Jake

Far Cry 2

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When the game is "working," it's amazing. The map system is still unparalleled in modern design, and the concept of weapon fatigue seems mostly ignored since 2008 (the Souls games notwithstanding). But the AI is definitely isn't tightened up the way it should be (how can it both magically see me through dense foliage a quarter-mile away and other times stand six feet from me and not spot me?), the story is sloppy, and the gameplay doesn't amount to much more than "upgrade guns to kill better."

 

This is one of those games that I always wanted and expected to love, but it just never sat well with me. I'm going to continue playing it for the time being, but I can't help but feel that despite veering off into a more casual arena, FC3 is the better game.

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...how can it both magically see me through dense foliage a quarter-mile away and other times stand six feet from me and not spot me?

 

This is an obvious bit, but have you bought the stealth suit? It reduces the AI awareness radius from "implausibly omniscient" to "extremely alert but otherwise normal," which makes its occasional inability to see five feet away more plausible.

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When I came back to this a year or so ago I found the game extremely disorienting. There was something about the rendering or the movement that was bothering my eyes and making me nauseous. I also lost my save some time between when I bought it new and now, which is disappointing. It made me sad. I loved FC2 before I even knew what Idle Thumbs was, and listening has nurtured that love. Now it's love lost.

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So I guess I've come around on this game. Steam clock says 33 hours.

 

The game is deeply flawed in some seriously fundamental ways--the AI shooting in your direction even when they are clearly facing another direction, repetitive mission structure, and outright buggy code, for one--but the underlying design and interactive systems are fantastic. The map, fire propagation, unreliable weapons and threat of malaria really add so much to what should be an average open-world shooter.

 

I know some people feel let down by the ending, but considering how inconsequential the plot feels to the whole game, I didn't really feel short-changed. It is disappointing to discover that there is no difference in the ending cinema regardless of which option you choose.

 

For anyone thinking about playing this game, I would suggest turning the music off. It makes for a far more enjoyable, immersive experience. Also, I found myself loading up old Thumbcasts so I could listen to the crew talk about the game while I was playing it.

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I'll be starting this in a few days. The suspense has been building for years and it will probably be impossible for it to live up to it's legendary reputation but I'm excited to get my first video game malaria!

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I started this last night. Music is pretty low key and seems fine to me so I think I'm going to leave that on unless it turns to crap later. As far as the saving goes, I see that there are designated save points and that I can also save in the game menu. Is there any point to using the save points since I can just save in the menu?

 

And I can tell I'm gonna like this game. Seems like there are quite a few different game mechanics to keep track of and it seems pretty compelling so far (at least gameplay-wise, story seems pretty standard).

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I think the save points are a carry over from when it was only on early consoles, to save disc space or something.... i dont know but they are not necessary. I suggested to turn the music off, not because I think its bad, but because it kind of ramps up when you get into combat and I didn't like it. Having just the ambient sound made it more enjoyable for me. 

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I think the save points are a carry over from when it was only on early consoles, to save disc space or something.... i dont know but they are not necessary. I suggested to turn the music off, not because I think its bad, but because it kind of ramps up when you get into combat and I didn't like it. Having just the ambient sound made it more enjoyable for me. 

 

Ah I see, I think I'm fine with the music ramping up during combat. And speaking of the ambient sound, it is really good. I stealthed my way through that first hostage/prisoner rescue mission in the middle of night and all the ambient sound effects really set a fantastic atmosphere.

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The music in FC2 is so repetitive that it drove me bonkers. There are two firefight escalation loops that grate on you after a few hours' play, and the transitions for the music aren't particularly well implemented. Again, I'll recommend shutting it off.

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Yeah, I think the music is perfectly fine. It's pretty subdued anyways and kind of just fades in and out. And I kind of like the tension it adds to fights.

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For some reason I turned the music off pretty early in the game and I never thought about turning it back on, so I don't really remember it well. But it's strange how as a result of that I think of Far Cry 2 as a game defined by silence, only broken by sudden explosions, car engines and muted gunshots. When the credits rolled I thought it was really weird they didn't had any background music, but I took it as some sort of bold creative decision that kept in tone with the rest of the game. Then I realized that I had turned the music off since the beginning. 

 

I would also recommend not using the dlc weapons (incendiary crossbow and silenced shotgun), they are kind of overpowered compared to the regular ones. 

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Pepper in your own voluntary challenges. I like using weapons and vehicles until they explode and put off using medicine until I am almost dead. Far Cry 2 is at it's best when everything is going wrong.

 

edit: Also, the map editor for FC2 is such a heartbreak. It's so easy and such a pleasure to use, but all you can do with it is play variations of team deathmatch and capture the flag. All this on a map about half a kilometer square. I wish to crap I could populate it with AI and create single player or cooperative multi challenges.

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I would also recommend not using the dlc weapons (incendiary crossbow and silenced shotgun), they are kind of overpowered compared to the regular ones. 

 

is that the crossbow whose bolts explode on impact? I love that gun... and yea it makes some things pretty easy, even though you only have 3 bolts for it 

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I played the game through on a PS3 using only save points. IMO many of the more revolutionary aspects disappear when using regular saves. The buddy system is the most unique, but with quick save, what reason does it have to exisr?

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I've done a few missions now and feel like I've put enough time in to have some actual thoughts on this game.

The two overwhelming feelings I have while playing this game are trepidation and excitement. Every time I leave a safe house or bus stop and start driving down those dirt roads, I find myself wondering how far I will get before murder starts raining down on me. And usually, before I even finish that thought, I hear an engine revving behind me followed by a rain of bullets that forces me to stop and get out before my car explodes.

The first couple hours of playing I was wondering what the big deal was and why people complained about this game being too hard or too unforgiving. I had only died once because of some stupid mistake and the few times I came to a guard outpost, I was able to pick them all off pretty easily while maneuvering around some rocks and trees. Then last night, during an extended play session, everything just started literally falling apart. During one encounter, my rocket launcher fired a dud and then promptly fell apart in my hands, leaving me with no option but to chuck a couple grenades and then run back in the other direction as an exploding car started a brush fire that nearly surrounded me. In another encounter, I tried to stop my car a good distance away from an outpost to safely pick off the enemies but was spotted prematurely by some guys who immediately hopped into a car and charged me. I barely managed to take them out before my assault rifle fell apart in my hands at which point I heard another engine rev behind me, causing me to instinctively jump onto the hood of my car just in time to avoid being smashed. But at this point I had lost both my assault rifle and my rocket launcher and desperately started firing my pistol at the gunner, taking him and the driver out before either one could kill me. In the meantime, the rest of the guards at the outpost 50 yards away were still firing at me and the mess of cars I was taking cover behind was close to exploding. So I had no choice but to charge toward the outpost while throwing the few grenades I had and managed to find cover behind some rocks where I found another assault rifle near a dead body and finished clearing everyone out.

It's amazing how many of these moments there are and how often they happen. I think it was in the same run as one of the other incidents mentioned above where I slowed down to admire some zebras and out of nowhere, 10-15 guys started opening fire on me from multiple directions. I panicked and tried to just drive through them as fast as I could but my vehicle couldn't take all the damage and it died right before I was viciously murdered by a lot of bullets. Luckily, my buddy rescued me and dragged me away right before my car exploded and started a brush fire that helped create a wall between us and the enemies. Then, I found a tree and healed while my buddy took out the rest of the guys that hadn't died in the fire. Sadly, when I went to examine all the carnage, I found that the majestic zebras that started this whole mess had also perished in the fire.

It's weird. Coming down with malaria sucks. Having guns break and constantly jam sucks. Having my rocket launcher fire a dud when I'm counting on it to blow up a car that is speeding towards me also sucks. But all of that shit just makes everything that is usually so monotonous in a game like this super exciting. The missions and story are also nothing special. They are just there to drive me forward and get me into situations like these. I've played a lot of shooters before but this is one of those rare ones that I just can't help but sit here and think about all day while I'm supposed to be working.

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I think one of my favorite things about this game is how guns sometimes just fall apart. I've had it happen a few times now and it is such an effective way to force me to improvise and take an approach that I wouldn't normally take. With most shooters, I more or less just stick to one or two guns through the entire game and I didn't realize how boring my usual approach was until this game started forcing me to switch up my tactics. 

 

One thing I don't quite get though is how weapon upgrades work. I've purchased a few but the computer just shows a gun with a number of diamonds next to it and I don't know if I'm upgrading that type of gun to just make it jam less or if I am ordering one of those guns to be delivered to a safe house and I have to re-purchase it if I drop it to pick up another gun.

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All weapons caches will have the upgraded guns, but enemy guns will still be unreliable rustbuckets. The game is actually pretty good about telegraphing the degredation to yue player via visual cues; as the gun wears, it will become more scratched and rustworn.

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And is the only purpose for upgrading a gun to make it more reliable? If so, I might just take a pass on that and go with whatever guns I pick up from enemies. I like the element of uncertainty it adds to encounters.

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All weapons caches will have the upgraded guns, but enemy guns will still be unreliable rustbuckets. The game is actually pretty good about telegraphing the degredation to yue player via visual cues; as the gun wears, it will become more scratched and rustworn.

*enemy guns will still be unreliable rustbuckets for you, they will never really jam or ever break for the enemies.

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And is the only purpose for upgrading a gun to make it more reliable? If so, I might just take a pass on that and go with whatever guns I pick up from enemies. I like the element of uncertainty it adds to encounters.

 

There are reliability upgrades and accuracy upgrades. And then separate things for increasing ammo. Also as I remember it you always know what you are buying -- weren't the guns and upgrades in different menus and it would say "AK-74 Accuracy Upgrade" or something?

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They probably are and I just didn't notice. I'll check it out when I play this evening.

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