So, FC2 or FC3 ?

[durian]

Which game do you guys prefer ?
To me, each game has its own pros and cons and I enjoy both agmes but I got tired of FC3 after playing about 50 hrs, whereas I spent over 200 hrs in FC2.
On a side note, I've experienced dizziness many times recently when playing FC3 and other FPS (I'm playing Metro Last Light). I think I have to quit playing FPS for good.

[Art Blade]

Simple: FC3.

I reckon you won't let me get away that easily so I'll explain :)

Mainly because I have actually never REALLY liked FC2, only after playing with cheats. I hated malaria, I hated degrading weapons, I hated to be the only moving target for EVERYONE else (as in, never at peace). The weapons were basically crap.. still, I played the living daylights out of the game once I had my cheats. Most excellent day/night/weather/ambient light I've seen so far, still the best I guess.

FC3.. I hate the linear story and I wish I could kill those stupid friends of Jason, all of them, right at the start  :-D

But the open world nature, the nice terrain and the actually balanced gameplay is great. It is the first game in many many years that I have completed (100% completion) without any cheats AT ALL. Also, it is the first game ever that I have played through on maximum difficulty (especially coop, oh man, I love coop with friends) and that is something, I usually play games on "easy."  :)

Once I was through with the story, I started to cheat and I am currently using "Ziggy's mod" which is a major overhaul and changes the game a lot, very nice. I am very happy with it. Works nice together with cheats, too  :-()

[durian]

If Ubisoft picks the best parts of each game and mix  them together, that'd be my dream game.

FC2: day/night cycle, enemies injury, main mission design, vegetation...
FC3: weapon customization, silent takedown, wildlife, civilians, random firefights, wingsuit, collectibles, loot, underwater ...

[Art Blade]

I don't know how many hours I spent on FC2 but I played it for a few years. FC3 I do know: right now, exactly 1,415 hours. So you got bored after 50? ??? Get a PC. :)

[Binnatics]

I don't know how many hours I spent on FC2 but I played it for a few years. FC3 I do know: right now, exactly 1,415 hours. So you got bored after 50? ??? Get a PC. :)

:o :o ... and... good advice :-X ^-^

I think after all I would still go for FC2.
Because of one simple reason; It's more special. In FC2 you experience true horror, true dirt and true Africa.

In FC3 you experience gameplay that has improved in many ways, tons of interesting things to do, super-duper wild life and good open-world design (bad lvl design) but it's not special. The world they set up is not real, it's not balanced, and probably that's the main reason why they did not put so much effort into voice acting. The good gameplay they bring is nice but not revolutionary. The good graphics are nice, but not stunning compared to FC2. The bad MP design and hosting is incredible for a game that tends to take itself serious.
I should not start over and bring up the countless complaints so this is it. I choose FC2

[fragger]

Geez, I'm really torn with this one. For me there are pros and cons to both games.

FC2:

Pros: Beautiful lighting and realistic day/night cycle with fractally-generated sky and cloud effects, being able to sleep and thus plan whether to carry out missions in daylight or at night, the rich merc dialogue (some of which was still new to me after a few years' worth of play), the raw down-to-earth grittiness (no tripped-out nonsense), the quality of voice-acting on the part of inconsequential characters, the spontaneous frenetic action, the overall story.

Cons: Weapons categories (primary, secondary and special), restricted terrain accessibility, very little wildlife (which seems to serve the sole purpose of being run-overable), anticlimactic ending (whichever one you chose).


FC3:

Pros: The 100% accessible terrain, more to do in terms of finding hidden stuff and side missions, the much-varied and well-animated wildlife which not only can have a go at you but which also provides an active in-game function (crafting and selling of hides), the deletion of weapons categories (I can carry four different pistols if I really want to!), no weapon degrading, excellent voice acting on the part of major characters (I think Vaas is up there with Heath Ledger's Joker as a psycho-villain), upskilling, wingsuit/parachute (I love that).

Cons: Sub-par, player-movement-based day-night cycle with parallaxed skies (can't just literally sit and watch the sun set), limited and stilted dialogue from secondary NPCs, main missions too linear and in too strict a sequence, too many race-against-time episodes in same, too much out-there trippiness, too many longish cut scenes in general, story not as involving.

In summary: I like them both for different reasons and honestly don't know which one I prefer. I think if it came down to a choose-or-die decision however, I'd go with FC2. I played that for three years - time will tell if I'm still playing FC3 in another two-and-a-bit years' time. At this remove, I think probably not.

I could add that if I was a testosterone-driven, sexually-obsessed teenager I could say that since I get to have a bit of digital houghmagandy in FC3 then that would contribute to its appeal, but since I'm not either of those things anymore (well, only one of those things anymore), I won't add that.

[Art Blade]

:) glad you didn't even mention it.

[fragger]

 :-D

[TheStranger]

I love both :)

FC2: Atmosphere, you can choose your character, weapon degrading (yes I love that), injuries etc.

FC3: Better gameplay (looting, crafting, experience, hunting, takedowns etc.). Vaas is really a great villain but I hated it that he disapperas or dies after the first half of the game I really thought he appears later in the game, would be a great plot twist. Although the atmosphere is also great the

FC2 Africa is more gloomier and "darker". FC3 has also sometimes this depressive atmosphere especially when you play the main missions.
The last weeks I considered playing FC2 again but then I thought about the things which I can't do (takedowns, weapon categories) so I continued FC3.

So gameplay wise clearly FC3 but atmosphere FC2.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I did play FC2 a lot more, and made that dang map, but at the time I didn't have Minecraft or Kerbal Space Program to distract me as much. Now I see someone has combined the two into Space Engineers. I'm really trying hard to not do anything with that until they have gone full version with it. Right now it's just in alpha.

If I didn't have those two distractions, would I still be playing FC3? Maybe. I may have also finished Rage, Duke 4 and Crysis 2, which are all sitting there in various unfinished states, because of, yes, Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program.

Having said that, I'd have to agree that the world is a little more "full" in FC3, but the linear missions aren't nearly as much fun or replayable as FC2 was.

[PZ]

FC2 for me - I can't count the number of times I played through that game, and I've only done FC3 a few times at most.  FC3 is obviously much more sophisticated, but I really liked the doom and gloom atmosphere in FC2.  Strange as it sounds, I kind of enjoyed the fact that everyone (except my buddies) were extremely hostile.

I still have a heavily modded FC2 on my PC, as well as modded FC3, however, I'd be just as likely to start FC2, maybe even more so.

[fragger]

Overall I preferred FC2, but I haven't played it for a while now and I know that if I did I'd miss some of the things I can do in FC3. But I still think it was a better game overall, more polished and cohesive. I'd rather hear the merc chatter of FC2 rather than listen to the same paltry few lines of dialogue in FC3 ad infinitum.

I was playing FC3 earlier, had just liberated an outpost and when the Rakyat showed up I heard them say "This is all me!" three times in a row, but with a different voice each time. I yelled at the screen, "It can't all be the three you!" Surely, surely the devs could have come up with a few more lines. More evidence I think that the game was rushed out the door.

Agree with The Stranger regarding atmosphere, I think FC2 has that all over FC3. Way better day/night cycle, and the weather system with constantly moving sun (and shadows of), atmospheric effects and fractal cloud generation was amazing.

[Art Blade]

FC2's weather and day/night system is splendid indeed.

[PZ]

...I was playing FC3 earlier, had just liberated an outpost and when the Rakyat showed up I heard them say "This is all me!" three times in a row...

Symptom of anterograde amnesia

[durian]

FC2's admostphere was the main reason I kept playing it. When poeple talk about what make gameplay so good, they often mention only AI, control, weapons, camera but they don't know that atmosphere is just as important as those elements, if not more so. FC2 is one example.

[mandru]

I have to admit that last night I found something (an odd thing) I seriously miss from FC2.

I was driving around in the game (god mode + infinite ammo cheats) I had a chance to swerve off the road and smear two patrolling privateers who were on foot.  As I was recovering vehicle control I went right through a bush and no thrashing or tearing it up occurred.  It was pretty much indifferent to my passing.  :-\\

I was reminded of the graphics involved in FC2 when I would be bombing along off road in an AT and a bush or small tree recognizable as being no impediment to my ride would appear in front of me.  It was always so satisfying to drive straight over them and see the branches and leaf debris break off flying out of my way as I tore through.  :-(

[fragger]

True :)

I also miss seeing leaves blowing around and variable wind speeds moving the treetops about - sometimes windy, sometimes still.

[Art Blade]

What I don't get is why they had to change EVERYTHING and still call it FarCry.

A proper example showing that it is possible to do better: GTAIII is supposed to be the best game of the GTA franchise. Then they came up with GTAIV which was.. different. Not as successful. Not as celebrated. But a few new ideas which were cool. And now.. after almost 10 years, GTAIII gets a massive, massive overhaul but actually most of the game's basic ideas and environment and mission concepts are being preserved and all the flaws have been chiseled out and the not so good stuff has been massively improved plus they incorporated all the good ideas from GTAIV. They release it as GTAV, word spreads, and they hit a BILLION dollar sales within one week.

FC2 had a great concept. FC3 added great new ideas. FC4 should be what GTAV is for GTAIII fans: perfect. Imagine a FC2 world, with all the merc banter (and please, no more "it is all me") and all the African environment and destructible environment including bushes and trees as you guys said, yet 100% accessible world, climbable rather than invisible walls.. you get the picture. All the good stuff of both games and all that well polished.

If they manage to pull that one, THEN you can count me in for FC4.

[PZ]

I completely agree, AB - if FC3 were a redesigned FC2 with all the latest bells and whistles, I'd be on it like flies on stink - likely would not need another game for a couple of years.  ... but that would be counter productive to the $ hungry gaming industry.  Just like the planned obsolescence with todays  kitchen appliances, the industry does not want us to be that enamored with a game... just enough to purchase one again soon.

[durian]

Just pick the best parts of FC2 + FC3 = the ultimate FC game

Bring back the body injury, improved AI. One of my best moments in FC2 was shooting  a merc at his foot to injure him, then shooting his comradres who come to carry him to safety. The mercs in FC2 take cover when you snipe them, by contrast, the pirates and privateers just act like nothing happens.

One important aspect I think FC4 must have : destruction. Not only we can shoot the branches off the trees  and other small stuff like in FC2, but we also can destroy some bigger objects.

[Art Blade]

The first thing I remember about FC2 before it was released was that they said buddies would come to our rescue if they liked us enough which absolutely amazed me. I was thinking of some Wild West type of dusty road, me lying in the dirt bleeding to death and some friends (buddies) dragging me away into safety while fending off bad guys who shot me.

And when I had the game.. I remember seeing Singh and wanting to shoot him instead.

Or, the first pictures and descriptions about timing your attacks.. a guy in the desert whips out a really cool pocket watch and decides it'd be better to do that at night and goes to sleep some place until night falls.

It wasn't quite like that when we got the game. The watch we later saw inside a safehouse just wasn't the same thing.

They had good ideas but rushed the game (lol, rushed.. they weren't exactly ahead of schedule) and a couple of things went down the drain or were rendered useless or laughable.

I wish they'd stick to their ideas and make them happen -- I don't mind if they're unable to do it in time as long as they bloody do it.

[fragger]

Thanks for reminding me Art - I thought the "buddy rescue" concept in FC2 was an inspired bit of gaming innovation, even if it wasn't quite what the pre-release blurb described. I still liked what they did with it 8) I remember the first time I saw my rescue buddy punch out a merc who got too close - that was one of the coolest things I'd seen in a FPS game for ages :-()

[Art Blade]

 :)

[JRD]

Ouch... tough call!  :-\\

I am with most of you guys... if I could have the best of both combined into a single game it'd be gold!

But if I had to choose... I would probably choose FC2 basically for two reasons

1) When the game was released and I first played, it the African setting, the music, the fire spreading, the light and the clean hud created such an amazing atmosphere for me that even with all flaws the game has (I still can't believe you can't kill a shirtless guy with a .50 round square to the chest at 3 feet distance  :D ) I simply couldn't stop playing and prolonged my first playthrough as much as I could, avoiding any spoilers.  ;D

2) Mission design.  In FC2, as soon as I finished one mission I was already thinking in so many different ways of playing the same mission again... different loadouts, going as stealth as possible at night, Rambo mode, placing IEDs and clearing my way through... the list goes on and on. In FC3 I played some missions where I felt relieved it was over... too linear and not so many room for improvisation.  :-(

[Art Blade]

In FC2, as soon as I finished one mission I was already thinking in so many different ways of playing the same mission again

Same here, truly a very good point in favour of FC2