Woodsey Weflects: Far Cry 2

[Woodsey]

[HEADING=1]Woodsey Weflects[/HEADING]​

[sub]Preface: Unlike Woodsey Weviews, I'm going to be pretty liberal with spoilers when necessary in Woodsey Weflects, so it's preferable to have played the games beforehand. These are less straight-up reviews, and more about one or two particular aspects of games that interest me especially. Criticism of my writing and my opinion are both equally welcome and encouraged.[/sub]

Spoiler: Woodsey Weviews

[a
href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.357035-Woodsey-Weviews-Journey]
Journey[/a]

[a
href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.363149-Woodsey-Weviews-I-Am-Alive]I Am Alive[/a]

[a
href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.366716-Woodsey-Weviews-The-Darkness-II#14284863]The Darkness II[/a]

Spoiler: Woodsey Weflects

[a
href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.373230-Woodsey-Weflects-Hitman-Blood-Money]Hitman: Blood Money[/a]

[sub]Far Cry 2 was played on a PC. [/sub]

Welcome to the suck.​

I've remarked on a number of occassions that, when playing Far Cry 2, I'm never entirely sure if it's a bad game, or a borderline-genius one. Lately, I think I've come to believe it's both.

Far Cry 2's supposed flaws manifest in such a way that it's only the width of a gnat's cock away from being a great game. The most popular criticism levelled against it has always been the annoyance of the respawning guard posts. This design issue alone would not seem unsolvable (the Far Cry 3 team claims they've fixed it), and it'd certainly alleviate the sense of repetiton and ineffectuality which quickly come to bite at your heels over the game's surprisingly long campaign. Likewise, a lack of mission variation sends you into a lopsided spiral of shooting and driving, only with the driving feeling far more prevalent.

[Img_Inline width="340" height="192" Caption="Despite being 36, Frank's Dad still wouldn't let him drive the truck. He was very good at doing the noises, however. " align="left"]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560941156366154698/BE9E5705ECDBDE6C17BA979CD886D8635347906D/[/Img_Inline]

Alone, these are fixable design flaws; faults that would need to be rectified in any other game. And yet, these supposed issues exist amid a myriad of irritating idiosyncrasies which range from the banal to the infuriating. One less obvious example is that everyone in Far Cry 2 mumbles constantly, and talks at 300 words-per-minute. You're constantly left straining to hear them and their orders, and after 40 or so hours, you feel no closer to the people you've worked for than you did at the game's beginning; there's a distinct sense of underlying dissonance between you and everyone else.

And then there's the factions your handlers work for. The UFLL and APR? Indistinguishable. In all the times I've revisited Far Cry 2, I've never caught on to what either of them fights for. They're faceless, practically nameless, and act without rhyme or reason; you work for both and you'll be attacked by both, indiscriminately. They exist in a form of limbo, characterised by the game's nameless, war-torn African nation; an amalgamation of so many countries at the arse-end of nowhere that all of their specific characteristics are lost.

The willingness with which your employers' factions attacks you, and the immediacy with which guard posts refill and reload, serves to highlight one very clear truth: alive, you are useless. You're a part of the system. You're sent in to kill an arms-dealer fueling a war, and all you end up doing is working for both warring factions, killing hundreds of men, and using The Jackal's weapons to do so. Whilst the lose-lose ending seemed to shock a number of players when Far Cry 2 was released, replaying it, it becomes clear that it was the only way it could end. From the moment the game begins, you exist in this world, your former employers barely given a mention, your character's former life boiled down to an A5-sized fact-sheet. The country and your objective do not change for as long as you try to survive. The only way you can break the system is to die.[Img_Inline width="340" height="192" Caption="Don't drink and piss, kids. It ain't pretty when you fall down." align="right"]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560940860713545460/98EF2B4A947DEBADF53D3616CE391875670030FC/[/Img_Inline]

Until the very end, however, Far Cry 2 won't let you go so easily, with the 'buddy system' often dragging you magically back into the land of the living. And when it is time for the end, your buddies, like everyone else, try to kill you; the only way you can guarantee you break from the cycle is to murder those who have become a part of it, and that includes the guy who's been saving your arse for the past 20 hours, just as much as it includes you. This is a message that exists in every facet of Far Cry 2: that, from the person who just saved you to the weapon you just picked up, nothing can be trusted to last too long. Everything feeds back into the cycle of destruction.

Far Cry 2 is at its best when it's at its worst: cyclical, repetitive, monotonous. Extended play-throughs are likely to drive you insane, because extended play-throughs are designed to drive you insane. It is the perfect simulation of a fruitless, warring existence, and is subsequently a miserable, yet oddly endearing, farce to play through. Coverage of Far Cry 3's development has seen the developers talk a lot about charting a man's descent into insanity. I can't help but feel that Far Cry 2 is insanity.


[sub]Necessary pun: You might say that with all its grittiness it's a far cry from the original game. [/sub]

[sub]Eugh.[/sub]

 

[CruisingForBiddies]

That pun was punny. But great review! Keep up the great work.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

I think if we were to have a grammar battle, you would win. I don't think you need to worry about the wording of your reflections.

After a while, I did appreciate the sort of "inhumanity" in the theme of the game. The game was miserable, but it sort of seemed like it did that on purpose. At least, that's what I got out of it.

 

[Woodsey]

That pun was punny.

Sometimes, what's necessary isn't pretty; Far Cry puns are just that. (And thanks!)

I think if we were to have a grammar battle, you would win. I don't think you need to worry about the wording of your reflections.

After a while, I did appreciate the sort of "inhumanity" in the theme of the game. The game was miserable, but it sort of seemed like it did that on purpose. At least, that's what I got out of it.

Yeah, I think it's hard to argue that that's not what they were going for. I guess the debate comes down to whether or not they meant to feature it with quite so much dedication. It's a pretty unique game in that respect; certainly not one I'd recommend just anyone play for any sort of particular fun (unless you're particularly masochistic and just want to see every single plan you make go horribly, horribly wrong), but for the sort of people who are interested in seeing games make the most of their mechanics to explore a particular point or theme, it's certainly a must-play.

 

[Ninjamedic]

The most popular criticism levelled against it has always been the annoyance of the respawning guard posts. This design issue alone would not seem unsolvable (the Far Cry 3 team claims they've fixed it), and it'd certainly alleviate the sense of repetiton and ineffectuality which quickly come to bite at your heels over the game's surprisingly long campaign. Likewise, a lack of mission variation sends you into a lopsided spiral of shooting and driving, only with the driving feeling far more prevalent.

I'd say its more down to the sheer size of the two maps and the lack of any towns/places of interest other than the guard posts. When all you have other than the main town, armories and the places to attack to slingshot back and forth between it becomes very tedious in a small space of time.

I like the ideas behind the large maps, they usually provide multiple options to approach the base your attacking with no correct method to reach the objective. What could have worked was to provide ways/shortcuts around the guard posts, allowing you to plan your journey from mission to mission. Sadly they never elaborated on this.

 

[Woodsey]

The most popular criticism levelled against it has always been the annoyance of the respawning guard posts. This design issue alone would not seem unsolvable (the Far Cry 3 team claims they've fixed it), and it'd certainly alleviate the sense of repetiton and ineffectuality which quickly come to bite at your heels over the game's surprisingly long campaign. Likewise, a lack of mission variation sends you into a lopsided spiral of shooting and driving, only with the driving feeling far more prevalent.

I'd say its more down to the sheer size of the two maps and the lack of any towns/places of interest other than the guard posts. When all you have other than the main town, armories and the places to attack to slingshot back and forth between it becomes very tedious in a small space of time.

I like the ideas behind the large maps, they usually provide multiple options to approach the base your attacking with no correct method to reach the objective. What could have worked was to provide ways/shortcuts around the guard posts, allowing you to plan your journey from mission to mission. Sadly they never elaborated on this.

Quite a few of them are avoidable, but it's generally via a route that's just long enough, or out of the way enough, that you think it's just easier to blast through the guard posts and put up with getting shot at.

It's a hard game to criticise though in that sense, for me at least, because like I said, I think that was the point - that you're catapulted from extended periods of tedium towards (usually very brief) intersections of violence.

I think it was one of the guys who writes for RockPaperShotgun who said he was glad the game existed, and he's also glad he doesn't have to play it again, which goes some way to summing up my feelings towards it (although I do get an itch to play it every now and then).

 

[Ninjamedic]

Quite a few of them are avoidable, but it's generally via a route that's just long enough, or out of the way enough, that you think it's just easier to blast through the guard posts and put up with getting shot at.

It's a hard game to criticise though in that sense, for me at least, because like I said, I think that was the point - that you're catapulted from extended periods of tedium towards (usually very brief) intersections of violence.

I think it was one of the guys who writes for RockPaperShotgun who said he was glad the game existed, and he's also glad he doesn't have to play it again, which goes some way to summing up my feelings towards it (although I do get an itch to play it every now and then).

I'd be inclined to agree, but the lack of detail in several areas (story, additional towns) kills the immersion for me. Although thats just my experience of the game.

 

[Goofguy]

I liked the size of the maps and the somewhat confusing trails at times. It truly felt like I was travelling through the jungle with a map and GPS, trying to make my way to my next objective. The fast travel system was great; it eliminated the need to travel VAST distances without dropping you right next to your destination.

I don't want to beat a dead horse here but yeah, the guard posts were a bit annoying. I understand that your player character is just an other merc in this war torn country but damn, a little clemency from either of the groups when travelling would have been appreciated.

And you hit the nail on the head with your comments about the factions. I just never really knew what either of their agendas were (except for trying to topple the other) and their leaders were so forgetful. If any of the NPCs in game mentioned someone's name, I had no idea who they were talking about, unless they were referring to the Jackal or one of my buddies.

 

[Woodsey]

I liked the size of the maps and the somewhat confusing trails at times. It truly felt like I was travelling through the jungle with a map and GPS, trying to make my way to my next objective. The fast travel system was great; it eliminated the need to travel VAST distances without dropping you right next to your destination.

Most of the time I found it more of an inconvenience to get to a bus station then just set out for where I was going and, depending on how much I could stomach the game's message at any one time, I preferred to travel around myself to reach that point of slight craziness.

And you hit the nail on the head with your comments about the factions. I just never really knew what either of their agendas were (except for trying to topple the other) and their leaders were so forgetful. If any of the NPCs in game mentioned someone's name, I had no idea who they were talking about, unless they were referring to the Jackal or one of my buddies.

Yeah, when I first played it I thought all the faction randomisation was to keep things mixed up and support multiple playthroughs. Now, I think it was meant for multiple playthroughs, but only to highlight how indistinguishable they both are.

 

[AJax_21]

I recommend downloading a save that is around 50% complete with half of the weapons unlocked because the first couple of hours are tedious and boring as all hell. Acquiring the weapons and upgrades takes way too goddamn long.

I'll admit that I'm having a lot fun with the game now that I have decent weapons. Planning an attack on an enemy compound with the various options that is available to you is one of the game's highlights.

Minor nitpick, I hate how empty the world feels. The game is about a civil war in a small African country yet we don't see any actual civil war happening. We never see any civilians or burned down villages to actually make us care. You never see the factions fighting each other, they'll only fight you and only you. It just reeks of laziness and stupid design.

Good write-up, I find your opinions very interesting. Looking forward to more reviews.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Just based on that, knowing what kind of mentality to enter the game with, I think I might actually enjoy it. In the same way one 'enjoys' a movie like The Deer Hunter, anyway.

 

[Woodsey]

Just based on that, knowing what kind of mentality to enter the game with, I think I might actually enjoy it. In the same way one 'enjoys' a movie like The Deer Hunter, anyway.

As long as you know the kind of experience it's going to be, and the sooner you realise that the only reason it lets you make any sort of plan of attack is so that it can go horribly, horribly wrong, the sooner and more easily you'll enjoy it. Or appreciate it, at least.