- Dapper_Swindler
- Feb 14, 2012
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Im glad my instant dislike in you has been validated again and again.
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Far Cry 2, which never gets enough love, was amazing with its fire as well. Often I'd lob a molotov into a building inhabited by enemies, waiting for them to stream out into the path of my machine gun. Inevitably, the fire would grow out of control and the situation turns into pure chaos: ammunition piles get caught on fire, explosives detonate randomly, and you quickly find both yourself and your enemies stranded amidst the flames while you blindfire at them. It's brutal.
In fact, one big thing that I love about Far Cry 2 is how brutal and visceral it can be. People often complain about it being a frustrating game, but that's exactly what I love about it: playing it tires you out, you always find yourself at a disadvantage and even the best laid plans can go astray in the blink of an eye. There's an actual feeling of danger that haunts you for the entirety of the game (something which I never really felt in Far Cry 3) and the only way to cope with that is to become brutal and completely unscrupulous yourself. Eventually, you'll find yourself shooting every car that even comes close to you out of precaution, burning down villages filled with enemies that you could have easily evaded, wounding opponents with a sniper rifle so you can pick off their buddies as they attempt a rescue and becoming more and more detached to the horrific missions your employers give you. The fact that every action is preceded by a long journey gives you time to reflect on your actions, and if you're not disgusted with what you've become by the end of the game, you're playing it wrong.
It is pretty well known that Far Cry 2 is an adaptation of Heart of Darkness, but this transformation of the player highlights my favourite aspect of the game: the context of the adaptation and initial plot makes you think you're playing Marlow, but the game itself is putting you through the transformative process endured by Kurtz and this realisation (which is never explicitly pronounced by the game) comes as a sucker punch. It is a game that makes you look at its world in such a way that the motto "Exterminate all the brutes!" starts sounding very reasonable, and that was the moment I fell in love with it. Far Cry 2 is not the only game that models itself after Conrad (Spec Ops: The Line being another obvious example) but it is the only one that translated a descent into madness into something executed by the player himself (rather than something brought forth by the plot alone; see, again, Spec Ops: The Line). And for that, I will always love it.
Oh, and for an actual little moment that fits the above: near the end of the game, you're send to (serious spoilers, do NOT read if you intend to play the game) retrieve a stack of diamonds from an extremely dangerous area. What is supposed to happen is that you reach the diamonds and find one of your buddies standing over it. He calmly explains that he and his colleagues (more buddies) have decided it's more profitable to cut you out of the loop, and you're forced to kill the characters who have actively helped you (and you've helped in return) over the course of the game, leaving you truly alone and betrayed. What happened to me, however, was that as soon as I reached the designated area, I patrolled the environment first. I found a spot that allowed me to peak over the walls, just enough to spot what I thought was a guard's head. Naturally, I put a bullet in it. When I entered the compound, I saw that I had just shot my own buddy, and without any cutscene or anything the rest of them appeared and attacked me. It changed the entire context of the scene, and made me feel like even more of a bastard.
^this. Everything you pretty much do makes whats left of the country a worse place to live. Most of the faction missions are either destroying whatever infrastructure or business is left in country or fatting the pockets of some dickhead warlord. I also like that both act like they are fighting for Africa for Africans but they primarily just use out of country mercs as soldiers fighting for the scraps of country.
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Sep 25, 2014 04:43
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Jun 2, 2024 11:23
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- Dapper_Swindler
- Feb 14, 2012
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Im glad my instant dislike in you has been validated again and again.
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Recently finished Bioshock: Infinite as a way to clear out my never-ending game backlog.
I'm a huge sucker for time-travel, paradoxes, and multi-personal hijinks in storytelling - i.e. Back to the Future II - so seeing what happens in the last third of the game was a lot of fun. There's the part with Booker trying to get to Elizabeth after she's captured by Songbird. You see what a possible future looks like, and as you fight through to her, you see that her capture/torture/conditioning creates a bad future. You see tastes of the woman she might become, and after so much time with her, it feels genuinely heartbreaking to think of what'll happen if you don't succeed. It's like you get to see the post-game-over world as you're playing.
One other thing I liked: when Booker and Elizabeth are fighting the Siren mini-boss, there's a very cool, very creepy song that plays. I didn't notice it at first because of all the mayhem and things going on, but it's there deep in the background and it's basically perfect for the weird horror you experience when in that boss fight.
its a slowed down garbled version of lacrimosa, the Mozart piece that is in lady comstocks tomb.
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Jul 14, 2015 16:17
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Sep 25, 2014 04:43
