'Far Cry 4's' Pagan Min Is One Of The Coolest Bad Guys We've Seen In A Long Time

Ubisoft Montreal will launch action-adventure shooter “Far Cry 4” this November. The story follows protagonist Ajay Ghale, a Nepali native who returns to the fictional region of Kyrat to scatter his deceased mother’s ashes. During this mission, Ghale encounters sociopathic ruler Pagan Min, Kyrat’s leader, whose twisted methods of leadership have an entire country trembling in terror.

“This guy is cool, he’s scary, he’s fun, because he’s kind of wacko, but he’s got this weird relationship with the main character as well, he’s kind of friendly toward him, but you don’t understand why,” Raphael Parent, “Far Cry 4’s” lead programmer, told us. Parent has been with Ubisoft Montreal for 15 years, the Canadian subsidiary of French developer Ubisoft. “There’s some cool textures in there the writers played around with and it’s really interesting to get to know the character throughout the game.”

Check out the trailer below, where Min stabs one of his colleagues with a pen “Casino”-style, complains about the blood on his shoes and then poses for a selfie.

“In the intro, you see him killing the guy while being super friendly doing a selfie. This is the first five minutes of the game,” Parent said. “Your mother’s dying wish was for you to go spread her ashes in the Himalayas in the country of Kyrat, where you were born as well. Then, you’re stopped, this weird guy comes in, and while he’s talking to you, he murders his lieutenant and blows everything up. But he has a connection with you from years ago.”

“He’s the dictator, the leader of Kyrat. You’re caught in the civil war, where you’re trying to help the rebels free Kyrat from Pagan Min. That’s the premise,” Parent added.

We got our hands on the same demo Ubisoft let fans play during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in June. The French studio isn’t able to reveal certain facets of the game -- like how many weapons there will be or if the title will contain any major bosses.

The gameplay took place during an attack on a fortress. If you free the citizens trapped inside the outpost, it changes the future events of “Far Cry 4.”

“Everything you do in this world actually matters, because it changes the world,” Parent explained.

There are three ways to infiltrate the fortress -- on an elephant, in a gyrocopter or on foot with a sniper rifle.

“The elephant is completely new to ‘Far Cry 4.’ We put a lot of effort into that,” Parent said. In the game, you can ride the animal into a fight scene, dismount and let it trample enemies. You or your enemies can also harm the elephant with grenades or firearms.

“Far Cry 4” will give players the ability to play online with friends in co-op mode.

“One of the big features is the ability to play with a friend. You can play with someone on the internet, the whole open world, the two of you together. You can both be on elephants, the two of you in the outpost and you can both wreak havoc together. It’s really amazing. You can have an elephant or gyrocopter, or you can both be snipers. All of these can work in co-op,” Parent explained.

“Far Cry 4” will launch on Nov. 18 across five platforms -- the PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

“It’s a lot of work,” Parent said. “It’s difficult, but it’s worth it.”