LTTP Review: Far Cry 2

With one million copies sold world wide, and rumors of a sequel swirlin’ about, this is Ubisoft’s Far Cry 2.
If you remember the jungle island adventures of macho man Jack Carver, and are currently cringing, don’t worry, this is more of a ‘name only’ sequel, nothing carries over except the feel of the guns, map making, and forest destructibility. I threw this into the tray a little while ago because of a recommendation from a a genuine African, so this is the “Late to the Party” review of Far Cry 2.

Notes:

-Serving size: 1 Player, 16 Player Multiplayer
-Played on: Xbox360
-Cooking time: 60 Hours
-Released: October 2008
-Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
-Publisher: Ubisoft

Ingredients:
– 14 mute mercs for your choosing, and befriending.
-2 sides in a Civil War
-1 case of Malaria
-Half of a cup of Rebels, with Malaria pills
-A baker’s dozen of cheaply made, degrading, guns
-1 seemingly tyrannical arms dealer
-50Mg of fire propagation
-Tbls of pacing issues

Far Cry 2 is a stylistic whirlwind down 1st person avenue. The most surprising thing about Far Cry 2, is that its a First Person shooter, with a grandiose story, open world, and 50+ hours of game! The game is set in an unnamed African country, with you playing a Mercenary sent into the middle of a Civil war, tasked with killing one ‘Mr.Jackal’ a notorious arms dealer who’s business is the fuel of the war. The story progression is pretty linear, but you are offered chances to pick sides, and influence a non-existent tide of war. Oh, and did I mention that you’re paid for all of it in huge, giant blood diamonds?

Likes:

• Setting. The African  setting of Far Cry is not something which I’ve seen before, and it was fantastic. The open dessert flowed naturally into dense jungle, mountain side, grasslands, or wetland. The terrain was fantastic for setting up ambushes, going Rambo, or trying your hand at stealth.
• Weapons. I really liked most of the weapons, and the weapons mechanics. It felt like there was a real learning curve to using some of the weapons, the mortar in particular, and the unlocks (bought with with huge diamonds) were both useful and plentiful. The mini-missions for the gun shop were some of the funnest in the game, especially when you got the IED, and I wish there were more!
• Immersion. the first person experience flowed flawlessly, never breaking the illusion or 4th wall for a second. The healing effects were awe strikingly disgusting, and rightfully so. seeing yourself pull a bloody bullet out of your fore arm with your teeth never gets old, and is way more realistic then the ‘inject leprechaun serum into vein for health’ All the dialogue with characters, 1st person driving, hang gliding, and truck-falling-out-of-ness, add to the immersion factor, and never skip a beat. 

  Dislikes:

• Travel. The traveling felt like corridors between missions, and not an open world. although the terrain was beautiful, its not beautiful enough to look at 15 times over. and it seems like the two factions have an unlimited supply of soldiers, because they are constantly patrolling EVERYWHERE, resulting in an unprecedented amount of random encounters down a single stretch of highway. Then again, this helps keep the walking times down to a minimum, and offers you cars and weapons, but jeeze is it annoying.
• Pacing. The pacing of the game is terrible. for the first 5 hours you’ll be engrossed beyond belief, a great hook, and then for the next 20, you’ll be scratching the back of your eyeballs, because the game drops in interest, becoming a linear shooter with little story or driving force. At the 50% mark, you are introduced to the southern continent, sent through a storm of plot points, and forced into some really great missions. That goes for about 15 hours, and then for the next 10, your sitting on a huge turd. and then for the last act, the tide turns again, and becomes some of the most interesting stuff you’ve ever played. its terrible that you are forced through so much tripe for the gems here and there.
  

Overall, its a great play-through, and a fantastic summer title. The original release was asinine, and had no place in the holiday season. I suggest picking it up now on the cheap, and working your way ALL the way through, I promise that you’ll see what I mean when you get to the 55% margin, and you will thank me. I think that this game could have used some much needed cutting, and was a tad too long.

Chef Yaniv’s final verdict: Overcooked, but tasty!