Almost a masterpiece (Far Cry 2 (PS3))

Member Name: hughesmonger

Product:	Far Cry 2 (PS3)
Date:	11/06/09 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent graphics, sound, music, realistic engine, and interactive multiplayer

Disadvantages: Large number of bugs/glitches, sometimes bad enemy AI, and difficult even on easy mode

Despite never playing the first in the series, I was quickly taken in by the consistent advertisements shown on television commercials. Showing off the clear high definition graphics of pure action and suspense. Even though I had not even read any reviews, I quickly ordered the game and took a chance. Snapping up the limited edition for the sake of it, a big metal box.

---- Plotline ----

Far Cry 2 takes place in a fictional country in Eastern Africa, completely corrupted with civil war, anarchy and corruption. A massive war is brewing up between two sides in this country, weapons being supplied to them by a well known terrorist and arms dealer known as "The Jackal". Your mission is to assassinate him to put an end to this pointless conflict, having you secretly flown into the country as a one man army.

The general story takes a whole to develop and starts off extremely slow, not really giving the player a good idea of what is going on unless done their research online or read the manual thoroughly. After a few missions, I soon realised what was going on and my objectives soon became clear. However, not really the most exciting of plots or storylines. The gameplay makes up for it though, with many forms of side stories to keep players distracted from the main.

A few characters are available to choose, each with their own unique, nationality and personality. Haven't really noticed any difference in terms of their skills, they all seem evenly matched with no differences. Every playable character will also as non-player characters during the game if they were not selected as your player character too.

---- Gameplay ----

Far Car 2 is an enormous game, offering around 50km to explore in a sandbox style game. Every area can be accessed at anytime with no barriers and very little loading times. The player doesn't have to always follow the main story all the time, side stories can be accessed and even giving the player an option of just exploring the beautiful landscapes.

A large arsenal of weaponry is available in Fry Cry 2, providing you with many forms of weapons depending on what your mission or strategy is going to be. Having a main and secondary weapon, along with some grenades and petrol bombs. There is also a tertiary type weapon also, such as a rocket launcher. It will take a long time to explain each weapon due to a huge selection available. To sum it up, there are different forms of models of sniper rifles, automatic guns, semi-automatic guns, pistols, shotguns, etc.

All forms of weapons will jam and break down over time, requiring the player to acquire new and fresh weaponry once in a while. Running through rough terrain or swimming in water will increasingly make them dirtier and increases the chances of rusting. Eventually, the weapon will either explode or fall to pieces. A nice touch of realism for sure, yet this occurs way too quickly and too frequently. Dropped weapons from enemies are the worst to pick up, with many of them in the state of breaking down. It's advised to acquire weaponry bought through arms dealers, more reliable weapons and equipment for the battlefield.

Improved weapons can be unlocked by doing missions for the arms dealer, taking out rival conveys, allowing you to purchase better guns and other forms of equipment. Upgrades are also available, improving your player's accuracy, reliability on weapons, stealth etc. Each requiring a payment of diamonds through a shopping mode on a computer. Immediately subtracting diamonds away when a transaction is completed. A warehouse is located next to the arms dealer, containing all your purchased weaponry and equipment, the place to load up and stock up on ammunition.

Different types of vehicles can be used throughout the game engine. From cars to jeeps, used nearly all the time to get one from one place to another as a lot of distance and ground need to be covered in Far Cry 2. Many jeeps also have a machine guns mounted on the back, tapping a certain button will swing your character around to it incase an approaching enemy is incoming. The majority can handle a fair bit of machine gun before eventually exploding, not the place you want to be near when this happens. Each vehicle is equipped with a sat-nav, saving time to whip out the map occasionally. Sea vehicles can be acquired too, boats also equipped with machine guns. Providing alternative routes around the game incase the road isn't the way to go. There is also the possibility of using hand gliders, flying in from the air. Extremely tricky to master and handle, I still haven't been able to fly one of these properly and feel they are quite pointless to use. Overall, I think the hand gliders have been implemented to reach certain diamonds in annoying places like on top of cliffs. Even bus stations are planted in areas, and can be taken to avoid travel time. Damage vehicles can be repaired at any time, providing they are not completely destroyed and only smoking slightly.Much of the environment can be used as a weapon against the enemy. Starting off a small fire with a petrol bomb can spread to something serious and occasionally burn down an entire base while you watch from the distance, watching the enemy panicking and trying to extinguish all the flames. Grass and large bushes can easily catch fire in this game and easily spreads. Tanks full of petrol or other flammable liquids can be used for your advantage, so generally one grenade can cause some devastating damage.

The player has the ability to sprint for a short period of time, drains a lot quicker during a hot day. During a sprint, a sliding motion can also be used to dive for cover when a fire fight breaks out. Something that really needs to be used frequently in multiplayer.

Your character is also suffering from malaria which he/she experiences at the start of the game. The symptoms can occur at anytime and require a tap of the button to take some medicine, otherwise will cause the player to completely fall unconscious. The controller will shake quite violently and the vision turns to a blurred yellow.

Wounds and injuries need to be taken care of uniquely at times and is quite gruesome to watch. If you remember watching how Rambo took care of his bullet wound in Rambo 3, yes, a lot more graphical than that. Literally tearing out shrapnel, shotgun shells, taking care of severe burns etc. When the life bar is flashing red and decreasing, that indicates a serious wound needs to be taken care of immediately before your character dies. Essential to find a safe place to heal up out of enemy fire, otherwise you'll find yourself getting interrupted by showers of bullets and very frustrating when you need to take of a critical wound as soon as possible. Syringe packs are the most effective way of replenishing health and are fairly quick to inject into the skin. A few minor ways are also possible, such as water bottles which brings back some minor life.

A partner and buddy system is quite active through Far Cry 2, involving a relationship type meter also. Many of these buddies start off captured in certain parts of the game and can be rescued when all enemies have been killed in that area. After completing a mission or doing a favour for either of them, it will confirm them as a buddy and will start helping you out during your gameplay. Providing backup out of nowhere and saving you when all your health is depleted. Grabbing you and pulling you out of the battlefield. Your best friend, buddy with the highest relationship, will also provide an alternative mission route for objectives given to you by an employer. Each alternative route always makes the mission easier and provides better rewards. If this opportunity comes up, take it, even if it does sound risky.

Much of the AI is fairly realistic and will react cordially to how people would in real life situations. Many of the enemies will work together against you, constantly communicating and planning a course of action to take you out. Generally sneaking around in many directions, making it very frustrating quickly and have the odds turn against you before you even know it. If the player has a high reputation and the enemy see your face, many of them will panic and actually run away. Knowing you're a ruthless killer with a kill amount to your name, the enemy don't wish to be next. Taunting and mocking is quite frequent from enemy soldiers, trying to flush you out from hiding spots. Throwing grenades in your area, if you have been hiding in the same place for too long. In other words, trying to take on an army all by you right away by opening fire first thing is not the best of plans. It doesn't work in real life and doesn't work in this game, even on the lowest difficulty. After all, the mind is one of the deadliest weapons on the battlefield.
Safe houses are scattered all over the game and can be used to rest your character a long day's fighting. Mainly used to progress time to reach a certain part of the day, such as night time. Bonus items earnt through certain missions will also appear at your safe houses such as ammo packs, medical packs, vehicles etc. Occasionally, one of your buddies will be in your safe house asking if you need backup as they will be hanging around the area.

Far Cry 2 uses a special currency when buying your equipment or having your salary paid for your missions, and these are standard diamonds. Due to this country's collapse, the economy is non-existent with the remaining people paying each other with forms of jewerly. Briefcases containing diamonds are scattered in random places all over the game, and can be collected if searched for hard enough. Using a tracker, blinking green indicating diamonds are near. Very much like the same idea with the Grand Theft Auto series, finding hidden packages. I really don't enjoy game parts like this, it takes too much time and the rewards are very little. Having to look in little places and having to go to so many awkward areas just for a few diamonds? It's just not worth it.

Day and night occurs in real time, so can be used depending on what time of strategy the player wishes to use. The stealth approach at night where the enemy struggles to see anything, or during the day when the sun is exhausting the enemy through heat. Generally, the night approach is always the sensible approach. Combing the night with your stealth suit will pretty much make you a secret agent and all enemies will have a difficult task in spotting your movements, even if you are making several noises.

Weather effects also occur, such as sandstorms or heavy rain. Like with day and night sequences, the weather can also be used to your advantage or disadvantage. All these will happen at random too, not at specific times. So for instance, your player goes to sleep in a sunny day. Opens the door to the outside a few hours later to a massive storm.

Too many glitches let this game down and can always be noticed during gameplay. I'll start off with the most frustrating which is with healing your comrades when they are seriously wounded. Naturally, they will fall to the ground and scream for your help and medical treatment, launching a smoke flare to attract your attention incase they have fallen in a dark area such as a group of trees. Your player is then given the option of attempting to heal them with syringes...or put them out of their misery with a shot to the head. Come on, who would shot them if you had plenty of syringes available? Okay, so your immediate reaction is so far so good, I can save this guy easily. However, they will immediately crumble to the ground again like they have been shot...repeating the entire process over! Did the game developers just ignore this error completely?! Very lazy too, as they did release a patch to correct some multiple problems, but not this? That's just absurd and pathetic. So yes, making sure your comrades don't get hurt is mandatory. Occasionally, medical treatment will work when healing their wounds, although this error still creeps in most of the time. Another is in the area of enemies cheating against you with their rate of fire, by being able to shoot through objects like trees or rocks! Yes, that's very fair isn't it, Ubisoft? I'm sure you couldn't bring out a patch for this either, right? Not all enemies do this, only once in a while. On the topic of enemies shooting strangely, some will also be facing the other way firing at nothing, but their bullets will still hit you! How is that scientifically possible?! Oh yeah...that's just another error. Even more problems occur with the enemies too, but for the player's benefit thankfully. When it comes to their attack methods in vehicles, their AI is non-existant. Enemies will simply attempt to ram your vehicle with theirs with all aggression possible, giving you a clear shot at the driver and gunner. It's like they are attempting to run you over...which doesn't help when you're in a car yourself!

---- Multiplayer ----

The multiplayer offers many standard modes which can be found in many games online these days such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and an uprising mode which requires opposition teams to kill the enemy captain to progress to the next round.

The maximum number of players is 16 and still quite impressive to have so many moving pixels doing their own entire thing at once without lagging in the slightest.

Taking care of bullet wounds and healing up like in single player is also still possible in multiplayer, making certain players easy targets when they are healing up with no way to defend themselves. Very easy to kill others and yet very easy to get killed yourself. Frustrating and fun at the same time, so many players seem to be having a love/hate relationship with the online mode.

Having successful multiplayer games will grant the player's account with more experience points to level up and grant access to improved levels for their multiplayer character. Levelling up accuracy and weapon type levels, generally making future games easier and giving that advantage over other players. However, the experience points seem to disappear randomly and have to be earnt all over again. I've dropped a level or two for no reason many times. It seems many other players have experienced the same problem and it requires to constantly logging in and out after every game just to save these experience points. Sort it out, Ubisoft!

The most impressive feature for the multiplayer mode is the ability to make your own maps, upload them online for other people to download, and play with others! Yes that's right, create your own next generation map with up to date graphics for an online game. This is pretty epic and a much underrated feature which has hardly been noticed by the gaming market. I understand it's very difficult to get used to and I still haven't got a clue on how to make my own map, but with practise, I can imagine how much fun it would be to see your own work of art being played by others all over the world.

---- Graphics ----

As I've said, the graphics are out of this world and truly next generation. In all honesty, they truly haven't got the recognition they have deserved and quite overlooked due to the game's bugs in gameplay. After around an hour of playing this, I had my jaw open the majority of the time.

The beautiful landscapes and gorgeous textures will instantly give off that feeling that they are just backgrounds and can't be interacted with but no, everything in sight can be touched, shot at, blown up, rammed into, etc.
Every explosion will cause debris to fly in the air and land on the ground, staying there for a long period of time. Shooting trees will cause leaves and branches to fall off bit by bit. Minor little details added in to the tiniest of elements.

Much of the open country has forms of animals running around too, giving the player that feeling they are truly driving through a safari country and admiring all the sights. Forgetting for a moment that this is a war type game.

---- Sound and Music ----

Sticking to their African type theme, many of the music tracks that will activate are high quality African tracks. No singing of course, that mellow and deep drumming music. More dramatic music in this genre occurs when a big fire fight happens, with the odds stacked against the player. Slowly calming down when the situation turns green again. Quite effective how it changes instantly and very quickly depending on what is going on.

Voice acting isn't the best for this game and every person's voice doesn't exactly come out with much emotion. Every enemy shouting loudly can't really be taken seriously and can come across as annoying after a long period of time. It's like Ubisoft just pulled in some random people off the street to read a few lines and then just leave. Acceptable voice acting, but nothing in comparison to something like the Metal Gear or Grand Theft Auto series where the character's dialogue is extremely important.

Using headphones for this game can truly be remarkable and captures the sound perfectly. Especially with explosions, as you can truly hear where it came from depending on what part of the map it happened on. Every sound truly sounding realistic to how a weapon would be in real life. Along with other sounds such as footsteps, doors opening, bangs, trees etc.

---- Recommendations ----

Despite the bugs and glitches that appear, this is a next generation game that is asking to be checked out. Just play it for the graphics, they really are breath taking. Even on my standard television its just perfect and I'm like I'm playing a movie, I can't imagine what this quality looks like a HD television.

Just too bad the developers put a lot of effort into making this look beautiful and are too lazy to sort out the gameplay's bugs. Ubisoft, if you want this game to win an award, at least make a support team that updates the game with patches to fix problems! People who have spent £45 on a game will reveal its problems eventually to warn others.

Most official reviews overall have been around in the 80% and 8/10 mark, so on the average it's still regarded as a quality game on the market.

## Review also on my Ciao account. ##

Summary: Superb next generation game let down by a number of bugs, blocking it's true potential.