After finishing it in around 25 hrs, I can't shake off the idea that Far Cry 2 lacks the polish needed to make it more than a proof of concept game.
The graphics are sharp and the environments are good, but it gets boring. The music is scarce and subdued, even when the credits roll the music being played doesn't sync and the track ends up being replayed. Characters designs vary but mostly they're generic. Overall the art direction is very humble to put it nicely.
The gameplay... well that'd be a long tangent, but for brevity it simply lacks. A few more additions and improvements would've made a huge change. The game unapologetically makes you run back and forth like an errand boy whether to accept missions, do the missions or do extras. You spend a considerable time just travelling, and you have to eliminate or escape patrols that you pass, and you have to rush or clear checkpoint camps repeatedly. Fast travel exists but how much it saves you time is very dependent on the mission location. There's more but that should get the point across that the game tries to give you combat but ends up being tasteless filler.
FC2 still has great concepts to enjoy, wanna use a gun you found without buying it? Sure but you gotta handle more frequent jamming. Gunfights in dense foliage that can be used for or against you (Even though enemies ignore concealment once you're detected). Those and others are positive mechanics, but they can't carry the game through the sluggish repetition.
Writing is no different. Without spoiling, the main antagonist (The Jackal) is nuanced but not enough, even the tidbits of character presented through tape recordings gotta be found randomly. Other characters are flat as fuck, they're only quest givers or combat NPCs but more grounding is still necessary. The narrative tries to flex its muscles at times, but those are extremely rare moments during spells of complete atrophy. It is a waste for a setting and a setup like this that's brimming with potential scenarios to partake in.
In conclusion FC2 isn't a game you should play if you have more important entries on your backlog, and if you're curious about what it does right, then believe me when I say you don't have to see it to the end because barely anything changes throughout the playtime.
The graphics are sharp and the environments are good, but it gets boring. The music is scarce and subdued, even when the credits roll the music being played doesn't sync and the track ends up being replayed. Characters designs vary but mostly they're generic. Overall the art direction is very humble to put it nicely.
The gameplay... well that'd be a long tangent, but for brevity it simply lacks. A few more additions and improvements would've made a huge change. The game unapologetically makes you run back and forth like an errand boy whether to accept missions, do the missions or do extras. You spend a considerable time just travelling, and you have to eliminate or escape patrols that you pass, and you have to rush or clear checkpoint camps repeatedly. Fast travel exists but how much it saves you time is very dependent on the mission location. There's more but that should get the point across that the game tries to give you combat but ends up being tasteless filler.
FC2 still has great concepts to enjoy, wanna use a gun you found without buying it? Sure but you gotta handle more frequent jamming. Gunfights in dense foliage that can be used for or against you (Even though enemies ignore concealment once you're detected). Those and others are positive mechanics, but they can't carry the game through the sluggish repetition.
Writing is no different. Without spoiling, the main antagonist (The Jackal) is nuanced but not enough, even the tidbits of character presented through tape recordings gotta be found randomly. Other characters are flat as fuck, they're only quest givers or combat NPCs but more grounding is still necessary. The narrative tries to flex its muscles at times, but those are extremely rare moments during spells of complete atrophy. It is a waste for a setting and a setup like this that's brimming with potential scenarios to partake in.
In conclusion FC2 isn't a game you should play if you have more important entries on your backlog, and if you're curious about what it does right, then believe me when I say you don't have to see it to the end because barely anything changes throughout the playtime.