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Classroom Facts
Far Cry 2 takes place in a fictional, unnamed section of South Africa, but it takes place in South Africa nonetheless, showing its influence in the voice acting present in the game and, primarily, the graphical appearance of the player’s surroundings; players will explore jungles, deserts and forests that are true to their African influence.
There are other serious strides toward realism, here; besides the setting and characters, the behavior of the environment itself is made to emulate real-life events, from a dynamic weather system to forest fires that spread realistically based on climate, wind speed and the source of the fire itself. The player’s character also contracts malaria early in the game, and will have to deal with this by taking medication frequently to prevent blurred vision and passing out. The game also puts an emphasis on map-reading; players will have to bring up the in-game map – which is viewed without pausing the action – frequently throughout the game. A number of charts are available to the player, detailing statistics and progress through the game.
Creativity & Imagination
By the Player:
Players are given an impressive degree of freedom in Far Cry 2. After choosing from the available characters and completing a series of tutorial missions, the world really opens up to the player, and they are free to take missions from either of the two warring African factions or any of the buddies that they meet during the game; they may even decide to explore on their own, scouting out enemy camps and securing safehouses as they travel. As players experiment and begin taking missions and completing tasks, they will unlock unique friends, vehicles and weapons.
More significantly, the missions a player completes decide directly what missions will be available to them in the future, and as they play they will make decisions that will cause heavy effects in the game’s overall plot, from assassinating major characters to affecting the environment – flooding a mine, for example – such that future missions will be altered or rendered impossible altogether. As players choose sides, switch sides and do their own things, they eventually build to the end of the game, which can go in a number of ways depending on the player’s choices from very early on.
In combat, too, there is plenty of freedom: players can choose weapons to suit a number of different play styles, and coming up on an enemy camp always offers fresh options. Players may choose to aggressively drive into the middle of a camp and hop onto their Jeep-mounted machine gun; another option is often to park a short distance away, walk up to the top of a hill or cliff and use a sniper rifle to gain an advantage. Each setting and mission offers fresh choices to the player, and as new weapons and vehicles are unlocked and more experience is had new ideas and tactics will enter play.
Outside of the campaign, the game offers a complete map editor that allows players to create and share multiplayer maps. The multiplayer mode itself obviously offers its own creative choices to players, and is class based, forcing players to play as one of six distinct classes that each caters to specific styles of play.
By the Developer:
Far Cry 2’s large, gorgeous version of Africa is impressive by itself, and the open, branching plot and amount of stuff for players to do certainly does not hurt. The game’s careful attempts at realism really help it to stand out, too; from its believable characters to its malaria-medication mechanic and weapons that break down over time, Far Cry 2 never ventures far into the unbelievable. Its story is unique during every play and, to the player willing to invest the time, always gripping. The sound design is also top-notch, showcasing the sounds of bullet shells hitting the ground, Jeeps crashing into rivers and brushfires spreading all at the same time.
A few unique game mechanics sneak in as well, including upgradable weapons that break down over time, malaria medication that must be taken periodically, and buddies that show up to rescue the player when he gets killed – though these buddies can be killed, too. All of this adds up to a unique, impressive experience, that really showcases top-notch visual, audio and first-person shooter design.
Business Skills
Players collect diamonds throughout Far Cry 2. They are received as payment for undertaking missions and can be found in dozens of briefcases that are hidden throughout the landscape. These diamonds are used to purchase new weapons and upgrades for existing weapons at any of the weapon dealers found sprinkled in Africa.
Other than this, players will need to conserve ammunition and healing supplies as they play. There is particular emphasis on this; while players can restock their ammo for free at any weapons dealer, they simply can’t hold very much ammo at one time, meaning that while adventuring players will need to conserve their supplies and keep an eye out for the occasional weapon caches found in enemy camps.
People Skills
Far Cry 2 features plenty of varied characters that the main character will interact with, though players never really get to influence things directly besides deciding to accept missions or turn them down. As players proceed they will need to decide whether or not to help friends, carry out morally questionable missions, and even betray their own employers multiple times over the course of the game. Players will develop relationships with certain characters called “buddies”; these characters will offer the player special missions and, if their bonds are strong enough, come to the player’s aid in certain situations, even going so far as to perform rescues for critically wounded players.
Multiplayer matches offer their own slew of player-to-player interactions; many game types are team-oriented, and the class-based style – which has players choosing between six distinct character classes with their own advantages and weaknesses, from the long-range Sharpshooter to the close-quarters Guerrilla – adds emphasis to the fact that players that work together well will consistently defeat those that do not.
Problem Solving
Problem solving in Far Cry 2 is split between travelling and combat. As players accept missions and other tasks, their goals are marked on the game’s always-available map. Players will need to plot out routes around or through the various safehouses and enemy camps that dot the landscape when travelling to any given destination, and most of the time players will encounter some kind of combat at least once on any given trip; whether it’s an enemy encampment or just a wandering Jeep of enemy mercenaries.
This combat is the real meat of the game, and it’s a matter of reflexes and basic tactical planning. Players will need to take into account the surrounding terrain, location of enemies and their own stock of supplies when entering any instance of combat, and the players own play style will come into play as well. The game does a good job of offering more and more new situations as the game progresses, even if the battles at enemy camps while travelling to more significant locations can grow a little stale.
Simulation
Far Cry 2 is not a simulation game, but it does make several attempts at realism, including its Africa-based setting, believable characters, weapons that degrade over time, realistic weather effects and fires that spread naturally. In addition, as stated above, the behavior of the environment itself is made to emulate real-life events, from a dynamic weather system to forest fires that spread realistically based on climate, wind speed and the source of the fire itself. The player’s character also contracts malaria early in the game, and will have to deal with this by taking medication frequently to prevent blurred vision and passing out.
Popularity
Far Cry 2 has been acclaimed since its release, with many reviewers noting in particular the extremely impressive technical aspects of the game as well as its open-world style. However, it has its criticisms as well, most of which are aimed at various glitches including freezing, graphic errors and in particular problems when playing multiplayer.
Controls & Options
Far Cry 2 offers standard audio, visual and control options. The game can be played in any of four difficulties; the chosen difficulty can be changed at any time though the pause menu.
Tips
Far Cry 2 received an M from the ESRB with descriptors for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes and Strong Language. |