Far Cry 2 Review

GAMEPLAY (cont’d)

Single Player (cont’d)

The combat in Far Cry 2 is based on unscripted AI and therefore you will see similar occurrences but it is doubtful that you will see the same thing happen twice. Overall, the enemy AI is pretty good but there are times when they act rather silly in certain situations.

Constant threat is an element in the game that keeps you on the go. Your weapons take a beating and degrade over time. The older your weapon is, the more worn it gets and the more likely it is to jam. Let’s face it; there is nothing worse than having your gun jam in the middle of a heated gun battle. If you manage to continue using it despite the jams, it will eventually blow up in your hands, leaving you exposed.

From glistening...

...to rusty

The best way to avoid such happenings is to purchase your weapons at the gun shop and always carry new weapons you pick up from your armoury. Your armoury is always an adjacent building to any gun shop in the game.

The gun shop owner gives you convoy missions

Convoy mission aftermath

You can’t just spend some cash and get guns; there is no money per se. In a broken down economy under siege and in turmoil, money is relatively useless and the only ‘currency’ of value are diamonds. These valuable rough cut stones are what you will earn from doing missions and sides quests and also find while exploring.

The currency is rough cut stones

If you end up getting hurt really badly, one of your buddies might show up to help you out. Keep in mind though, that after getting you patched up, there might still be danger lurking. You buddy can also die. If they do, then they are permanently removed from the game world. When they get hurt however, you will see them give off a pillar of blue smoke showing you their position. You can either choose to help them or  you might have to perform a mercy kill if you can’t….or don’t want to.

He helps you...

...and you help him

You will receive your main storyline missions from the APR and UFLL headquarters. There are also some assassination missions you can get from the signal towers via a mysterious caller. The gun shop dealer gives you access to better weapons and equipment if you periodically take out his competition in convoy missions. Finally, the underground society is where you will get your malaria pills and, every now and then, you will take on a mission from them. If you don’t take any of your pills when the malaria sets in, you stand the chance of actually dying…yes…game over.

When the malaria acts up...take a pill

The mission system works very similarly to that of a Role Playing Game (RPG) and gamers who are familiar with that genre will feel right at home with Far Cry 2 while die-hard shooter fans should not really be bothered that much by this type of role-playing gameplay. It is a fun game all around. Travelling around the map can be tedious at time but sometimes you can break the monotony by taking the river network instead of the roads.

Take the load off...have a boat ride on the river