Far Cry 3

[Luftwaffles]

They just went way overboard on everything, I thought. The side content was boring as hell (go here, kill this guy, go back), and the leveling seemed totally hacked in. Add to that the perk progression being heavily tied to story content (can't get certain perks until you've completed some story missions, but there's enough side content available for you to get enough XP). The engine and gameplay was fantastic, but it didn't seem like they thought the whole thing through in a lot of places. Kind of like everything Ubisoft has made since AC:Brotherhood, come to think of it...

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game, but definitely not as much as I did Far Cry 2. 

[toxicitizen]

Really? That's... disappointing to hear. I could never get into Far Cry 2. I played something like a dozen hours across two different games ( had to restart it at some point) and didn't get really far in either one. I just couldn't get into it. Combat was fun and the whole fire thing was amazing but all that travelling was just so fucking tedious. I'm usually not a big fan of open-worlds in FPS. It's the same reason I never finished STALKER, come to think of it.

[NeoStarr]

The thing I didn't like about it was that rather then try to correct the flaws of Far Cry 2 (which I totally regard as one of the most remarkable games of all time), they just kinda took shit that worked in other games that don't really have a place in the Far Cry series. People like crafting; add it to the game. People like skill trees; add it to the game. People like checkpoints; add it to the game. Totally contradictory to the previous design mentality of realism over gameplay. What this did essentially was totally kill the immersion in a series that's known for being immersive. The most glaring example of this that I noticed after playing Far Cry 2 and 3 back to back is that in Far Cry 3, you are constantly going into the menu. Whether it be to check the map, craft syringes, see what supplies you need, set waypoints, whatever, you were likely in the menu every 5 minutes or so. In Far Cry 1 and 2, the only time you ever see a menu is when you start the game and when you quit. It may seem like a small detail but it's one of many little things that I feel turned a brilliantly realistic experience into sidequest fueled babytown frolics.

 

I'll totally concede that I hate it because it's not the Far Cry game I wanted (and don't get me wrong, it's very well made and I totally understand why people really enjoy it); but at the same time I've always felt that sequels should totally be weighed against their predecessors and held to a higher standard and I think Far Cry 3 is the perfect example of why. Far Cry 2 is a really divisive game; it does as many things terribly wrong as it does incredibly right and it's scores and fanbase reflect that. But if all a struggling series has to do to become 'the most highly rated shooter of the year' (according to their advertising) is replace what made them unique with what worked for Call of Duty and Skyrim that's gonna lead to some incredible stagnation if we go on praising people for it.

 

And for those reasons it's totally hypocritical that I'm excited about this new installment; but come on they have an 80's cartoon aesthetic.

 

Also, the story for Far Cry 3 plays out like it was written by a dude whose only previous experience was writing soft core pornography; I'm shocked that the same people would come out with an installment this creative.

 

EDIT: I was actually replaying Far Cry 1 a few weeks ago and playing around with the different render options (one of the games most underrated features). The Cartoon option is pretty close to what Blood Dragon looks like. I took some screenshots;

All render options; http://i.imgur.com/g3l0GG7.jpg

Cartoon only: http://i.imgur.com/Rd6lEsy.jpg

[Luftwaffles]

Neostarr, you and me could be Far Cry 2 bros. Probably my favorite shooter of this generation (I don't really count Arma as a shooter).

 

Really, the biggest issue I see with it is they tried to fix some of Far Cry 2's flaws, but went waaaaay too far. People thought the map was difficult to navigate/you couldn't put down waypoints? Let's use the hyper cluttered map from Assassin's Creed! People thought the checkpoints respawned too much and made travel too frantic? Let's make the checkpoints never respawn ever! People didn't think there was enough side content? Let's add in missions that consist of you driving from one place to another? And so on. 

[Mister Jack]

It's the total opposite for me. I cannot fathom how anyone enjoys Far Cry 2. The whole time it practically felt to me as if the game had been purposely designed to ensure I wouldn't have fun while I was playing it.

[NeoStarr]

It's not so much to ensure you don't have fun; it's that it's not gonna sacrifice realism for that purpose. I think the game is intended to be more about the tension and excitement then the entertainment; and it really is a visceral experience. We've all probably seen a movie that was difficult to watch but hard not to talk about (something like Schindlers List comes to mind); that's kinda what Far Cry 2 is to me. It's not the game I bust out when my friends come over to show off all the cool tricks in; it's the one I play when I can lock myself in my room for a few hours without distractions and my critical thinking skills at the ready. Probably been through it five or six times now.

[NeoStarr]

So rare that you see an advertisement that's on par with the likes of Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind, but this was definitely the feel good movie of the year for me.

[Mister Jack]

 

There are not nearly enough games that give you a button to flip the bird.

[Papirus]

They fixed this problem shortly after I sold back my copy, but I didn't like how all of the checkpoints stayed clear after I cleared them. Made the game boring in the end and I disliked the story enough not to restart the whole game.

 

I guess mods would've helped but I was on ps3 =P I think all the open world games I buy will be on PC from now on.

[Mister Jack]

Did anyone buy the steam version of Blood Dragon? A friend of mine is saying that Uplay is making the game a hassle, which makes me feel like maybe I should get the ps3 version.