Far Cry 2
In 2004, Ubisoft unleashed it’s title “Far Cry” and revolutionized PC gaming. Gamespot called it “Quite possibly the best single-player first-person shooter experience for the PC since Half-Life.” Far Cry was the most advanced game at the time, with features like highly advanced A.I. that worked together against you to realistic cornea simulation and absolutely STUNNING visuals. It takes place in a series of tropical islands where you travel through beaches to research labs to military bunkers. It’s a common story where the player will be shot in the head while gazing at the water. The water in Far Cry is by far the best I’ve seen in any game. The combat is extremely intense and ranges from fast paced, vehicular combat, to battles with fast and deadly mutants in the black of night. The story is also quite good, as it draws you in and makes you want to play through the 20+ hour campaign over and over again. The sound in the game is great, though the voice acting is a bit corny, though this adds to the fun of that game.
And now, almost four years later, Ubisoft Montreal has announced Far Cry 2. I was apprehensive at first, considering the last few in the series have not been up to par with the original. *cough* A Wii version???*cough* I was pleasantly surprised when I read their announcement. Far Cry 2 will take place in Africa and will have nothing to do with the original game. Far Cry 2 is the closest I’ve ever seen to a true world where you can roam around without ever seeing a loading screen. The entire map streams from your hard drive. Everything you do will affect the story. Warlords have a hierarchy of command and if you kill one guy, the next will take his place. The game simulates full weather patterns and air currents, so when you see clouds in the sky, they aren’t there because an artist painted them on the skybox–they’re there because the atmospheric conditions were right for clouds to form. The same goes for falling rain and howling wind, the latter of which will realistically blow tree branches, grass, smoke from fires, and dust from the ground in the same direction it’s moving. Those trees can be broken apart, and that grass can be flattened by a passing jeep–and they can both catch fire from any incendiary source, by the way. Another feature is the game’s free form A.I. Which means that the A.I. is completely free to make it’s own decisions. This means that you will never do the same thing twice. Another thing about the game is that the vehicles wont explode randomly, they will become damaged and eventually break down. Another interesting feature is that weapons can deteriorate. I’m not sure if this is purely visual or if it will affect how the weapon performs. Like most shooters these days, you’ll regenerate from light damage after a short time, rather than relying on a finite health meter. But take too much damage and you’ll have to apply first aid to yourself based on the nature of your injury. There will be a single first-aid hotkey that will contextually activate the right interaction, such as beating flames off of your sleeve or slapping a bandage on a large cut. Due in Q2 of 2008, this game will either be an amazing game or just a nice bit of engine work, but it is still my single most looked forward to game.
