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Ninety-Three

I hate Far Cry 2, what am I doing wrong?

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I can attack enemy camps from so far away that their AI can only run around rather than shoot at me, and then it's trivial to snipe them all.

I can't say I've ever been able to snipe more than a handful of guys during the missions.  They will come and engage you after you drop a few of them or they will hide, forcing you to come find them at much closer range.  The game isn't so much difficult but oppressive in the sense of throwing lot's of stuff in your way the whole way through.  Try hardcore mode?

 

The point of the roads and the distances and the fact that there is no gun dealer in Pala is sort of the point of the game -- it wants you to deal with the map and distance and mode of transport in your struggle to survive and advance.   It might cause you to jump into a boat or a jeep to shorten travel time to a bus stop or a mission and then you might get run down or blasted.  You might be in a boat getting shot at and miss the turn off for Mike's Bar.  You might have to bail out and swim home or creep around in the jungle to get back there.  Sun may come up.  It may start to rain.    

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I can't say I've ever been able to snipe more than a handful of guys during the missions.  They will come and engage you after you drop a few of them or they will hide, forcing you to come find them at much closer range.  

 

It's true that they either charge or hide, but when they charge it's extremely easy to pick them off as they close the distance, and when they hide, I've found that five or ten seconds of patience is almost always enough to make them decide to switch hiding spots, and then I nail them when they move.

 

I am playing on Hardcore (I started on Infamous, but the enemies killed me so fast that I had to turn it down). I suppose I could turn it up, does it have any effects other than increasing enemy damage?

 

I think the problem is that I'm not struggling to advance. Travel feels more like a tax on my time than gameplay. "Okay, you can attack a fortress, but first you have to spend two minutes appreciating these dirt roads". For me getting from point A to point B is just an uneventful series of roads punctuated by blockades to clear out. The blockades are gameplay, as is the stuff at point B, but why do I have to spend so much time between those places on dirt roads?

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It's true that they either charge or hide, but when they charge it's extremely easy to pick them off as they close the distance, and when they hide, I've found that five or ten seconds of patience is almost always enough to make them decide to switch hiding spots, and then I nail them when they move.

 

All I can say is that this has not been my experience.  It's possible to clear out checkpoints manned by a handful of guys with a scope but not entire mission objectives.

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Do you just choose not to use the sniper rifle, or does the game find a way to challenge sniper players?

 

Stuff comes up. A patrol car full of guys will drive up and try to run you down while you're scoped in, or some smart-ass with an RPG will try to explode you, or you'll just come into a base with enough dudes that need killing that you run out of ammo and have to run into the base to get more. Enemies also become noticeably better equipped as your reputation level goes up. You can usually survive most encounters with good awareness and caution, but I wouldn't say it's easy, and nasty surprises do happen.

 

On a different note, I continue to be irritated by all the driving the game makes me do. I feel like the game is just not respecting my time.

 

Traveling IS the game, or at least it was for me. The most enjoyable part of the game for me was figuring out the best route to take, figuring out how to hit the fewest checkpoints and re-acquire a vehicle at any points where it was most expedient to abandon mine. Fast travel is convenient for sure, but it is downright destructive to any sense of atmosphere and world-space a game tries to create.

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Yes and maybe this is what ends up separating those who love the game versus those who don't: an appreciation for its evocative war torn African environment.  The game assumes you will want to spend time there, to be disoriented by it and learn from it.

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Not to invalidate the things I said earlier, but a day of introspection leads me to conclude that the main reason for the hours I put into this game was just Fire.

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If I'm supposed to enjoy travel, then I think I'm going to have to give up Far Cry 2, because I can't imagine ever developing an affinity for the dirt roads.

 

That pretty much concludes the topic I'd started, but I am curious about what's been said regarding immersion and the environment. To me, Far Cry 2 was one of the most video gamey games I've played in recent memory. Despite an entire city, I only saw two characters who weren't either soldiers or armed mercenaries (and one of them was only present for the opening cutscene), and every character is such a video game enemy that if you drive past them on the open road, they will stop, get out of their car, and start trying to kill you. It's like you have a floating neon sign broadcasting "I'm the player character, drop what you're doing and shoot me!"

 

Both of those are fine things to do ("This video game is too video gamey" is an awfully silly criticism, after all), but they sure didn't help me feel immersed in a world. How do you folks get past those issues?

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I think what you're doing wrong is trying to force yourself to enjoy a game you clearly don't enjoy.

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I agree with twig.

However I don't find FC2 to be video gamey compared to most shooters. All the things you say you dislike - driving, not seeing enemies in the jungle and being harassed make me feel like it's so not gamey. The progression you get out of FC2 isn't new powerful guns or special moves, it's just learning how to live longer in the environment.

I found that at first I was dying a lot, then after letting myself get immersed and less frustrated I would act more like a person. I'd stop to check my map so I wouldn't smash into a tree, I'd scout out an area to see who was the biggest threat. I'd hide and try to flank enemies. I'd not reload constantly, and I'd switch to my side arm.

I guess the narrative isn't what I liked about FC2 so it's not a big deal I don't come across other people. It's the emergent narrative that makes the immersion so easy and important for me.

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If I'm supposed to enjoy travel, then I think I'm going to have to give up Far Cry 2, because I can't imagine ever developing an affinity for the dirt roads.

 

Despite an entire city, I only saw two characters who weren't either soldiers or armed mercenaries (and one of them was only present for the opening cutscene), and every character is such a video game enemy that if you drive past them on the open road, they will stop, get out of their car, and start trying to kill you. It's like you have a floating neon sign broadcasting "I'm the player character, drop what you're doing and shoot me!"

 

Both of those are fine things to do ("This video game is too video gamey" is an awfully silly criticism, after all), but they sure didn't help me feel immersed in a world. How do you folks get past those issues?

I didn't have any problem imagining that civilians had fled this world except a few that were in hiding (where the malaria pills are, you take passports to them) .  The fact that there are refugees comes up several times in the game.  On the other hand, yes, the business of everybody trying to kill you always, except in cease fire zones, is not realistic and is a legitimate gripe with the game, although to be fair the game is about everyone out to get you (or use you), even Ruben and your "friends." As a result this gamey contrivance did not prevent me from becoming deeply absorbed in the game.

 

However it's a 100% legitimate point to be bothered by this or all the points you raised for that matter. Immersion is a matter of personal taste of course.  For example  I was incredibly annoyed by FC3 Jason character's voice overs.  I hate it when an FPS put words in my mouth or forces me to do QTE's.  FC3 had  gamey contrivances in spades.

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Not all games are for all people. I love challenging immerse games and despised Far Cry 2. If gameplay mechanics that are central to the game annoy you, maybe don't force yourself to try and like it. Games are supposed to be fun/entertaining, if a game isn't don't feel bad about moving on. 

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I really like Far Cry 2. Don't really understand the dislike for it. I guess maybe the issue is that it's presented as a FPS to FPS fans. Whereas if you really take into account the actual pacing of it, it's a lot more like Skyrim than Call of Duty. I loved that though, I thought it was a really interesting game world.

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I really like Far Cry 2. Don't really understand the dislike for it. I guess maybe the issue is that it's presented as a FPS to FPS fans. Whereas if you really take into account the actual pacing of it, it's a lot more like Skyrim than Call of Duty. I loved that though, I thought it was a really interesting game world.

 

The rapid enemy respawn, weapons breaking only applying to the player not the AI, the malaria (How does a experienced mercenary go to a malaria zone without meds?), your missions always being "secret" so all the AI attack you all the time, the map being limited in terms of its openness (lots of cliffs). 

 

The game had a lot of cool mechanics and ideas, I just think it was very poorly implemented. 

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The rapid enemy respawn, weapons breaking only applying to the player not the AI, the malaria (How does a experienced mercenary go to a malaria zone without meds?), your missions always being "secret" so all the AI attack you all the time, the map being limited in terms of its openness (lots of cliffs). 

 

The game had a lot of cool mechanics and ideas, I just think it was very poorly implemented. 

I think the problem Far Cry 2 faces is that it's situated in a very awkward spot between classic shooters and more hardcore sim/roleplaying experiences. I like that I can jump in and get a sometimes harrowing experiences that sort of feels more authentic than your average single-player shooter, without requiring the time it takes to get into more serious simulations such as Arma or having to put up with the general buggyness of games with an opener world (such as skyrim or again Arma)

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Wouldn't Fallout 3 be a better example, seeing as it's by the same developers as Skyrim and is very much towards that end of the spectrum but still a shooter? I can definitely imagine that a lot of Far Cry 2 fans would be Fallout 3 fans.

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Wouldn't Fallout 3 be a better example, seeing as it's by the same developers as Skyrim and is very much towards that end of the spectrum but still a shooter? I can definitely imagine that a lot of Far Cry 2 fans would be Fallout 3 fans.

 

Fallout 3 is much more RPG than straight shooter, its also not very difficult. STALKER SOC is IMO the best open world shooter to date

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Enjoying my current Far Cry 2 playthrough very much - 50% complete with 24 hours played. Current weapons of choice are the Uzi, AS50 and mortar. Send in some mortar rounds, hit some explosive things and people with the AS50, and then cruise in with the Uzi and grenades. I use a bit of paper with mortar 'notch' markers on to measure how far targets are on the map for the initial pounding - I'm thinking about getting a nice bit of transparent plastic and making a totally sweet mortar calibration circle. Video games!

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Lol the mortar is seriously overpowered.  Clears out entire mission objectives with about 6 rounds. 

 

Still, it hasn't stopped me from packing one in a suitcase to take along on my 'final mission.'   Just in case...

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