- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 6 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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1 out of 3 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"This game _should_ have been better."
Pros: visually appealling, stable (hasn't crashed on me yet), and that's about it.
Cons: Physics engine is total garbage, A.I is beyond poor (this is a 1995 A.I in a 2008 game. Seriously. Duke Nukem had comparable A.I.) You will need 1gb video cards to take advantage of the graphics (and in SLI/crossfire setup as well)
Summary: I'll start with the "good" since it's a very short list. The graphics are good. This is 2008 and we should expect better, but they're good non-the-less. I say this because when the GeForce2 came out, I watched the nvidia video's showing what that card was capable of, and it pretty much looked like this game. We expect better in 2008 going on '09... The game is stable, they know how to code. I have to add this because it's uncommon when a game comes out that actually works proper throughout on its first revision.
Let's get to why the game is not worth getting. The only thing the game has going for it is decent graphics. The physics are trash (and that's probably putting a shine on it). The A.I. is so poor I can't even begin to put it into words, it's a train wreck you just have to witness to believe. This makes the game almost unplayable. Examples;
1) When you are driving and pass a car going the opposite direction, the other car( the bad guys) will turn around, catch up with you instantly, and even pass you. I have my foot to the floor, this shouldn't happen. In other words, forget about trying to evade a fight if your health/ammo is down, it isn't happening.
2) Don't even bother to try and be stealth, there is no such thing in this game. Oh you do have some stealth weapons, it's the physics engine that makes being stealth impossible. "Hide" in the grass outside of an encampment, then pick off one guy standing alone and away from anyone else (and use the "silent" dart gun). Almost instantly, the entire camp will know exactly where the shot came from and be on you like stink on an ape. If you really want to see how lame the physics are, hide behind a tree, let a vehicle pass you then poke your head out to shoot the passenger (open cab vehicle) in the back and then hide behind the tree again. Almost instantly the driver will be turned around and if you don't move around the tree, you will get run over. He knows exactly where you are even though you used a silenced weapon, shot from behind, and are "hidden".
3) When you shoot someone in the "graphics intense" game, there are no bullet holes. Well, sometimes you can get one little entrance wound to show up if you go over to a dead body and shoot them in the arm. I can use the .50 cal. sniper rifle and shoot a guy in the head, but there is no evidence of a wound on the corpse.
4) Don't try and hide in the grass/shrubs/trees. Seriously. They already know where you are. And you're already surrounded, you just don't know it yet. Oh, and there is a vehicle coming from out of nowhere that will run you over if you stay in one spot and try to fend them off.
5) Drive by a checkpoint, kill all the bad guys, drive down the road a bit, turn around and come back. Bet they're not dead anymore. It's not like you can go around the checkpoints to avoid the confrontation (you know, if you're low on health/bullets, might be an asset). As explained earlier, you can't just drive through and run a couple over, keep driving and get away. Someone always lives. And they have superhuman aim. You will take a bullet, even in your car, you'll take a bullet. 100 mph on the speedo and a bullet will hit you, swerving left and right just means you get hit more often.
6) The weapons in the game are all pretty much the same. One is no more powerful than the other. Same as one is no more accurate then the other. Ummm... for giggles, try using the .50 cal. sniper rifle up close. Walk up to somone, without using the scope, just aim it at the guy with just the crosshairs and pull the trigger. He didn't drop? You're right. You can be point blank with this rifle, almost walking into your enemy and pull the trigger (can't miss!) and you miss him. The only way to hit the guy is by using the scope. At inches away you need the scope to make this rifle work.
7) To real get a feel for how bad the driving physics are you'd have to play the original battlefield 1942. Hop in a jeep in Battlefield 1942 and then hop into a vehicle in FarCry2. The more things change, the more they stay the same....
Okay, enough on the physics/A.I. The list goes on forever, believe me. Play the game, you'll see. Let's talk about the story for a bit. You start the game with malaria (yeah, THAT malaria). You constantly have to do side missions to get malaris pills. Give me a break. Who's dumb idea was this and why did they run with it?! "You know guys, what this game really needs is a good case of malaria!" How many six packs of some local MicroBrew that only college kids that walk around with a guitar playing it on the beach did you have to go through to think THAT was a good idea??!
Anyways, not enough words to really go over how bad this game is. It's got nice scenery, and that's it. Seriously.
You'll need 1gb video cards in an SLI/crossfire setup to crank up the display settings, two 512mb cards will let you crank it up some, but not fully. This is for 1920x1200, smaller screens may vary.
- 1 reply to this review
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You were lucky (I think). I went to CAN YOU PLAY IT and was told A OK, it turns out I could barely install it. I never got to the game, it kept crashing and support blamed my drivers.
As you point out besides needing a GOD made system, there is so much built in security it's rediculous. I feel bad about it because the 1st FarCry was great.
Far Cry 2 (PC):
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