Far Cry 2 Online Multiplayer 18 BBFCAny played sequel played today, is immediately and naturally compared to its predecessor in terms of game play, story, and a benchmark of enjoy ability whilst playing. So to my great surprise, whilst playing the opening section of Far Cry 2, I realised this game was absolutely nothing like the game I played to death all those years ago, the first in the series.
In the opening scene of the game, I found myself in the back of an African taxi, listening to the small talk of one of the beautiful, yet dangerous country’s natives. The smooth background of the wild was pleasing at worst. The detail was great but nothing less than what you’d expect from the sequel of one of the most graphically groundbreaking games I’ve played. A perfect mix of realism and blur immediately put me right into the game. Unlike many first person shooters, I could see my virtual body depending on my angle of view. I spent my journey soaking up my surroundings, the sun, and tips on how to pass guard posts from the taxi driver.
Upon arrival of my location, I was hit by a twist that should have been expected in reality, but now in a game. Queue the story. When I awoke, I was given a weapon and was sent on my way to clear a large camp and free a friend of my employer. So far I was surprised by the amount of story that was implemented. After clearing the camp I was given a safe house, which can be upgraded by helping “Buddiesâ€, and was a place I could rest. These can be modified to contain weapon crates, and also used to advance time which was smooth and a careless process. I saw day change to night in a matter of seconds. Shadows moved and the sun set in real time, showing me another side of the beautiful land.
Weapons can be upgraded within the game, and you also have access to your purchased weapons at any point from your weapon warehouse (which can also be upgraded), which can also be upgraded. With currency and purchase options, this game gives a much stronger world impression than the previous Far Cry game. Shops, bars and hotels are found in towns, all of which reek of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. Although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, just unexpected from this game.
Missions can be approached in many different ways. Thanks to the implementation of silenced weapons, a stealthy infiltration can be performed, or going in guns blazing. If you like, you can even set fire to one of buildings (Flame thrower, flare gun, rocker launcher) and watch it spread, with any enemies inevitably panicking and running either away or to put it out.
The progression of the game is reasonable. After the tutorial, you’re left to explore 50sq KM, accepting various missions for your chosen gang, friends, the weapon vendor, or for fortune and fame. Your GPS has a detector of diamond-containing briefcases, which are the currency of the area. Doing missions for friends can lead to enough respect for them to come and bail you out if your fall unconscious in a fight, dragging you aside of the blazing car/fire/ongoing fire fight, letting you get yourself back together again to return the favour to him.
Unfortunately the game becomes repetitive after a while. Whist your missions send you across from one side of the map to another, enemy barricades on the roads seem to have a different plan for you. Many of these will be crossed and cannot be avoided. If given the time they can easily be taken out or avoided (that’s if they don’t barricade you in with their own vehicles), but 30 minutes (game time) after and they return, fully staffed/gunned, like nothing ever happened the last time you were here, leaving you for another Bruce Willis shoot-up like the last one, with a dozen men queuing to get their chance to shoot at your face. This sometimes leaves you no choice to taken them down faster than the staff at Norwich Union.
The music in the game, in my honest opinion was a little disappointing and boring. There’s a weak African themed score, but gives an impression of a rushed last-minute thought. It’s by no means bad, but I was personally expecting some African singing, chanting, music that really gives the impression that I’m exploring somewhere new. Aside from this, the quality is good and serene enough to ignore if need be.
The game runs smoothly for the requirements. The game has been one of the smoothest I’ve seen on Vista. Even though Vista’s own recommendation of the game far surpassed my 3.2 Dual Core Pentium 4, I have had not one problem. The Graphical setting is on Medium and is smooth yet well detailed, with real time shadows and dynamic physics/fire.
The mouse sensetivity was very high when first played, and had to be turned down. I did various tests on various DPI. Firstly I used my Razer Lachesis with 1200 DPI and turned down the in-game mouse sensetivity. It played well but I seemed to be aiming too far still. I didn't feel I had control over the crosshair at all. I retried this with 800 DPI, which was way too slow. I then tried the game with an 800 DPI Logitech mouse, and turned up the in-game sensetivity, and this worked much better than my ultra-sensetive Lachesis.
This game is nothing like Far Cry, and even less like Crysis (what I consider the true sequel to Far Cry). In fact this game shows very little resemblance to its first instalment, and should not be expected to be anything similar in terms of game play. The graphics engine is just as brilliant as you’d expect without all the bulk which came with Crysis. Fantastic new game play features make this a surprising favourite of mine at the moment. With many multiplayer modes and even an easy-to-use level editor, this makes a fantastic purchase and well worth the money.
RatingsGraphics: A
Sounds: C +
Gameplay: B +
Replayability: D
Overall score: B+ A Fantastic game with many great features and great graphics. If you have the patience, you'll love it.
