1781

Yeah, I had some issues with FC2, but not with the controls, which were fine on the 360.

1782

Absolutely, the world is open and the enemies are not psychic. You can attack, fade away and then surprise them from another direction.

1783

Just a brief impression from the introduction, but I really like how the game sets you up in the open world with the seamless jeep ride and then once you get into the jungle after the opening everything is so claustrophobic. You’re still in a relatively open environment, but everything from POV in the crappy car (including having to look where you want to go), your character reaching out into the world from the frame, the tiny huts, to the overbearing vegetation and shadows creates this wonderful sense of trapped dread.

It’s a great example of how the environment can achieve two different goals with effective manipulation of the mise-en-scène.

1784

Yep, this game is awesome. One of the most amazing gaming environments I have every seen. My only complaint is that I wish checkpoints respawned a bit slower, but other than that it’s truly an amazing game. It certainly did not get the credit it deserved.

1785

Indeed. Always good to see someone else enjoying Far Cry 2. As per usual, I’ll do my usual spiel. I usually am a big fan of music and game music, but in the case of Far Cry 2, even though the music is fine, I implore you to try the game with the music turned off, at least for a while. It really enhances the experience in an unexpected way.

1786

Ooooo…yeah this. I tried it at the behest of Rock8 and it really is a lot better. There is nothing like sitting in the grasslands at midnight, taking aim through your sniper rifle, with nothing but the sound of a gentle breeze rustling through the grass.

1787

I also followed Rock8man’s advice when playing Far Cry 2 last year, really made a fantastic difference. Strongly encourage playing with music off.

Chris

1788

So, anyone know of any news on Far Cry 3?

1789

It’s a bummer knowing that even if Far Cry 3 is being made, it’s not being done with the participation of Clint Hocking.

1790

Is there a way in game to compare weapons? There’s a ridiculous amount to unlock (cool!) but due to my total lack of gun knowledge a lot of them could be just random letters thrown together for all I know.

The second mission unlocks the AK which seems like the one to go with since people generally consider it a very reliable gun in real life, but that’s the extent of what I know. Heh.

Also, I didn’t download the additional content before I started my game, will I have to restart to see it?

1791

You can look at the “Upgrades” section on the pause menu to see the damage/reload/accuracy statistics of all the weapons but it’s quite difficult to tell which gun each acronym refers to. A lot of the machine guns look similar in silhouette.

1792

Oh ok, thanks. I’ll take a look at that. When I initially looked at it, it didn’t seem to have the information I needed.

And yeah, I’m already getting tired of the checkpoints respawning so quickly. I think they should have either had quests you could do at checkpoints to earn passage if you wanted to more permanently neutralize a checkpoint or perhaps bribing them with diamonds for continual passage.

1793

This might sound dumb but you have to select the weapon in order to see its values.

I hated the checkpoints until I started using buses for nearly every mission. Then I only ever had to go through 1 or 2 checkpoints which are far easier to just drive right through.

1794

The checkpoints never bothered me. I liked the way they forced me to consider getting to and from my objective as part of the mission. I had to drive to a bus station if I wanted to avoid them, or if a mission went badly and I was low on ammo and syrettes I had to think carefully about my route to the nearest safehouse. Made things interesting.

I only ever played a mission or two per gaming session, though. I’m sure if I’d done more than that they might have gotten annoying.

1795

You just have to get into the mindset that the checkpoints /are/ the mission. They’re the equivalent of the level full of bad guys in a traditional linear shooter, and the location with the objective that you’re travelling to is the climactic fight at the end of the chapter. Saying you don’t want to fight any more checkpoints should feel like you’re saying you don’t want to play the game any more.

1796

It’s less an issue of not wanting to take on any checkpoint, but rather, taking on the same check point over and over again.

1797

You can make your own rule of never using the same route twice. Instead of doubling back, you can keep going forward to a bus station or just a different section of the map and get to your destination from another part of the map. I never doubled back, so I never had anyone “respawn” on me during a play session.

1798

Maybe, but It still doesn’t solve the problem of breaking the fiction. Everytime a checkpoint respawns right behind me, I always wonder how the fuck they got reinforcements out there so fast.

For a game that never breaks the illusion, this is just way too “game”. If it at least took 6-12 in-game hours for a checkpoint to respawn I think it would help me to create my own fiction for how they reinforce these things, instead it’s just “stupid game”. Which is fine for some games, but not Far Cry.

If I wanted shooting gallery with endless baddies I’d just play MW2. In FC2 it’s the world that is the attraction. Sure checkpoints are part of missions, but if those chepoints are incongruous with the world it just feels off.

1799

Right. I agree with that, in theory. Again, I haven’t doubled back, so it never felt game-y to me, since I never saw it. But I’d think that if it took 6-12 in-game hours for a checkpoint to get re-enforcements, then the game risks whole swaths of empty areas being created. You go on a rampage and wipe out a huge portion of two major areas getting to your destination. You destroy/kill your objective, and then save the game and quit for the night. Next time you play, you get a mission in a similar area; except this time there’s no enemies to fight, because you already emptied the place out the last time you played. So instead of an interesting dynamic fight you might have fought at this place which played out differently than the ones you fought the day before, this time you get nothing whatsoever in terms of combat gameplay.

1800

What about the frequent “vehicle fights” that happen when you’re driving along the road which play out exactly the same 80% of the time?