So I got this game about a week ago and I was mildly disappointed with it as I completed the first couple of story missions. I didn't like the story; the setting didn't make much sense, and combat was frustrating and complicated by enemy AI which seemed to be terrible.
but as I've gone on with it I've really started to love this game - a lot. it's really, really, fucking good.
it's really not just hype!! far cry 2 does really offer you a tremendous amount of freedom on how to accomplish your objectives. there are no, or very few, linear segments, and most of the initial complains I had with the game I've either come to like or at the very least, understand.
Most importantly the enemy AI isn't nearly as terrible as one might think at first! One of my first issues was how poorly I thought sniping was being handled. for example, you can sneak to the ridge above an enemy camp, shoot a guy, and within 5 seconds everyone down there will be charging and shooting at you. it seemed like the AI was being cheap, that it had extrasensory abilities, and i didn't think it was fun.
then I stopped to think about it and I realized - the problem isn't with Far Cry 2. the problem was that I was firing a loud shot at dusk from a relatively short distance and I'd assumed the rock I was near was enough cover. the problem, really, was that pretty much every FPS I've played before this had handled sniping from a 'game mechanic' style where the enemies were scripted to act bewildered when you shot at them - Far Cry 2 doesn't do that. If you want to get the drop on a bunch of enemies, you
really need to get the drop on a bunch of enemies. You need a good sniper rifle and a very long distance, or - just like actual soldiers! - the soldiers will very quickly catch on to where you are and attack. What seemed to me to be an unfair advantage on the part of the AI was them acting realistically - and as I watched them attack, I realized that they were actually moving up in formations, taking cover, even using cover fire to support each other's advance. it wasn't being cheap, I was acting like I was playing another FPS and I had to change the way I approached the situation differently.
you really can beat missions any way you like. run in guns-a-blazing with a shotgun and grenades, fight medium range from cover with assault rifles, take out the enemy camp from a distance with sniper rifles or rockets, sneak around with a silenced machine gun and slipping from hiding spot to hiding spot, rushing in with a flamethrower and torching everything, hell, you can even just use a flare gun to set fires which will sweep the encampment and burn everyone alive with you having to fire more than a few clean-up rounds.
an unfortunate result of the open-endedness is that the game ends up feeling unpolished in some areas, and more like a series of challenges than a functional narrative. believe me when i say that feeling will quickly fade when you beat the first 4-5 hours of cookie-cutter story missions and actually get into the thick of it, when the game becomes increasingly compelling and drives you further and further into a complex and entertaining narrative.
the setting makes much, much more sense if you read the Far Cry 2 blog, which is where they unfortunately put all of the backstory.
www.reubenblog.typepad.comgraphically it's pretty great and I'm playing on an Xbox. I imagine the game looks significantly better on PC (or worse, if you don't like the stupid post processing effects that make everything look like it's shrouded in muddy fog). no real framerate hitches and i'm pretty sure the 360 one uses almost all of the high quality settings of the PC ones except for postprocessing and lower res textures. it definitely doesn't have AA, but you shouldn't notice that unless you have a very, very sharp 1440p or higher HDTV.
basically this is a pretty great FPS and you should all get it.
