Far Cry 2 Catch-All

I've been playing it for past couple of days (50% done at highest difficulty, saving only at checkpoints) and slowly coming upon that it's my favourite shooter of past ~five years. It's funny to come here and see this discussion.

Aaron D. wrote:

For me, FC2 was always about the journey and not the destination.

+1. Perfectly said.

For me, FC2 started off as an annoying, aggravating shooter that I actively hated. The checkpoints made me rage quit more than once. Being attacked both on the way to a mission and then coming back from it by the same dudes at the same place was infuriating. My weapons sucked. The unfaltering animosity and aggression of *everyone* against me was alienating, exasperating, and off-putting. I quit my first play-through at about 25% completion and did not pick the game up for at least 8-9 months.

But, I kept hearing people gushing about this game though. People on this forum and elsewhere. People who's opinion I respected. So I gave it another chance. And it became one of my favorite games of all time. Maybe not top 10 but certainly top 25.

I figured out that the game was not the problem, but my expectations were. I had been trained by shooters for years and years to expect certain things from the genre: run and gun through a mostly static world pretty much on rails. And FC2 was not giving me any of that.

To a degree I have not seen in FPSes, just existing in the world is it's own reward. Seeing the sun rise over the desert. Wandering through the jungle. Figuring out how to get to the top of a hill. Admiring the beauty in the game.

Then juxtaposing the beauty of the game itself with an ugly, ugly civil war in a failed African state. Where there are no good guys (not even your character). Where the ostensible bad guy may be the best of a bad lot (sorry if that is spoilery). Where trust and friendship are almost entirely missing. Except for your buddies. These guys you can trust to watch your back and help you out, which makes some of the story that much more effective and poignant. They call out in stark relief the madness of the rest of the game world.

The story missions themselves, I would suggest, detract from the gameplay experience. Most of them are "go here, shoot some dude/get some thing, and then make a getaway"; most of them are generally uninteresting in and of themselves. Given the experiential nature of the rest of the game, they are almost jarring in how perfunctory they are. And when you are on a mission, all of the other elements in the game can be frustrating: travel is a pain in the ass due to the size of the world, checkpoints are aggravations to be overcome not opportunities for emergent gameplay, seemingly omniscient always-hostile enemies are irritations that are only obstacles that get in your way. The missions draw you out of the good parts of the game and amplify the parts of the game that can be annoying when you are trying to make some "progress".

But, progress we must, that's the nature of games, right? Even if that progress eschews what makes a game great. Hence my advice to play in small chunks. If you start a session and all you want to do is go over there and kill that dude (who is always without fail surrounded by scores and scores of seemingly omniscient always hostile bodyguards) because some other dude told you to, then the game presents its poorer aspects to you. And it is frustrating. Especially at first.

And people who don't like the game, I totally respect that. Because I have been there. It is hard to get past what other shooters have trained us to expect and how FC2 puts up a massive amount of friction against those expectations. And there's all these other games to play. Like I said, I totally get that. But if you can get past those expectations and just exist in FC2's world (and maybe do a story mission here and there, never pressing) this game is like nothing else. Watch a sunset. See a grenade roll down a hill. Learn the tactical uses of fire. Then maybe go kill a dude all the way over there because this other dude all the way over here told you to. Then go play something else for a bit and come back later. Because, in my opinion, it is totally worth it.

That was a REALLY good post.

Aaron D. wrote:

For me, FC2 was always about the journey and not the destination.

The moment to moment gameplay involved in just getting to my destination was just as thrilling as the inevitable shoot-outs at base camps that followed.

It reminds me of GTA where traveling from job to job was just busywork in between awesome cut scenes and story progression. FC2 is a bit reverse where traveling is the meat of the experience and not just a time waster.

Exactly. I would go one step further and say that for me, I loved to travel on foot and soak up the environment/atmosphere. It was always about the approach and weapon loadout experimentation that kept me coming back for more

Gravey wrote:
SuperDave wrote:

I loved how much the game seemed to encourage the act of running away. There was so much thrill to the assassination missions where I would spend time walking around not only for an area where I could not only make a clean shot on your target and do it without people seeing me, but also to where I could make a clean getaway in the shortest amount of time. I'm not taking down an entire armory, I'm only there to make my hit and get the hell out before people can see that I'm responsible.

Ha, yes, absolutely. If half of Far Cry 2 is shooting dudes, the other half is figuring out the best place to park my Jeep before an assault.

This. Always park your Jeep facing the direction you want to haul ass in; no backing down long paths or having to pull a U-turn.

I remember feeling a little out of sync with the game when I first played it. What helped me get into the groove (other than getting in touch with my inner pyromaniac) was to stop trying to play this like a stealth-action shooter. Like Gravey said, it's not so much about gunning down every single dude you come across, but rather about getting creative. The gun-runner missions (where you had to take out convoys for the arms dealer) really taught me the value of getting creative with explosives.

Nicholaas wrote:

The gun-runner missions (where you had to take out convoys for the arms dealer) really taught me the value of getting creative with explosives. :)

Those are some of the best. There's no "Press A in front of the glowing square to place the explosive and then wait for the cut-scene" in FC2. Sure, you could just stand there with your RPG, but if you actually want to survive you have to think and plan things out. Obviously, that's how any encounter in FC2 works, but the convoy missions, shorter and more manageable, are great small examples of that approach.

So for instance, there was a convoy in the desert. I scouted out its route, and found a single baobab tree by the road, across from a small hillock. I placed a mine in front of the baobab, and two others on either side, about 30 feet down the road and up the road. Then I ducked behind the hillock and waited. When the convoy approached and the truck passed in front of the tree, BOOM. Goodbye, everyone.

Or the convoy in the jungle that drove along a cliff road. I parked in the foliage on the opposite cliff, across a deep chasm, and this time just crouched there with my RPG. Took out the truck and not spotted by the guards (or able to close if they did spot me), I could just go on my way.

Man, such great self-made moments in that game.

This is making me want to play again.

... God dammit.

I always want to play again. I'll never find the time though.

I liked the assassination missions when the target was in a vehicle. I'd generally get my own jeep and park it in their path at a narrow choke point and wait for the enemy vehicle to get stuck. As soon as it stopped moving, I put a bullet through the windshield and into the target from a bush a few hundred metres away. Such a great game for moments like that. IEDs were fun too!

I was actually playing and enjoying this for some time back a couple of years ago but I put it down and never picked it back up. At first I thought it was charming and didn't mind the checkpoints and super-aggro enemies everywhere. There were so many ways of dealing with things, even early game, that it never felt boring.

But at a certain point it became tedious to me. Not so much the instances where you had to go assassinate someone or clear a safe house (which are fun and always varied), but just the getting around and backtracking. Having a jeep come out of nowhere and run you over. Having enemies chase you across half the map. The ridiculous number of bullets it takes to bring down a shirtless rebel. There are some very "gamey" elements to this game and it ended up taking the charm out of an otherwise great world.

My thinking started to become very mechanical about dealing with these situations, and I almost always ended up trying to do things most efficiently to get through, rather than use all of the tools available. Thus, a game which gives you a great world and all the tools you need became repetitive and boring. My own fault? Maybe. But I feel like I was forced into the situation as the facade crumbled and the very predictable (and illogical?) mechanics of the game emerged.

I think this is a great concept for a game that was almost there in execution. I certainly didn't end up hating it, even though I understand why it's a polarizing game, but it's too flawed a game for me to ever fall in love with and I doubt I'll go back.

I like reading about it, though.

So I had to fire it up again last night...

I had some great moments, but the best was during my final convoy mission for the arms dealer. I checked out the convoy's circular route, and scouted out a great spot where I could lay some IED's along the road and hide on a convenient nearby rocky bluff to enjoy the mayhem. Apparently I didn't scout the area quite well enough, but more on that in a bit...

I was waiting, tracking my convoy on the map, when all of a sudden an unrelated patrol jeep roars by on the road below me. Itchy trigger finger - BAM! - my three IEDs go off prematurely blasting the poor patrol to smithereens. My convoy is coming around the bend, no time to set more explosives, so I decide to pop from the rocks and take 'em thug style with my AK-47.

The convoy meets the flaming jeep wreckage, stops, and suddenly I hear shouting and whizzing of bullets directly behind me. I turn around, and realize my great hiding spot is directly in front of some kind of enemy camp. Yikes! I'm quickly shredded down to half my health, so I hop down and run directly toward the convoy in my confusion. Mercs flood from the convoy vehicles, now I'm getting pinged from front and back.

I panic and start fumbling for the painkiller button when suddenly I hear a telltale WHEEEEEZ-BOOM! The convoy explodes, tossing mercs left and right. What the-?

Turns out one of the guys from the enemy camp behind me is sporting a Carl G and shot a little wide of me to blast the convoy with his RPG. Job done! I sprint out of there with one health bar left, feeling very lucky. And remembering why this game is occasionally awesome like no other.

chaosmos wrote:

So I had to fire it up again last night...

Yeah, all this FC2 talk and I turned on my Xbox last night for some Skyrim, saw "chaosmosGWJ is playing Far Cry 2", and almost put the disc in too. Maybe this weekend...

Fantastic story BTW. Though when I read "the telltale WHEEEEEZ-BOOM" I honestly thought That's not what a grenade rolling down a hill sounds like.

The various checkpoints got more managable for me once it occured to me that I don't have to stop and kill everyone whenever I run into them. I just drive through them at full speed and watch guys diving out of the way (or getting run over) and just go on my merry way.

Vega wrote:

The various checkpoints got more managable for me once it occured to me that I don't have to stop and kill everyone whenever I run into them. I just drive through them at full speed and watch guys diving out of the way (or getting run over) and just go on my merry way.

Doesn't work all the time. The grenade truck in the 2nd map made everything much easier. Not always better because I tended to just find one and go make my objective explode instead of coming up with different ways to do things.

Archangel wrote:
Alien Love Gardener wrote:

travel by river, where you can just blast through checkpoints at will.

That was not my experience in the slightest. I had heard and was excited about the possibility of using the river system as a travel alternative. But no matter what I did, I was systematically shot up by dudes with guns and MG emplacements all the same, and pursued by an enemy boat or two to boot. My boat's motor just insta-alerted everyone within a quarter mile once I crossed the magical auto-detection range boundary. The only way I figured to be able to bypass satisfactorily a checkpoint was stealth, even given the guards' cat-like hyper-senses.

Huh. I found that if I come in at full speed the time it takes for boats to gain momentum lets me consistently pass through river checkpoints and leave any pursuers in the dust.

Yeah, if you were actually speeding through the checkpoint, there's no way they would catch you. Tried and tested fifty times over.

Hyetal wrote:

Yeah, if you were actually speeding through the checkpoint, there's no way they would catch you. Tried and tested fifty times over.

I agree, full steam airboat is pretty unstoppable. I might have gotten whacked with a lucky rocket launcher shot one time, but usually it's like keystone kops as the guard post tries and fails to mobilize quickly. I mainly get in trouble when I'm distracted by my rearview, laughing at the fools trying to hop in their boat, then I hit a sandbar and get beached.

Taking public transportation helped reduce the monotony of long travel. Unlock safehouses all over the map to make sure you've got a decent vehicle nearby.

Gravey, Chaosmos: great stories. That pretty much sealed it; I'm starting up a game the moment I finish this post.

Well I'm definitely taking more damage in Hardcore mode.

Actually, headshots now down guys pretty quick, and I only just got the bolt action rifle. That'll be my Sunday evening.

So I fired this up the other night, and decided to go with a gun runner mission for my big return to the desert. I loaded up my kit - consisting of a .50 cal sniper rifle, explosive-tipped crossbow, and the silenced Makarov pistol - and hopped into my shiny blue Jeep. I came up just behind the convoy, and decided to set up shop at a choke point at a bend in the road. I parked my Jeep sideways, crouched in the bushes just off the road, loaded my crossbow, and waited. And waited. And waited. Turns out the convoy got stuck at the guard post just across the field I was huddled in. "Perfect", I thought. I was skulking through the bush, making my way to the guard post, when I came upon a stray guard who was unknowingly about to step on me. So I panicked and put about 5 rounds of my pistol into his chest. He dropped, and not waiting to see if I alerted anyone else, I stood upright and bolted towards the convoy, crossbow at the ready. Someone at my 3 O'clock spotted me, and starting firing his automatic rifle like mad. (Luckily, he was kind of a bad shot.) I took aim, and could see some of the post guards taking positions through the scope of the crossbow. I fired, and 2 very long seconds later, the convoy truck was sent ass over tea-kettle in flaming heap.

Then I ran. I ran so far away. I ran through the field, down a hill, and right onto the road - where a jeep was conveniently on patrol. I fired my crossbow, hoping to turn the Jeep into fireworks. The bolt connected...but didn't detonate. Instead, it ricocheted right off the hood and was sent spinning wildly in the air - up, and back right over my head as it started it's descent to earth. Figuring this was about to become the worst spot in Africa to be standing, I bolted straight at the Jeep, just as I heard the bolt land and detonate behind me, setting the grass ablaze. No turning back now. I tossed a grenade at the Jeep, and broke left, towards some boulders. The Jeep exploded wonderfully, taking out guard number one instantly. Guard number two, however, was still firing. I switched to my Makarov, figuring I was close enough to pop a few in his chest with relative ease. I waited for what I presumed was the guard reloading, and as I whipped out from cover and lined up my sight, I noticed the flames had spread - something the guard had somehow failed to notice, as he was doing the "oh my god I'm on fire someone help me" dance. So I lowered my gun, checked the area for immediate threats, and made my way to the nearest safe-house. I spotted a communications tower on the way, with an assassination mission all ready for me.

Just finally started playing this, after hearing the Thumbs talk so much about it, and finally getting a video card that can make it shine (thanks, jonnypolite!).

I took a left turn at Albuquerque, stole an airboat, ran through an enemy encampment, blew up their jeeps, and escaped to a nearby zebra preserve. Saved there, since I had to run some errands.

Just started it back up, and three guys were following my trail and sweeping through the zebra preserve. Grenade launcher jammed, so I hit 'Q', which I'm used to using for switching to my previous weapons from other games I won't mention. Didn't know 'Q' was bound to throw molotovs, and I Prozac'd all those poor zebras.

Best first hour of a game, ever.

Bonus_Eruptus wrote:

and I Prozac'd all those poor zebras.

Best first hour of a game, ever.

Also best new GWJ verb of 2012!

So I got this off the most recent Steam Sale, and am loving the first few hours. Very enjoyable game play, it still looks great. There's a couple of things that are bothering me, and I'm hoping I'm just missing something:

- Is there no way to tell what gun(s) I have equipped? I mean in terms of their name, so I can look them up and compare stats
- At some point I was using a sniper rifle that I had picked up. Suddenly, in the middle of a fire-fight, I didn't have it anymore. My character had switched to his pistol, and the rifle was nowhere to be found. I didn't have any weapon in that slot (the "3" slot). What happened? Did the gun spontaneously implode?

StaggerLee wrote:

Did the gun spontaneously implode?

It may have.

Watching that video, I forgot how unnaturally fast everyone talked.

StaggerLee wrote:

So I got this off the most recent Steam Sale, and am loving the first few hours. Very enjoyable game play, it still looks great. There's a couple of things that are bothering me, and I'm hoping I'm just missing something:

- Is there no way to tell what gun(s) I have equipped? I mean in terms of their name, so I can look them up and compare stats

You can see their names in your journal, but in terms of the guns you have equipped, I think you pretty much have to tell by their icon silhouette or just what they look like. They're mostly pretty distinct, but if you need help, the IMFDB entry on FC2 is both useful and exceptionally hilarious.

StaggerLee wrote:

- At some point I was using a sniper rifle that I had picked up. Suddenly, in the middle of a fire-fight, I didn't have it anymore. My character had switched to his pistol, and the rifle was nowhere to be found. I didn't have any weapon in that slot (the "3" slot). What happened? Did the gun spontaneously implode?

When the guns spontaneously implode—and they will—you'll know. Not sure what happened there though if it just disappeared.

Trashie wrote:

Watching that video, I forgot how unnaturally fast everyone talked.

I can't remember where I read it, but apparently literally just speeding up the voice recordings was how they dealt with the lines taking too long and players getting bored.

Did we already talk about the new realism mod?

http://www.moddb.com/mods/dylans-far...

This mod fixes what Ubisoft left unfixed. Dylan's Realism Mod changes Far Cry 2 from an Africa-based sedan and pickup truck simulator into a true African conflict simulator. Realistic weapon damage, recoil, realistic ammo loads and weapon reliability have been added, along with a more effective stealth suit, and revamped AI weapons. (No more SPAS12s and AR15s for tinpot African militiamen). Checkpoint AI has been tweaked as well. Checkpoint guards now have a 60% chance to chase you after passing through, as opposed to 90%-100% in vanilla. Militiamen also communicate more frequently in combat, and use suppressing fire more often. However, you are now as vulnerable as the AI. A single burst of rifle fire can kill you, so you are probably going to need that extra ammo and stealth suit.

That may be enough for me to pick it up again, Po. Very cool.

Podunk wrote:

Did we already talk about the new realism mod?

I think it was mentioned in the Steam Sale thread last week when it was on sale. Thanks for the link, bookmarked for installation later! That mention is what enabled me on FC2, having been previously disabled by the description of the AI in the game.