Wow, surprised there's not a thread on this one yet!
Who's got it then?
I've been playing through since Thursday (got it early, woo) and am currently half way through the Southern District. Been chatting to Azzer about it when we've both had free time and it seems we agree and disagree on different points.
Firstly, I think the game was over-hyped. Two of it's main selling points (according to press-releases and descriptions) were the immensely destructible environment and it's vast open-endedness, neither of which apply to the final product!
The Story line is perfectly linear with a few pseudo-choices thrown in to try and dissuade you from that fact;
There's a finite number of elements within the game which are destructible (much, much less than the developers claim);
Wildlife seems to be very sparse indeed. I know it's not something that was promoted as 'yay, real animals!' but I was under the impression (as were a number of others who have expressed this through forums and the like) that there would be a larger animal based than there is, of which all...three of them are based on the same behaviours and run the hell away whenever they see you. An alligator, elephant or rhino would not have gone a-miss! Something with a bit more power, and aggression!
The missions, however, are quite entertaining. To a point. There are a few which are 'repeatable' in a sense, and as such follow the same "go here, shoot these guys, collect item" mantra - these are necessary to your overall survival, but the main story-line missions are often a bit more varied. As opposed to the above, you instead get to do things like "go here, blow up these tanks of fuel and run like hell before being covered in acid from a plane flown by a buddy", which keeps you going.
Weapons are varied and have very interesting properties - they degrade over time. 'Bad' weapons (such as those used a lot, or those picked up from enemies) have a deep rust encrusting them meaning they are more prone to jamming, failing, or even exploding in some cases! This 'rust' idea carries on over to vehicles as well - as a vehicle gets bumped and scraped around, the engine starts to rust up and eventually it seizes rendering it useless. You also have the ability to fix vehicles as well, to an extent. If your engine starts to smoke, it operates at half speed. However, moving up to it with a trusty socket wrench, you can tweak it until it's fixed! Superb.
There is one thing I do like though - fire. Using the much loved flamethrower (or molotovs), you are able to set alight to almost all foliage and a few huts - along with people! - which spreads. Quickly. This, I feel, is genius.
Given it's many flaws though, I would have to say I'd definitely recommend this game. Not only is it smart, intuitive and a huge advancement to current gaming experience, but it's one of the few games which really tries to keep you entertained throughout. There are constant challenges to overcome, and a great AI body enabling enemies to send reinforcements, jump into jeeps and drive you down, or simply fire RPGs or mortar shells at you until you die. The buddy system is also quite fantastic. There are two buddy roles available at any one time, and around nine buddies in game to find, rescue, and utilise. One buddy offers alternative ways of doing missions (which often make them easier in the long run!), the other comes and rescues you if you lose too much health and keel over - although this buddy has to be...."reloaded" once he's come to rescue you, otherwise the next time...well, you die.
All in all, thumbs up from me! I have to admit though, I'm looking forward to Fallout 3 more than I was Far Cry 2!
What does everyone else think?
Weeble.
Who's got it then?
I've been playing through since Thursday (got it early, woo) and am currently half way through the Southern District. Been chatting to Azzer about it when we've both had free time and it seems we agree and disagree on different points.
Firstly, I think the game was over-hyped. Two of it's main selling points (according to press-releases and descriptions) were the immensely destructible environment and it's vast open-endedness, neither of which apply to the final product!
The Story line is perfectly linear with a few pseudo-choices thrown in to try and dissuade you from that fact;
There's a finite number of elements within the game which are destructible (much, much less than the developers claim);
Wildlife seems to be very sparse indeed. I know it's not something that was promoted as 'yay, real animals!' but I was under the impression (as were a number of others who have expressed this through forums and the like) that there would be a larger animal based than there is, of which all...three of them are based on the same behaviours and run the hell away whenever they see you. An alligator, elephant or rhino would not have gone a-miss! Something with a bit more power, and aggression!
The missions, however, are quite entertaining. To a point. There are a few which are 'repeatable' in a sense, and as such follow the same "go here, shoot these guys, collect item" mantra - these are necessary to your overall survival, but the main story-line missions are often a bit more varied. As opposed to the above, you instead get to do things like "go here, blow up these tanks of fuel and run like hell before being covered in acid from a plane flown by a buddy", which keeps you going.
Weapons are varied and have very interesting properties - they degrade over time. 'Bad' weapons (such as those used a lot, or those picked up from enemies) have a deep rust encrusting them meaning they are more prone to jamming, failing, or even exploding in some cases! This 'rust' idea carries on over to vehicles as well - as a vehicle gets bumped and scraped around, the engine starts to rust up and eventually it seizes rendering it useless. You also have the ability to fix vehicles as well, to an extent. If your engine starts to smoke, it operates at half speed. However, moving up to it with a trusty socket wrench, you can tweak it until it's fixed! Superb.
There is one thing I do like though - fire. Using the much loved flamethrower (or molotovs), you are able to set alight to almost all foliage and a few huts - along with people! - which spreads. Quickly. This, I feel, is genius.
Given it's many flaws though, I would have to say I'd definitely recommend this game. Not only is it smart, intuitive and a huge advancement to current gaming experience, but it's one of the few games which really tries to keep you entertained throughout. There are constant challenges to overcome, and a great AI body enabling enemies to send reinforcements, jump into jeeps and drive you down, or simply fire RPGs or mortar shells at you until you die. The buddy system is also quite fantastic. There are two buddy roles available at any one time, and around nine buddies in game to find, rescue, and utilise. One buddy offers alternative ways of doing missions (which often make them easier in the long run!), the other comes and rescues you if you lose too much health and keel over - although this buddy has to be...."reloaded" once he's come to rescue you, otherwise the next time...well, you die.
All in all, thumbs up from me! I have to admit though, I'm looking forward to Fallout 3 more than I was Far Cry 2!
What does everyone else think?
Weeble.
