Far Cry® 2: Fortune's Edition

It could be a very good fps but it suffers from repetitiveness and dumb AI. It looks veeery good for its age and it creates a somewhat good atmosphere. Unfortunately it is open-world which means u have to drive from one corner of the map to another corner to do missions... That applies aswell for malaria pills and weapon upgrade missions. Oh, and dont bother with stealth. While being dumb, AI spots u really quick...

I enjoy the Far Cry series. They're challenging FPSs that don't hold you hand, and they usually have a nice big world to explore. Far Cry 2 has a wonderful sandbox feel to it, and the graphics are fantastic, even now. The weapon degradation adds another layer of complexity and difficulty, the conflict diamond-based economy is like a punch in the gut about the severity and monstrosity of the situation presented in the game, and the driving is fun and immersive. However, the plot is disjointed, and I can't help but feel like Far Cry 2 should have had more RPG elements (but specifically, a dialogue tree). The nonlinearity of the plot is either a great idea, or a bad one depending on how you feel about it, and while I like it, I'm not sure the execution lives up to expectations. My main issue with the game is the respawn times of the enemies. It's like as soon as you get out of line of sight, they're back, and it makes getting around a pain in the neck. The gameplay seriously drags because of it. Worse, the length of the game makes it unwelcome after a while. Wait, it's a long game you say? Why is this a bad thing? Well, to be frank, I sank about 30-40 hours into the thing, and I feel that a proper FPS should be somewhere in the 10-20 hour range lest it one become overcome by the feeling that it is a never ending slog - which is how Far Cry 2 feels after the 15 hour mark.

I love this game. People can hate on it all they want but I love it. Cons: There are only 3 aspects that I would deem cons. The first is how often you run out of Malaria meds. I don't care about Malaria in this game as much as others, but I hate how often I have to get medicine because I ran out. The second would be the frequent enemy encounters. Now this wouldn't be a con if the game didn't throw them at you every time you turn around. There should have been a timer, such as every time you clear an outpost, it takes 10 minutes for them to respond. I still think, however, that this is a better Idea than Far Cry 3, where the island gets really dull after you clear all of the outposts. The final con is the lack of wildlife. I am in Africa. I want to see lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, crocodiles. At least they have zebras. Pros: One of my favorite aspect of the game has to be the setting. It is the only game out there that has tried the African setting and, for the most part, pulled it off. The graphics and physics are awesome, even by today's' standards. The most noteworthy positive, however, is the realism. There is no HUD or minimap. You have an actual map and GPS. Weapons jam, fire spreads according to the conditions present, weather is dynamic. Everything just comes together to immerse you in this world. Finally, the game is brutal. It doesn't hold your hand and it doesn't make light of the situation you are in. The game is difficult, no matter the difficulty. I enjoy it like that. It gives you the sense that this really is a dangerous place that favors no one and gives no aid to those who need it. However, what I love most about the game is that it defines the term "Open-World Survival Game." You have complete freedom to explore the map, even when inside the mission. Even with the negatives, this is still a lovely and brilliant game. The atmosphere, gameplay, setting, story, and sound all come together to make a beast of a game.

Flawed game but its flaws allow it to be what it is - an immersive mercenary simulator. The best parts are tense shootouts in slums and scrapyards where you really have to use your senses to locate your enemies. No GPS, HUD icons, or highlighter. The AI is more reactive and unforgiving compared to later games. Stealth is extra challenging, but feels really rewarding to pull off. Lots of jungle driving with surprisingly good driving physics. You have to equip a physical map to see where you are and plan travel. Ammo feels precious, weapons degrade over time, and you have to resupply on malaria meds. Not that hard, but the game keeps a nice baseline of tension that makes even the more repetitive and slow moments exhilirating.

I've been playing this game with a Mod Overhaul, the game is mostly still as I remember it when I use to play this so often back in the ye'olde days. The changes the overhaul has been developed, makes the combat more bearable. The enemies aren't constantly spawning like 10 feet away right in front of me like what happened on Vanilla gaming. The visual effects were also polished up as well, weapon handling feels more smoother than what I was use to. Travelling around by foot or on vehicle through the overhaul has been a solid experience. There are far too many alterations for me to list, the modding has helped me place in a great amount of hours in to Farcry 2.