Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition

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List Price: $9.99
Sale Price: $9.95
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Far Cry 2 is OK. It's nothing to write home about, though.

My issues with the game:

1. Guns Who did the firearm research on this game? Some guns, like the AK-47, are completely mirror image. Some, like the HK G3, are just wrong. (Charging handle and ejection port both on the left side? Not in this reality.)

2. Damage Shooting someone in the chest with 10-20 rounds from the PKM to kill them? Zzzzz.

3. No prone? Come on, is this the 90s?

4. Enemies can see me in the dead of night, and know where I am, even when I am in the bushes and using a silencer. Hmmm...

5. Repetative missions Wow, let's do the same missions over and over and over and over and over...

6. Respawning badguys. Just cleared that guard post? Funny that all the guards are back 3 minutes later...

7. "Most realistic fire ever!" with fire graphics that look completely unrealistic.

Give this property back to Crytech. Ubisoft did a half-baked job at best.

EDIT: Also, the DRM this game installs broke the Burn feature of Windows Media Player on my PC. Buyer Beware.

EDIT 2: SecuRom has a program on their website that will allow you to remove their DRM from your machine. However, it will be reinstalled without warning or notification the very next time you play a game with SecuRom DRM. If like me you have issues with burning CDs after installing one of these game, you pretty much have to uninstall the DRM anytime you want to burn. Convenient, huh?

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Id like to preface my review by stating that in no way has my opinion of the game been swayed by the DRM used for piracy protection by Ubisoft. This review is solely in regards to the gameplay itself.

With my pure enjoyment of Far Cry and Crysis, I was extremely excited about the release of this game. Unfortunatly when I began playing the game, I became more and more disappointed as I played. In fact, if it werent for the graphics, this would easily be considered an instant bargin bin title.

I have so many gripes about this game that Im not quite sure where to begin, so I will start with my biggest one... the firefights. You have so much against you from the very beginning that it is extremely difficult to find them enjoyable. In fact you feel as though you are being punished just for taking the mission. Your gun will continuously jam. You have malaria, so in the middle of a gunfight you may need to pop a pill to get over it (everything turns yellow and fuzzy). If your health gets low (and it will... continually from all the sharpshooters they have in Africa) you must first pull the bullet out, then.. you must heal yourself. I must ask... why?? I suppose it was to add tension, but only succedes in being frustrating. You will die often... not because you get overwhealmed by the (incredibly stupid) AI, but because of a gun jam, having to heal yourself with a two step process or because you get a malaria outbreak.

As I get off that rant, I invite you to another. Lets investigate the whole "sandbox, free roam, open world..." direction in which the developers decided to take with this sequel. First off the compass is horrible and the map is even worse. Not because they are a bad concept... they work extremely well in GTA and games of the like. The problem is, your objective is sooooo far away that even when you pull out your map, because it isnt a full map, all you see is the general direction you are supposed to be going and not able to pinpoint the best route to take or where exactly your objective is. This is compounded by the fact that you hit several checkpoints (more on these later) that ensue a "forced" firefight... and I believe I already explained how much fun they are. It will take you at least 10 minutes to get from point A to point B because of this. Rediculous.

Now, remember the checkpoints. These lovely roadblocks are apparently set up by guerillas (no... not gorillas) who attack you when you come close. I guess that makes sense, however, the frustrating part is after you destroy a checkpoint, they respawn so every time you drive by, you get attacked again and again and again. If you try to blast through in your vehicle, a car chase ensues.... sounds like fun right? Wrong, because no matter how fast you are going, they magically appear behind you and if they shoot your vehicle 3 or 4 times, it stalls. And I bet you thought the engine was in the front of the vehicle. So, because of this you end up getting out of your vehicle and... you guessed it, a firefight begins... malaria.... damn... gun jammed... shot need health... pull out the bullet... use medi.... dead.

Finally the vehicles themselves. For some reason, the geniuses at Ubisoft only give a 1st person view of driving... so you try to drive, look at map and compass at the same time and because the vehicle handles so poorly you hit a boulder and the vehicle stalls out, so you get in front of the vehicle and fix it. Get back in and hit a lovely checkpoint further up.

There are several other nuances in the game like no checkpoints... well theres lots of those, but I mean autosave points... so hit F5 ALOT or your 10 minute trip from point A to point B can take you 30 minutes. There isnt really much of a story here to be found either, so you really just find yourself doing side missions... even the main missions seem like side missions which dont give you much of a feeling of accomplishment.

I realize I have been on quite a rant, and most of my reviews are not as negative or sarcastic as this. As a matter a fact I dont think I have given a single star review to anything before... but this game definitly deserves it. As I attempt to leave with a positive remark, I am at a loss. I could mention the graphics, however theyre really not better than the original Far Cry... and I can max them out on my machine.

I was extremely disappointed and feel my $60 was just wasted. Ive played the game for about 11 hours, and cannot bring myself to finish it... and thats an extreme rarity for me. With all the great games coming out this year, spend your money on something else.

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Clearly the game was designed for the console market with PC as an afterthought during development. Although there are some interesting aspects, it ultimately is just a boring game on the PC platform with minimal replay value. Games are judged relative to the alternatives available for that platform. In the PC area it falls down hard.

Start with the aspect ratios the game screens take are very TV/Console rather than PC monitor oriented.

There is no back-story and no reason for me to care why my character succeeds or fails. I care as much about him as he does about his employers.

My character is more durable than his weapons. So while he can pull bullets out of his body with his teeth and repair almost any device, he is incompetent when it comes to cleaning, repairing and maintaining the tools of his trade his weapons.

Ubisoft's rationale for no predators is that it would upset the ecosystem. Lame excuse -More likely either cost or time reduction in coding. Adding animal threats as NPCs who only respond to specific classes of players or NPCs within a certain radius is fairly simple to do and would improve the game play value.

The damage model needs refinement. My character has terminated NPCs at 15 yards with a single spray from the shotgun and yet 5 or 6 center mass shots with an AK-47 (whose ammo is rifle loads, not pistol loads like a submachine gun) at the same distance doesn't even knock the NPCs down. At close quarters scattershot can be the uber-weapon, but over distance it's gonna be a lot less lethal.

I can't tell if the endless slogging through the veldt is a cover for weak AI coding, a way to extend the "playing" time of the game or an infomercial from Ubisoft aimed at marketing their Dunia engine to other developers by demonstrating the effects you can create. For me, it quickly became downright annoying.

Not much to say about DRM that hasn't already been said. Their EULA is very specific. Ubisoft will install DRM code on your PC. They will require you to register it online. They will require the CD to be in the machine. They own the software and they are not accountable for any problems any of this cause for you. Your rights are 100% subordinate to theirs. If you don't like that you must send it back to them before you perform any activations. About the only thing you don't have to do is send them a copy of your driver's license and a DNA sample. But stay tuned...

Since software DRM is totally ineffective against pirates I can only assume that the ultimate objective of excessive DRM is to kill the PC game market and drive everyone to consoles. It makes good business sense as it's easier and cheaper to develop games for consoles and no PC games means one less SKU to stock and track.

Bottom line...It may do okay as a console game given its competition on those platforms, but as a PC game, it's just too boring and console-centric to be worth buying. If you are really curious about a game based in what was a very promising location, wait a couple of months and pick it up for $9.99 in a jewel case.

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Before the release of Far Cry 2 the game was being hyped as a new generation of First Person Shooter--one to set a new bar.

What they showed us was footage of combat surgery, fire propagation, stealth gameplay, mercenary buddies, and a vast sandbox.

What we hoped for was a First Person Shooter that would have all of those things finely tuned and greatly expanded upon, immersing us in a world where guns for hire and arms dealers were partners in a civil war.

What we got was exactly what they showed... EXACTLY what they showed. The combat surgery is just for show. The fire propagation dies so very quickly so that it seems more like a fireworks display rather than a true wildfire. The stealth gameplay fails more often than not leading you right back to the run and gun style of play First Person Shooters are infamous for. The mercenary buddies are nothing more than strangers giving you second chances, as well as a means to give you a side-mission whilst doing a mission. And the sandbox is just littered with no-name faces just wandering around, waiting to shoot you on sight--that is to say that they show absolutely no intelligence and are far too plentiful. Let's not forget that the game is very rough around the edges and needs some serious patching.

It's as if they half-made a game, ran out of time, dumbed it all down, stitched the little bits and pieces together, threw in a story, and made three large maps for it. The game is overly easy and is only made difficult by beefing up foes so that they take more shots to kill. And the hardest part about the game is staying interested enough to play smart, and not simply plow your technicle into the middle of an enemy camp just so you can feel a little more excitement.

The only saving grace is the hope that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the modding community can modify the game to be what it ought to be. But as it is right now, there is now SDK for them to work with, so they will have to rough it out on their own until one is released, if ever one is. On the bright side, the STALKER modding community has done wonders for that game even without an SDK, so here's hoping.

Until then, I'm shelving my copy, and warn any prospective buyers to wait for the price to drop before you bother picking it up.

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Given the many bad reviews, I was very hesitant to buy..

The reviewers could not have been more wrong. It is an AWESOME game.

A classic example of a great game which was misunderstood by most gamers.

As mentioned in most reviews, the map is huge and you have to travel all over to complete missions. It seems MOST of the negative reviews fail to understand the PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION system in the game. There are BUS STOPS clearly marked on the map -one at the four corners of the map, and one in dead center. Dead center is your home base. The four corners are where most missions will occur.

So...after accepting a mission, go to the bus stop, board the bus for your destination, and in an instant you are transported to that corner of the map. Time of day has changed (dusk, midnite, early dawn, etc.) to imply it was a LONG bus journey... There is always a vehicle waiting for you outside. And usually, there is a weapons shop nearby (in case you want to change your weapons or ammo.)

I think 99% of negative reviewers FAILED TO UNDERSTAND this concept. (If you don't take the bus, YES it will be slow/frustrating to cross the map). There are enemy outposts and armed checkpoints along the roads, which are also patrolled by armed jeeps. If you insist on driving instead of taking the bus -YES the game seems slow, frustrating, and impossible...

The game developers should have made this point clearer (it is not explained in the game manual). But if you play the game as intended, WOW....it is a great experience.

Tips:

1. Take the bus.

2. Even when driving, try to stay off-road as much as possible to avoid confrontations.

3. Don't be afraid to abandon your vehicle and go on foot. Eventually you'll find another vehicle.

4. Take the time to experiment w/ the display. May take a long time depending on your PC/graphics card, but is worth it.

5. Chose a lower resolution if necessary. I play 800x600, maxed out. If you don't play maxed-out, you are not just missing out on eye-candy. You are getting a much poorer quality experience.

6. Try turning "shadows" down. Moving/morphing shadows are PC-intensive. Turn shadows down, and max everything else.

6. Choose "realistic" setting, and play w/ your on-screen crosshairs turned off. Much harder.

7. Limit yourself to missions from the 2 rival factions -this will progress the game story as intended.

8. Avoid random side missions, these get repetitive and don't advance the story line.

PROS:

Great single-player experience.

Totally unscripted, non-linear gameplay. Great voice-acting. (Enemy dialogue can be hilarious and suspenseful).

Very smart AI..the more you play, the more you will appreciate it. (AI can be down, wounded, bleeding, but still try to squeeze off a few rounds as he's dying.)

Huge map, amazing environment, changing weather conditions/time-of-day.

Great in-game tension and stealth gameplay. (some of the best scenarios are after taking out a target and trying to make it home while low on ammo.

Stunningly beautiful, at max settings.

NO ALIENS OR MUTANTS! :)

CONS:

Lack of direction from developers. Failure to utilize the "BUS" concept will result in frustrating, repetitive experience.

Endless choice of side missions will fail to advance the storyline and can seem pointless.

Fans of pure run/gun shooters will be frustrated by the need to for strategy, planning, and stealth.

OVERALL: Great game. In terms of single-player, non-linear, non-team based combat, voice-acting, intelligent AI, game length, replay value, and game environment, this game might sit alone at the top. It's too bad most people didn't figure it out and gave such BAD reviews! Buy it and try it!