RSS
Ubidays 2008: Far Cry 2
May 28, 2008 | 10:00 AM PST
The original Far Cry, developed by Crytek (the same people responsible for the graphically impressive Crysis), was a fun, gorgeous adventure through a tropical island. The game released about six months before Valve's Half-Life 2, which led to the game being overshadowed and forgotten in the long run, which is a shame. Admittedly, there was nothing groundbreaking about the original Far Cry, but it was filled with plenty of action and looked great. Since the release of Far Cry, a number of run of the mill sequels have effectively diminished the franchise's track record and reputation, but the talented developers at Ubisoft Montreal might be able to change that if what we saw of Far Cry 2 is any indication of things to come.
The team in Montreal began work on Far Cry 2 around three years ago and considered a number of paths to take the franchise down with the first true numbered sequel in the franchise. The path Ubi ultimately decided on was one that involved a lot of change. The most obvious change is one that is mostly esthetical. Rather than re-exploring the tropical setting again -- Ubisoft says that consumers are tired of that setting, thanks to games like Far Cry and TV shows like Lost and Survivor, which have beaten the theme to death -- Far Cry 2 takes place in Africa. Gone are the palm trees, sandy beaches and translucent waters. Replacing these things is an African savanna, complete with coarse grass, scattered trees and wild life. Indeed, it's nearly a polar opposite of the iconic tropical setting of past Far Crys, but Ubisoft likes the change, and I have to say, so do I.
The overall theme for Far Cry 2 seems to be open-endedness, a sure sign that it is indeed a thoughtful, not mindless, next-gen sequel, since open-endedness is the new next-gen trait. From the get-go, you can explore every inch of the game's hub world (the first half of it, anyway -- you'll unlock the second half as you play through the game). Although there is a story in place, it serves only as the bare-minimum foundation for your adventure. Africa is being ravaged by a war between two factions, and it's your job to stop the middleman -- a mysterious entity known simply as "The Jackal" -- who is supplying the weapons for the conflict. That is the plot, but the story itself will change depending on how you play the game. Far Cry 2 has a heavy focus on character relationships, which you'll forge and destroy as you play through the title. Your relationship with other characters in the game will directly influence the game's story. You pick where you go in the world and which characters you interact with, creating what Ubisoft calls a dynamic story. The characters you befriend will even serve a purpose from a gameplay perspective. For example, friends will show up to save you when you find yourself in an intense firefight. It's these characters that also supply you with missions, one of which we played at Ubisoft's recent Ubidays 2008 in San Francisco.
The mission I played had a straightforward objective: destroy one of the faction's radio antennas. Though the underlying objective was simple enough, completing it was more challenging than I expected. This is in part because of the realistic artificial intelligence in Far Cry 2. Enemies use cover, strategy and every resource they can to stop you. Even if you wound an enemy and he falls to the ground, if he's still alive, he'll continue shooting at you. As a result, you can't approach firefights in a Rambo fashion. You'll have to use cover and plan each move you make. If you don't, you'll end up dead mighty quickly. The game does feature a healing system, however , which means you'll be able to strategically maneuver yourself through the environment in a fashion that will allow you to stop and heal yourself when possible. When you heal yourself, you'll watch from the game's first-person perspective as your character pulls bullets from and bandages fresh wounds.
In most first-person shooters, you can stick with the same gun for as long as you have ammunition for it. But in Far Cry 2, your weapons age over time, becoming less reliable the more you use them. So, if you stick with the same assault rifle for too long, it'll eventually begin misfiring -- something that can quickly turn a battle in the enemy's favor. As a result of the weapon reliability system, you'll end up using a larger variety of weaponry, swapping your weapon for a newer, more reliable one whenever you can. However, it's not always as simple as dropping your weapon for the next one you find. If you engage in a lengthy firefight with an enemy solider, that character's weapon will wear down throughout the course of the fight. When you pick up that weapon, it will have aged realistically, and depending on how much it was fired during the battle, it could be in worse condition than your current weapon. This adds a whole new layer of depth to Far Cry 2.
But it doesn't stop there. There's something more impressive than weapon reliability in Ubisoft Montreal's shooter. Everything you see in the game is burnable. How many times have you shot an explosive barrel, only for it to have an initial impact with no long-term effect on the environment around you? In Far Cry 2, when something explodes, it's just a precursor to fire. After the initial explosion, fire begins to realistically spread across your surroundings, engulfing nearly everything it comes in contact with. Grass. Bushes. Trees. Huts. Just about everything can catch fire. Adding even more realism, everything organic you burn will eventually grow back. So, if you burn a plain full of grass, that grass will slowly grow back over time.
It seems that Ubisoft Montreal is going out of its way to create a virtual world that feels very much alive. You'll even encounter wildlife in Far Cry 2, which can be startled by gun shots and, not surprisingly, fire. At one point while playing, I encountered a herd of zebras. An Ubisoft rep pointed out that while it'd be difficult to do, as the wildlife behaves somewhat erratically, you can send a family of zebras stampeding into an enemy campsite.
While I enjoyed playing Far Cry 2, there were some minor things that dampened the experience. Most importantly, the controls feel a little wonky and could be tighter. The game uses a similar control setup to Call of Duty 4, in which you pull the L trigger to bring up your iron sight. Unfortunately, Ubisoft Montreal hasn't quite got the smooth feeling down, like Infinity Ward did with its shooter. The aiming sensitivity is a bit jumpy and hard to control. This could be blamed on the second problem with the demo I played: the inconsistent framerate. Hopefully, both of these things are ironed out by the time the game ships.
After playing Far Cry 2 for myself, I am looking forward to playing the full game when it releases during the late part 2008 (its tentative release date). Thanks to games like Halo, Half-Life and Call of Duty 2, I don't even look twice at most first-person shooters these days. However, Far Cry 2 has my attention, and I expect it to be one of the better shooters of the year.
The team in Montreal began work on Far Cry 2 around three years ago and considered a number of paths to take the franchise down with the first true numbered sequel in the franchise. The path Ubi ultimately decided on was one that involved a lot of change. The most obvious change is one that is mostly esthetical. Rather than re-exploring the tropical setting again -- Ubisoft says that consumers are tired of that setting, thanks to games like Far Cry and TV shows like Lost and Survivor, which have beaten the theme to death -- Far Cry 2 takes place in Africa. Gone are the palm trees, sandy beaches and translucent waters. Replacing these things is an African savanna, complete with coarse grass, scattered trees and wild life. Indeed, it's nearly a polar opposite of the iconic tropical setting of past Far Crys, but Ubisoft likes the change, and I have to say, so do I.
The overall theme for Far Cry 2 seems to be open-endedness, a sure sign that it is indeed a thoughtful, not mindless, next-gen sequel, since open-endedness is the new next-gen trait. From the get-go, you can explore every inch of the game's hub world (the first half of it, anyway -- you'll unlock the second half as you play through the game). Although there is a story in place, it serves only as the bare-minimum foundation for your adventure. Africa is being ravaged by a war between two factions, and it's your job to stop the middleman -- a mysterious entity known simply as "The Jackal" -- who is supplying the weapons for the conflict. That is the plot, but the story itself will change depending on how you play the game. Far Cry 2 has a heavy focus on character relationships, which you'll forge and destroy as you play through the title. Your relationship with other characters in the game will directly influence the game's story. You pick where you go in the world and which characters you interact with, creating what Ubisoft calls a dynamic story. The characters you befriend will even serve a purpose from a gameplay perspective. For example, friends will show up to save you when you find yourself in an intense firefight. It's these characters that also supply you with missions, one of which we played at Ubisoft's recent Ubidays 2008 in San Francisco.
The mission I played had a straightforward objective: destroy one of the faction's radio antennas. Though the underlying objective was simple enough, completing it was more challenging than I expected. This is in part because of the realistic artificial intelligence in Far Cry 2. Enemies use cover, strategy and every resource they can to stop you. Even if you wound an enemy and he falls to the ground, if he's still alive, he'll continue shooting at you. As a result, you can't approach firefights in a Rambo fashion. You'll have to use cover and plan each move you make. If you don't, you'll end up dead mighty quickly. The game does feature a healing system, however , which means you'll be able to strategically maneuver yourself through the environment in a fashion that will allow you to stop and heal yourself when possible. When you heal yourself, you'll watch from the game's first-person perspective as your character pulls bullets from and bandages fresh wounds.
In most first-person shooters, you can stick with the same gun for as long as you have ammunition for it. But in Far Cry 2, your weapons age over time, becoming less reliable the more you use them. So, if you stick with the same assault rifle for too long, it'll eventually begin misfiring -- something that can quickly turn a battle in the enemy's favor. As a result of the weapon reliability system, you'll end up using a larger variety of weaponry, swapping your weapon for a newer, more reliable one whenever you can. However, it's not always as simple as dropping your weapon for the next one you find. If you engage in a lengthy firefight with an enemy solider, that character's weapon will wear down throughout the course of the fight. When you pick up that weapon, it will have aged realistically, and depending on how much it was fired during the battle, it could be in worse condition than your current weapon. This adds a whole new layer of depth to Far Cry 2.
But it doesn't stop there. There's something more impressive than weapon reliability in Ubisoft Montreal's shooter. Everything you see in the game is burnable. How many times have you shot an explosive barrel, only for it to have an initial impact with no long-term effect on the environment around you? In Far Cry 2, when something explodes, it's just a precursor to fire. After the initial explosion, fire begins to realistically spread across your surroundings, engulfing nearly everything it comes in contact with. Grass. Bushes. Trees. Huts. Just about everything can catch fire. Adding even more realism, everything organic you burn will eventually grow back. So, if you burn a plain full of grass, that grass will slowly grow back over time.
It seems that Ubisoft Montreal is going out of its way to create a virtual world that feels very much alive. You'll even encounter wildlife in Far Cry 2, which can be startled by gun shots and, not surprisingly, fire. At one point while playing, I encountered a herd of zebras. An Ubisoft rep pointed out that while it'd be difficult to do, as the wildlife behaves somewhat erratically, you can send a family of zebras stampeding into an enemy campsite.
While I enjoyed playing Far Cry 2, there were some minor things that dampened the experience. Most importantly, the controls feel a little wonky and could be tighter. The game uses a similar control setup to Call of Duty 4, in which you pull the L trigger to bring up your iron sight. Unfortunately, Ubisoft Montreal hasn't quite got the smooth feeling down, like Infinity Ward did with its shooter. The aiming sensitivity is a bit jumpy and hard to control. This could be blamed on the second problem with the demo I played: the inconsistent framerate. Hopefully, both of these things are ironed out by the time the game ships.
After playing Far Cry 2 for myself, I am looking forward to playing the full game when it releases during the late part 2008 (its tentative release date). Thanks to games like Halo, Half-Life and Call of Duty 2, I don't even look twice at most first-person shooters these days. However, Far Cry 2 has my attention, and I expect it to be one of the better shooters of the year.
February 8, 2010
