.

Ultimately, my demo with Far Cry 4 made me want more Far Cry 4. That midnight launch can’t come soon enough.