Some Far Cry 2 stuff
Posted: 2008-12-19 04:20am
So, I've decided to compile a list of everything I dislike about Far Cry 2
-It's set in Africa but there's everyone but Africans there. I mean there's Brits, Irish, Yanks, Aussies, Russkies and the like. They've even got Punjabs, Asians, a heap of Latinos and a goddamn Hungarian born Israeli. But for an African country there seems to be a distinct shortage of, well, Africans. Thank you unneccessary outrage over Resident Evil 5.
-Despite playing a veteran Soldier/Intel officer/cop/whatever turned Merc, you can't seem to keep a gun running for more than five or six fire-fights without having to a) go and pick up a brand new replacement from the gun-dealer or b) buying a maintenance manual (which only extends the life of the weapons) from the gun-dealer. Both of which are a simply RIDICULOUS price (when the price of a maintenance manual for a car is measured in double-digit quantities of raw diamonds, then you know that the local market needs some readjusting. And when you have a jam, what do you need to do? Pummel the reload button until you can clear it. Stupid. The worst though? A "jam" on an RPG. Where the rocket hang-fires, drops to the ground infront of you, then ignites, suddenly spinning and carooming off everything until it detonates (usually under your feet/car).
-The world is too static/elastic. And yes, I know that makes little sense. The world is far too elastic in it's attempts to remain static - guard posts are repopulated mere minutes after being cleared (even if you are still there, the new shift mysteriously teleports in), you can't kill anyone important or do anything to risk the story. I mean really, there's the gun-dealer in his little store out in the middle of the wilderness (actually, he's magically in whichever of his 9 or so stores you happen to go into - I want to get his mode of transport), so what's to stop me from popping him, then blowing/prying open the door and going into his backroom where I can see all those lovely goodies on display? Instead of just being forced to purchase low rent crap until I've done his fetch quests.
-On PC the buddy system is fairly pointless, but I feel I should use it. Because you can quicksave anytime (instead of just at safehouses), the rescue system (where a friend you've made will rescue you when injured) just seems like a waste of time as you can just quickload instead. I should probably let it go through though, just to see what happens.
-The safehouses also become irrelevant due to the "save anywhere" mechanic, but that's not my biggest issue with them. Why do I have to buy a special "weapon storage crate" from the gun-dealer (again for an extortionate price) just to be able to create a weapon stash at my safehouses. Why can't I just use the shelves which are already in the safehouses? And on that note, why do I have to buy a primary weapon storage crate, a secondary weapon storage crate and a special weapon storage crate, when I'm fairly sure that with some rudimentary Tetris skills I could fit them all in one.
-Everyone hates you. There are no friendly forces in this game (except for your buddies who appear when you are "killed"). There are not even neutral forces (except in the main city which is under ceasefire, but everyone there will still shoot you in a heartbeat should they get the opportunity). No, every single goddamn person in this game is your enemy and will attempt to kill you on sight. Oh and every single goddamn person in the game world is also a heavily armed mercenary. Nothing drives you nuts more than driving along and seeing an old, rusted Nissan Bluebird coming towards you and suddenly screeching to a halt and the Merc driving it then jumping out and lighting you up with his Minimi. So you can either blaze past (can't shoot while driving), or hop out and get in a fight with him. Either way, you're losing some health.
-Everyone is faster than you. The aforementioned Nissan Bluebird which looks like it would fall apart if the last few flakes of paint fell off will easily catch up to your offroad buggy. So will the rusty old Land Rovers w/the Minimi mounted on the cab. And so will every other vehicle in the game. Even when you blast through a manned checkpoint at 100km/h, before you know it, suddenly the rusted old Landie which was parked there with no one in it will be pulling a Pitt-maneouvre on you while the gunner lights you up. You can outrun people on foot, but that really doesn't help when everyone is in a vehicle.
-Why the hell have people decided to leave 221 briefcases with uncut diamonds in them around the area? And why are they fitted with radio transponders and a low-frequency audio beacon? On the plus side, this must be the first time in a LONG LONG time (since Vice City IIRC, wait no - Crackdown, but in that game, it was the whole game) that a collectible hunt actually had a definite in-game effect, in that it is one of your major revenue streams.
Add to these things like some occassionally poor combat (how many shots in the face with a G3 can someone take), the terrible voice acting and a concerningly slow/loose plot... And I wonder, why the hell am I still playing this game? And why the hell am I playing it to the exclusion of nearly everything else?
And a final question - at any point do actual factions develop (ie, some dudes are friendly and others enemies) depending on how you play/who you back? Or is it always just everyone trying to kill you regardless?
-It's set in Africa but there's everyone but Africans there. I mean there's Brits, Irish, Yanks, Aussies, Russkies and the like. They've even got Punjabs, Asians, a heap of Latinos and a goddamn Hungarian born Israeli. But for an African country there seems to be a distinct shortage of, well, Africans. Thank you unneccessary outrage over Resident Evil 5.
-Despite playing a veteran Soldier/Intel officer/cop/whatever turned Merc, you can't seem to keep a gun running for more than five or six fire-fights without having to a) go and pick up a brand new replacement from the gun-dealer or b) buying a maintenance manual (which only extends the life of the weapons) from the gun-dealer. Both of which are a simply RIDICULOUS price (when the price of a maintenance manual for a car is measured in double-digit quantities of raw diamonds, then you know that the local market needs some readjusting. And when you have a jam, what do you need to do? Pummel the reload button until you can clear it. Stupid. The worst though? A "jam" on an RPG. Where the rocket hang-fires, drops to the ground infront of you, then ignites, suddenly spinning and carooming off everything until it detonates (usually under your feet/car).
-The world is too static/elastic. And yes, I know that makes little sense. The world is far too elastic in it's attempts to remain static - guard posts are repopulated mere minutes after being cleared (even if you are still there, the new shift mysteriously teleports in), you can't kill anyone important or do anything to risk the story. I mean really, there's the gun-dealer in his little store out in the middle of the wilderness (actually, he's magically in whichever of his 9 or so stores you happen to go into - I want to get his mode of transport), so what's to stop me from popping him, then blowing/prying open the door and going into his backroom where I can see all those lovely goodies on display? Instead of just being forced to purchase low rent crap until I've done his fetch quests.
-On PC the buddy system is fairly pointless, but I feel I should use it. Because you can quicksave anytime (instead of just at safehouses), the rescue system (where a friend you've made will rescue you when injured) just seems like a waste of time as you can just quickload instead. I should probably let it go through though, just to see what happens.
-The safehouses also become irrelevant due to the "save anywhere" mechanic, but that's not my biggest issue with them. Why do I have to buy a special "weapon storage crate" from the gun-dealer (again for an extortionate price) just to be able to create a weapon stash at my safehouses. Why can't I just use the shelves which are already in the safehouses? And on that note, why do I have to buy a primary weapon storage crate, a secondary weapon storage crate and a special weapon storage crate, when I'm fairly sure that with some rudimentary Tetris skills I could fit them all in one.
-Everyone hates you. There are no friendly forces in this game (except for your buddies who appear when you are "killed"). There are not even neutral forces (except in the main city which is under ceasefire, but everyone there will still shoot you in a heartbeat should they get the opportunity). No, every single goddamn person in this game is your enemy and will attempt to kill you on sight. Oh and every single goddamn person in the game world is also a heavily armed mercenary. Nothing drives you nuts more than driving along and seeing an old, rusted Nissan Bluebird coming towards you and suddenly screeching to a halt and the Merc driving it then jumping out and lighting you up with his Minimi. So you can either blaze past (can't shoot while driving), or hop out and get in a fight with him. Either way, you're losing some health.
-Everyone is faster than you. The aforementioned Nissan Bluebird which looks like it would fall apart if the last few flakes of paint fell off will easily catch up to your offroad buggy. So will the rusty old Land Rovers w/the Minimi mounted on the cab. And so will every other vehicle in the game. Even when you blast through a manned checkpoint at 100km/h, before you know it, suddenly the rusted old Landie which was parked there with no one in it will be pulling a Pitt-maneouvre on you while the gunner lights you up. You can outrun people on foot, but that really doesn't help when everyone is in a vehicle.
-Why the hell have people decided to leave 221 briefcases with uncut diamonds in them around the area? And why are they fitted with radio transponders and a low-frequency audio beacon? On the plus side, this must be the first time in a LONG LONG time (since Vice City IIRC, wait no - Crackdown, but in that game, it was the whole game) that a collectible hunt actually had a definite in-game effect, in that it is one of your major revenue streams.
Add to these things like some occassionally poor combat (how many shots in the face with a G3 can someone take), the terrible voice acting and a concerningly slow/loose plot... And I wonder, why the hell am I still playing this game? And why the hell am I playing it to the exclusion of nearly everything else?
And a final question - at any point do actual factions develop (ie, some dudes are friendly and others enemies) depending on how you play/who you back? Or is it always just everyone trying to kill you regardless?