DAY 118 / GAME 118
Far Cry 2
I remember seeing info on the latest installment of Far Cry 2 and for the time it was released it looked ridiculously good. I never tried the first Far Cry game, I heard it was fantastic but I also wasn't really sure what it was about or how it played. Ubisoft really showed Far Cry 2 as a real Africa Simulator. They published videos of it's fantastic day/night cycles, weather simulation, fire and destruction as well as great looking wildlife.
I remember being really impressed by everything I saw, but I still didn't jump on this title for a while. In the end, it dropped in price pretty quickly and Denise ended up grabbing this for me for about $10 as a Christmas stocking stuffer. I had got a few other games that year around the same time so I didn't get to this one right away. But when I did finally decide to give this one a go I had a very hard time putting it down.
Far Cry 2 is fantastic. Set in Central Africa, you roam free in 50 square kilometers worth of deserts, jungles and savannas. You act as a gun-for-hire while looking to take down the infamous Jackal gun runner, picking up jobs across the landscape and collecting lost briefcases full of blood diamonds to trade for weapons and gear. The whole collecting part is one of those things that really drove me in that game. Pushing to unlock all my favorite weapons so that I could create the perfect loadout for missions kept me coming back for more as I would sometimes play for hours without actually completing any story missions, just hunting for more diamonds and completing jobs that would give me access to the latest grenade launcher or rifle.
Being a proper sandbox game, you really could just take from this game whatever you wanted. The story allowed for you to side with one of two factions, fighting for either the UFLL or the APR as a mercenary, or even pitting each of them against each other as you made your way through. Taking down camps of enemies could be done with stealth or out-and-out firepower. I had a great moment where I needed to assassinate a particular leader and so I had found a perfect spot up on a hill as he rallied a small band of soldiers. After taking him out with my rifle, I had given up my position on the hill and so I quickly tossed a molotov cocktail at the group. And since all the dry grass goes up in flames so quickly, that's all it took to reduce their numbers to zero. Though violent, it felt like a pretty awesome accomplishment.
Other than just looking good and featuring fantastic gameplay, Far Cry 2 also had some great other features that just rounded the whole thing out. The A.I. worked out quite well, responding to time of day and other environmental factors. Getting hurt and healing yourself is always great. When hurt, you may end up having to dig out a bullet with a knife and dressing it, resetting a broken finger or dislocation, all in a first person perspective. You can drive a variety of vehicles to get across the map, all of which will break down from time to time, especially if shot at. In order to continue you have to get out, pop the hood and do some wrenching to get it rolling again, sometimes while you are under fire.
I've almost definitely missed something about this game I loved. The main point is that Far Cry 2 was the kind of game I really sunk my teeth into and spend hours in. The world begged to be explored and everything was very solid and tangible. Guns jammed, cars broke down and wildlife roamed around you. Someone hiding in the bush? Burn it to the ground. Collect weapons, gear and vehicles, make friends and enemies. Like Grand Theft Auto, only for me, more enjoyable since I actually wanted to complete the story. Which I didn't. Funny thing is, what I thought was the end of the game, was actually the mid-way point. So I ended up putting it down and never finishing it. Still, got my $10 worth.
Far Cry 2
I remember being really impressed by everything I saw, but I still didn't jump on this title for a while. In the end, it dropped in price pretty quickly and Denise ended up grabbing this for me for about $10 as a Christmas stocking stuffer. I had got a few other games that year around the same time so I didn't get to this one right away. But when I did finally decide to give this one a go I had a very hard time putting it down.
Far Cry 2 is fantastic. Set in Central Africa, you roam free in 50 square kilometers worth of deserts, jungles and savannas. You act as a gun-for-hire while looking to take down the infamous Jackal gun runner, picking up jobs across the landscape and collecting lost briefcases full of blood diamonds to trade for weapons and gear. The whole collecting part is one of those things that really drove me in that game. Pushing to unlock all my favorite weapons so that I could create the perfect loadout for missions kept me coming back for more as I would sometimes play for hours without actually completing any story missions, just hunting for more diamonds and completing jobs that would give me access to the latest grenade launcher or rifle.
Being a proper sandbox game, you really could just take from this game whatever you wanted. The story allowed for you to side with one of two factions, fighting for either the UFLL or the APR as a mercenary, or even pitting each of them against each other as you made your way through. Taking down camps of enemies could be done with stealth or out-and-out firepower. I had a great moment where I needed to assassinate a particular leader and so I had found a perfect spot up on a hill as he rallied a small band of soldiers. After taking him out with my rifle, I had given up my position on the hill and so I quickly tossed a molotov cocktail at the group. And since all the dry grass goes up in flames so quickly, that's all it took to reduce their numbers to zero. Though violent, it felt like a pretty awesome accomplishment.
Other than just looking good and featuring fantastic gameplay, Far Cry 2 also had some great other features that just rounded the whole thing out. The A.I. worked out quite well, responding to time of day and other environmental factors. Getting hurt and healing yourself is always great. When hurt, you may end up having to dig out a bullet with a knife and dressing it, resetting a broken finger or dislocation, all in a first person perspective. You can drive a variety of vehicles to get across the map, all of which will break down from time to time, especially if shot at. In order to continue you have to get out, pop the hood and do some wrenching to get it rolling again, sometimes while you are under fire.
I've almost definitely missed something about this game I loved. The main point is that Far Cry 2 was the kind of game I really sunk my teeth into and spend hours in. The world begged to be explored and everything was very solid and tangible. Guns jammed, cars broke down and wildlife roamed around you. Someone hiding in the bush? Burn it to the ground. Collect weapons, gear and vehicles, make friends and enemies. Like Grand Theft Auto, only for me, more enjoyable since I actually wanted to complete the story. Which I didn't. Funny thing is, what I thought was the end of the game, was actually the mid-way point. So I ended up putting it down and never finishing it. Still, got my $10 worth.
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