Far Cry 2 – Freedom of Game
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(215 votes, average: 9.57 out of 10)
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It may be hard to think of a videogame as an acquired taste but that is exactly what Far Cry 2 is. This open world first-person-shooter drops you into a dusty African outback, sandwiches you between two warring factions and, furnishing no clues whatsoever, challenges you to locate and terminate a mysterious gunrunner named the Jackal. It also challenges you to explore the Far Cry 2 gamescape and understand the rules of engagement, as it were, in order to find your groove and figure out exactly how to have fun.
At your disposal to accomplish this enigmatic task is a potentially wide array of realistic weaponry including assault rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and grenades, a smattering of which you acquire at the outset of the game. The remaining weapons are acquired by visiting weapon shops where you can either purchase more weapons to make them available for acquisition in adjacent armories or go on missions to unlock new weapons to make them available for purchase.
Weapons are purchased with diamonds, the game's currency, and diamonds are either found in hidden briefcases liberally scattered around the gamescape or are earned by completing missions for either of the two warring factions. You can also earn diamonds by taking on assassination missions which are dispensed at various cell tower locations.
Navigating around the Far Cry 2 gamescape is accomplished by using a handheld map which may be equipped and studied at will. The map which —depending on your current location— has up to three zoom settings, marks the location of all weapon shops, cell towers, faction headquarters, your current location and the location of your next mission's objective(s).
Upon finishing a comparatively brief series of training missions which adroitly acclimatizes you to Far Cry 2 gameplay, you are simply stranded in a town that has been declared a ceasefire zone and left to your own devices to decide what to do next. You are armed with little more than that which is described above and surrounding you is 50 square kilometers of open African country filled with backwoods, fields, deserts, dusty dirt roads and winding rivers all of which you may freely explore. Numerous vehicles including boats, jeeps and the occasional hang glider are scattered about which you may use to travel about the landscape. For the most part, there are no set paths or corridors confining you. You may drive down the roads, hike or drive through the bush and swim or boat down the rivers. You simply travel about as you wish.
You may go anywhere, anytime.
Frustratingly Repetitive or Fabulously Intriguing?
And this is essentially the make-or-break point of the game. Depending on your approach and how much you savour your freedom, the game will either very quickly become frustratingly repetitive or fabulously intriguing. Personally, the needle on my fun meter teetered wildly between the two until about halfway through the game when it finally and firmly settled on the latter.
What can make Far Cry 2 repetitive is hastily proceeding through the game choosing the most obvious (and orthodox) route to the location of your next objective which will result in stumbling blindly into the numerous enemy patrols and guard posts.
The former of these two will necessitate what may eventually become an increasingly monotonous routine: stopping your vehicle, switching to the mounted gun on your vehicle, killing the enemies, getting out of your vehicle, repairing your vehicle (they always seem to find a way to damage it), getting back into your vehicle and continuing on your way. This may get old quick and you may yearn for the occasional opportunity to peacefully drive to your next destination without being accosted by yet more enemies. (A big clue that you're not having fun is when you hear yourself screeching "For f#@k sakes! Not again!" every 3-4 minutes.)
As for the enemy guard posts, although they may be clearly marked on the map, as a Far Cry 2 newbie, you may eventually tire of being repeatedly forced into close combat on account of an AI that can seemingly spot you a half a mile away. Plans for stealth and strategy may quickly dissipate as you realize that once again you have been 'made' and the enemy AI has executed a flanking attack on your position before you've had a chance to do any recon on theirs.
What eventually made Far Cry 2 fabulously intriguing for me was learning to approach the game correctly. This involved a number of key strategies including the following:
- Enemy patrols are part of the game. If you regard them as some kind of nuisance that must be endured and swatted like buzzing flies, you will find them annoying. If, on the other hand, you learn to fully expect them and even learn their routes, you will get a big kick out of getting the drop on them and even ambushing them.
- Proceed slowly. Yes, enemy guard posts can spot you from great distances but you will never learn just how close you can get without getting spotted if you keep barreling around the game like it's the Daytona 500. Once I learned to slow down, watch the map carefully, get out well before guard posts and cautiously approach them on foot, the game completely turned around for me and I found plenty of opportunities for stealth and strategy. Oh and don't forget to purchase a sniper rifle at the weapon shop.
- Go off the beaten track. Learning to hike and/or drive off-road to avoid enemy positions and patrols was another key to enjoying the game immensely. Here it's all about exploiting the open ended nature of Far Cry 2 to the max and on top of which it's off-road where the immersive quality of the photorealistic graphics in this game really shines.
Now granted, having to take the right approach to a video game in order to have fun may seem like a foreign concept to some. After all, you're paying good money for it. It should entertain you, plain and simple. But personally speaking, I am so glad I did not give up on this game so easily as it is now, far and away, the best video game I own (as my Youtube page clearly attests) and the bazillion approaches to completing each mission guarantees tons of replay value. But like I said earlier, this game is an acquired taste.
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Is it possible to have a stealthy approach to a mission? As in MP5, Silent Makarov, etc. Could you post a video how to?
Comment by Naz — July 3, 2009 @ 9:47 am
Hey, Major Slack.
turns out 'm a follower of your Far Cry 2 walkthrough and have used your antics to get me through the game.
do you ever just do assassination misions to gain a quick buck. stupid question.
one thing that helped me emensly in my experience was the use of a camo suit! they're f**kin ACE!
could you try one in your walkthrough. they work really well.
cheers! :-)
Comment by kralc — July 9, 2009 @ 4:24 am
it looks like i posted my last comment at 4 in the morning. sorry, im down under, not a freak!
Comment by kralc — July 9, 2009 @ 4:32 am
kralc,
No worries about the time stamp on your post! We all gotta live somewhere. :o)
And yeah I was definitely thinking of working the use of the camo suit into my walkthrough.
Comment by Major Slack — July 9, 2009 @ 6:39 am
Hey Major,Your videos are awesome.So awesome that I went out to get Farcry 2 the day after I watched all 40 of your videos.But there's a game that I think you should make videos about. WANTED Weapons Of Fate.Check it out!
Comment by Don-O — July 17, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
Nice to see a good review once in a while about a great game. Its just like you said it, this can be a shitty game but if you play like you should, then you have a great game!
Really liking all your video's also,
Can't wait till I can see more of Act 2.
Regards,
.Exorcist18
Comment by .Exorcist18 — July 19, 2009 @ 4:07 am
I got that 27% glitch once, but i was only a few missions away from finishing the game on my 3rd runthrough. I always overwrite the previous save file when i save, so I only have 1 file(I can't waste any hard drive space), so I couldn't avoid it.
Comment by Bad D0g — July 22, 2009 @ 11:57 am
this game is SICK especially when major slack plays it he make it look fun !!!
Comment by Gamerkhid — July 30, 2009 @ 8:16 am
hey slack, i was just wondering once you start act 2 and are in the southern territory can you go back to the north??? also is there a point ????
Comment by greenfire — July 31, 2009 @ 1:48 pm
@greenfire,
I don't know. I never tried it. And I don't see the point really. Just make sure you do everything you want to do in Act 1 before taking on the Act Finale mission.
Comment by Major Slack — July 31, 2009 @ 2:51 pm
Thanks a bunch slack! I'll totally search for this game when i get the time! KUDOS! ;D
Comment by rionsshootinggames.com — August 1, 2009 @ 7:42 pm
thanks to you slack im actualy taking the time to memorize the patrols routes. and it gives you the sweet satisfaction when you ambush them :)
Comment by luigi rocks — August 1, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
can i play far cry on ML 330V ATI HD 4350 512MB HDMI HS SPH 500 GB 7200rpm SATA II 16MB
Intel Pentium DC E5200 please answer
Comment by pchuman — August 12, 2009 @ 5:39 am
Awsome walkthrough but is it possible to win the game if you killed the Jackel because i did -.-.
Comment by DelFeugo — August 20, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
@DelFeugo,
How in the world did you manage to kill the Jackal?
Comment by Major Slack — August 20, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
Man, I'm so gunna get this game when I have a spare 30 dollars. (I think it's 20 or 30 bucks in Canada for the 360...
I sure hope it's $20. :D well, then I'll need atleast 25$...
FORTUNES PACK.
Comment by Patrick10152 — August 25, 2009 @ 11:34 am
dude i cannot complete the game ! the game was awesome and i was very much looking forward to play farcry 2 (i did completed farcry twice) ! but i was banging my head while playing it ! i mean i get missions to the other end of the map ??? this really frustrated me out !!
Comment by gibran — September 3, 2009 @ 4:27 pm
@gibran,
Read my tutorial "How to Have Fun Playing Far Cry 2". Link is near the top of the page on the right.
Comment by Major Slack — September 3, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
I love this game.
Comment by Dr. Watson — September 4, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
Hey wheres the part with how to have fun playing far cry 2.
Comment by TrueGamer778 — September 5, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
@TrueGamer,
There's a link to that article right on this page (top right in the 'See Also' box).
Comment by Major Slack — September 6, 2009 @ 8:57 am
Far Cry 2 is a amazing 'sandbox' FPS and i'm glad i picked it up in spite of some lacklustre reviews. It is a challenging game but will reward of you approach it like this guide shows. My favourite so far.
Comment by Jack — September 6, 2009 @ 6:28 pm
Hey dude are you by any chance going to be doing videos on modern warfare 2
Comment by JOE — September 12, 2009 @ 10:58 pm
slack keep up the good vids ans ive been watchin ur infamous vids and just wonderin why ur usin the PKM when the M249 SAW is better
Comment by navyseal205 — October 2, 2009 @ 8:09 pm
I'm not sure if others have mentioned it, but i think a great set of videos would be a Stealthy approach to Farcry 2.
Comment by tjheslin — October 9, 2009 @ 7:18 pm
sup slack just was watchung ur vids on youtube urr really good i was just wondering what do u think the best wepon set is.
dude its really good to have a decent walkthrough guide ive been trying to watch the IGN ones but urs are awsome by the way when the grenade truck flew over ur head tht was class onestly nd allso i think igame totorials suck i mean most people no how to play and as u said if u dont read the fukin manual i mean it ruins the game some times press the A boutton it just makes u lose the feel u no wht i mean!!!
Comment by 8Ball — October 20, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
8Ball,
Read my tutorials on "How to Have Fun Playing Far Cry 2" for details about the best weapons (link at top of page).
Comment by Major Slack — October 20, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
is the fortunes pack worth buying. and is the as50 sniper rifle worth buying.
i have the springfeild m1903 - m79 grenade launcher and the pkm machine gun
Comment by josh4b — November 2, 2009 @ 1:04 pm
@josh4b, Yes to the first and clicky clicky below for the second-
http://majorslack.com/pc-games-strategy/far-cry-2-primary-weapons-2/
Comment by Major Slack — November 2, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
thanks major slack
now i just need diamonds
Comment by josh4b — November 4, 2009 @ 3:33 am
hay slack can u help me with this i don't know how to get the daimond form the top left corner of the map . i mean the daimond on the train
Comment by kyaw — November 7, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
Major,
You are awesome. I have been playing through Far Cry 2 for the 1st time and use your videos all the time for guidance. I usually play a section and then go back and watch what you did. I enjoy your comments while you play and seeing your skills for the game. You helped me get many a tricky diamond. Thanks for all your hard work in helping us gamers.
Comment by David — November 20, 2009 @ 5:12 pm
yo major slack , your the fuckin man!
"Okely-Dokely"
Comment by dick — December 18, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
Sup major
I have seen every far cry 2 video u have made i think far cry 2 is the best game I ever played
joeman
Comment by Joeman — January 28, 2010 @ 12:32 am
This game is the best thing since sliced bread - totally immersive - like "playing a movie with karma". The fools who rush in, don't get the concept, and should play it like they were actually there - not wanting to get shot.
The glitch in the South where you can't enter the marina bar to talk to the reporter can be solved by buying the "magic mortar" - go up to the door, place it, then turn like you're aiming right or left and you'll enter the marina with weapons ready.
Comment by Martythemerc — February 22, 2010 @ 12:29 am