PC Game Fun Time

I’ve played Far Cry 2 a bit more since the last time I wrote about it, and naturally, greater familiarity with a subject begets more things to say about it to a blogger. I’m still enjoying the game quite a bit and don’t anticipate stopping playing it soon; it’s just not quite as great as most of the major review outlets seem to think. In particular, the game has some annoying aspects that can really hinder enjoyment of the game. Here are the top ten annoying aspects of Far Cry 2:

10. Everyone’s out to kill you. Any time you are outside of the game’s one main city, the first, last, and only thing you should do upon coming across any other person, regardless of whether they’re driving in a military jeep, civilian coupe, or are simply on foot, is to immediately kill them, because given half a chance that’s exactly what they’ll do to you. Far Cry 2 borrows a lot of its gameplay from the pioneer sandbox game Grand Theft Auto, except that it removes pretty much every non-combat element of interaction with the NPCs that litter the world. Imagine Grand Theft Auto where you’re always stuck on a six star wanted level and the only other characters in the game are police, and you get the general idea.

9. Having to schlep across the whole map repeatedly. The game world in Far Cry 2 is big. Too big, some might say (me included). Destinations are spread pretty far apart, with only jungle/desert trails between them livened up with the occasional guard post encounter/diamond tracking. As a result, you’ll have to schlep across the game world a lot. It gets repetitive pretty quickly, and it’s not a lot of fun because the driving isn’t particularly enjoyable. Thankfully, there are bus depots scattered around the map; there just aren’t nearly enough of them.

8. Lack of jogging. Your character in Far Cry 2 only has two movement speeds: walking and sprinting. Since the game world is so big, you frequently have long distances to travel. The game is (thankfully) laden with vehicles that can be stolen at every destination, but when you overturn your vehicle in the middle of nowhere while trying to read your map (which happens surprisingly often), you have to head out on foot to the nearest beacon of civilization. Unfortunately, traveling on foot is slow and annoying, because your character will sprint for about five seconds, then pant while walking for about five seconds, then repeat ad infinitum. It’d be useful if your character could travel at a sustained speed between walking and sprinting for long distance travel — like, say, jogging. Oh, and you can’t sidestep while sprinting, and good luck if you’re trying to get anywhere on the bottom of your map, because you can’t see it while moving.

7. Guard posts that respawn instantly. Let’s face it, guard posts just aren’t very interesting. They’re only manned by a couple of NPCs, so they’re not much of a challenge. I usually just drive my jeep within forty feet of them, switch to the mounted turret, and mow them all down while they stand there staring blankly and uncomprehendingly, somehow having failed to notice me approaching. It’s more chore than fun, but I have to do it every time I come across an inhabited guard post, because trying to drive around one frequently leads to vehicle damage, vehicular chases, and/or death. And the absolute worst part about it is that every guard post is pretty much always inhabited, even if you just cleared it five minutes earlier. The game simply doesn’t save state very well. Clear out a guard post on the way to talk to a buddy to pick up a mission? It’ll be full again coming back the other way, even though you just passed it minutes prior. On the plus side, guard posts just about guarantee that you’ll never run low on ammunition, grenades, or HP syringes, because the supplies are restocked just as often as the ineffectual guards.

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