Game Discussion of the Week: Far Cry 2

Added and stickied.

Far Cry 2 was without a doubt one of the most controversial FPS of 2008; not because of edgy content, but because of game design decisions that drew scathing criticism and "ruined" the game for a large numbers of players who bought it. I remember the Gametrailers.com forum I used to lurk around at that time was regularly flooded with complaints about the game, with many saying they returned the game on day 1 of purchase, which in my opinion is just absurd for any game.

The problems most people cite as "deal-breaking" are usually the excessive driving across the very large map, the respawning enemies, and the player's malaria (which requires you to seek out medication at a few points in the game as a mandatory side mission). All of these "problems" I consider merely subjective because none of them ruined the game for me in the slightest. Honestly I was much more angered by the game breaking bugs at launch, but thankfully the game is now fully patched and functional, and I haven't encountered any problems since.

If there's one area of the game we could all agree was objectively good, it would definitely be the graphics. Far Cry 2 was the last technically ambitious Far Cry game, both in terms of graphics and production values, and in many ways it was a direct competitor to Crysis in that regard, at least on the PC. Even today it's a very beautiful game, and not only is the game world more than twice the size of Far Cry 3's, but 2 has many finer details that even the most recent Far Cry game (5) lacks. Proof:


If there's another thing that Far Cry 2 does extremely well it's weapon variety. As opposed to Crytek shooters (like Far Cry 1) where there's never more than 10 or so weapons, by the time you've purchased all the weapons in Far Cry 2 you'll have an entire bunker full of guns, rocket launchers, IEDs, and so on. Every wall in the room will be covered with mounted weapons. It's quite a sight! I haven't counted, but I'm sure that there's at least twice as many weapons in 2 than in 1.

The enemy AI and difficulty are also MUCH improved from Far Cry 1, a game which felt very rough around the edges in that regard. In 2, however, enemies are not only much more realistic in behavior but stealth is much more balanced and less OP, making the game's difficulty feel more balanced and enjoyable throughout. 2 also doesn't suffer from any ridiculous difficulty spikes at any point of its campaign like 1 did.

That's not to say that 2 is better than 1 in every regard, because it is definitely inferior in some areas. In Far Cry 1, the vehicles all handle and accelerate realistically and uniquely, but in 2 they all kinda feel the same for the most part, and even the fastest vehicles seem to stop accelerating the moment you hit 40 mph, which makes getting around feel slower, more tedious and less fun. This was obviously done to compensate for consoles so the game wouldn't crash, do to RAM limitations of consoles. It's a shame because the vehicles were so fun to use in 1.

Speaking of downgrades, fans of Far Cry 1 will also be disappointed to learn that Far Cry 2's modding community is extremely underdeveloped by comparison. From what I've heard, Ubisoft never allowed the game to be mod-friendly, which might have contributed to the game's unpopularity. However there still exist some minor mods that address the most common issues cited with the game, such as the malaria and respawning enemies. It's kind of a shame that more mods don't exist, since open world games like this are always ideal for modding (I mean just look at the content modders have made for the Elder Scrolls titles and GTA games).

Now in regards to story, I won't lie that Far Cry 2 comes up a bit short. The plot itself is interesting and very political, but I never really found any of the characters remotely interesting. This was never a problem for me because I never play FPS games for the story, but it might be an issue for some people. With that said, there are a few good surprises that occur along the way, so it's not a complete loss in that regard.

The multiplayer was a lot of fun and I played it extensively online back in the day, but I think it's pretty much dead by now, and unfortunately unlike the console ports of Far Cry 1, the console versions of 2 don't have split screen support, only LAN, limiting the enjoyment one could have with friends significantly. It's a shame because the map editor was amazing and very user-friendly, and I got tons of enjoyment out of molding my own game worlds.

Overall though, Far Cry 2 is an outstanding game as far as I'm concerned. The production values are amazing, and the amount of content the game offers is staggering, especially considering how affordable the game is today ($10 digitally, even less for physical copies). I've spent hundreds of hours with the game, and I'd go as far to say that it's one of my top 5 favorite FPS ever. The dynamic nature of the gunfights and open world environment assures that gameplay never get old, and offers good replayability. All versions of the game are the same in terms of content, but the PC version has the potential to look far better than the console versions (also, the GOG.com version includes all of the game's DLC).

I award Far Cry 2 a perfect 5/5.

Cervantes No prob! I've been itching to talk at length about Far Cry 2, since it's one of my most played FPS games. There are a few details I omitted that I should have mentioned, like the changes made to 2's gunplay from 1 (namely the removal of alt fire, much more realistic and unique handling for each individual weapon, weapon degradation, and the removal of "prone" position/crawling, among a few other changes).

I think what impressed me most about Far Cry 2's graphics compared to 1's was the incredible improvements made to animations, especially vegetation; foliage now reacts dynamically to physical objects and explosions, and just looks infinitely better. Overall graphics-wise Far Cry 2 is better than 1 in just about every area, except maybe the sky/clouds (but hey, at least it actively changes unlike in 1).


On a different note, who rated the game a 3/5? Is there someone else here who has played the game besides me?