There's no substitute for FC2...

[PZ]

Earlier today I had the urge to fire up FC2 again, which I did a couple of hours ago.  I loaded an old save - evidently in the middle of the police chief mission at about 8%.

As I listened to the startup music, and then started navigating my way to the target area listening to the environment and subtle music in the background, I was transported to 2009 when I played FC2 incessantly.  I'm in Leboa, and my load-out is a suppressed AS-50, full auto AR-15, and a 6P9 (of course).

Clearly from the description, the weapons have been modified, and now the 6P9 will actually kill a foe with a single bullet (that would make JRD happy)

I'd actually forgotten the exact modifications I did to the weapons, but was pleasantly surprised by their effectiveness.  I'm able to reach waaaaaay out with the AS-50, and as long as no one sees my target go down, no one is the wiser.  It is so much more fun than the vanilla game where the weapons were so limited in function.

I guess the summary is that even though I've been looking for "the next FC2", I doubt I'll ever find it - this game is truly a classic that is number one in my book, and nothing else has ever come even close.

[mandru]

I guess the summary is that even though I've been looking for "the next FC2", I doubt I'll ever find it - this game is truly a classic that is number one in my book, and nothing else has ever come even close.

A gem indeed.  :-X

[nexor]

You're very right there PZ   :-X
One would think developers learned something from FC2, they haven't, and never will   :o

[PZ]

Unfortunately the developers are programming for the masses rather than us old guys

[Binnatics]

...One would think developers learned something from FC2, they haven't, and never will   :o

I think some devs have learnt something while developing FC2, and forgot to ever apply it again. Probably because they were focussing on what ~indeed~ the crowd wants.

I was just thinking over this very same issue the other day, and realised that FC2 is so brilliant to most of us because the game isn't polished. It's raw, like an experiment. Some ingredients mashed together in a playground that's way too big for proper experimenting. The result is; utter liberty for the players! ^-^ :)

[nexor]

And to add to that Binn, it was players like OWG members that made it a fantastic game  :-X

[Art Blade]

exactly, nexor. I would have thrown that game into the rubbish bin if I hadn't found OWG (back then still known as farcry2maps hehe) and the lively and friendly and funny discussions here on how to have fun with that game. :-X

[fragger]

I totally agree with all comments.

I don't remember any kind of fanfare announcing the release of FC2 at the time, maybe there was and I missed it, I dunno. I just happened to see it on a shelf in a shop one day and wondered if it was any good. I'd rather enjoyed the original Far Cry so I took a punt and bought it. Once the nature of the game became apparent I was not only hooked but ecstatic - this was the game that I always hoped somebody would make! Three years later on and I was still playing the dickens out of it. So far it's still my all-time favourite FPS.

I've sometimes thought that seeing as how the release of FC2 was so low-key (as far as I know) and considering that not only was the gameplay a major departure from Far Cry's but was also quite original, I've wondered if the devs had doubts about it doing very well. It was almost a tentative offering, like, "Oh well, let's put it out there and see if anyone buys it". It did better than they thought it would, well enough and with a sufficiently large fanbase to induce them to invest in developing a sequel - eventually. But, same-ol' same-ol' - they wanted to make as much profit as possible, which meant dumbing-down the game and making it more CoD-like to appeal to the broader and dare I say less-mature gaming demographic which would most likely yield that profit.

Never mind us old guys, we'll just dodder on out the back and play horseshoes.

[PZ]

I could be mistaken because FC2 was the first serous game I ever looked at, but I seem to recall it being billed as unusual in that it consisted of a 50 square kilometer map of a world in which you can travel anywhere, and do anything.

[nexor]

That goes for me too PZ, the only game I played was the original Desperado's Dead Or Alive which was even further afield from today's 3rd person shooter style games.

[TheStranger]

I...I...I did it again and started another playthrough. Although FC3 has more "complex" gameplay features I love the whole atmosphere and the realistic scenario way more in FC2. I also think that the graphics looks more natural and not so cartoonish.

The thing why FC2 is so good is that it is so simple. Just kill and become war itself. Also the story is better but they could have made more with it.

[mandru]

 :)  :-X  +1  (for recognizing a good thing and for sticking to it)

I too will often fire up FC2 at a few different favorite save points just to enjoy jumping in and mixing it up with my buds the mercs.  :-D

[Art Blade]

same here, mandru, I got some savegames from which I start to play a bit every once in a while  :)

And I agree with you, Stranger, simple is good, the way FC2 does it, and the graphics are still great. :)

[PZ]

I too did not appreciate the more cartoonish harsh colors in FC2 - the muted browns/greens/grays to me were much more appealing.

One of a kind, that FC2 - likely will not be repeated because there are not enough of us old gents that like that kind of game.

[fragger]

Agreed. FC2 is definitely the thinking person's FPS. And graphically, it's by far the more aesthetically pleasing of the two games. I could almost feel the wind and the temperature, and the way they put across the impressions of crisp mornings, blazing noons, cool twilights... Just beautiful.

If they could combine the look and the down-to-earth immersion of FC2 with some of the cooler innovations of FC3 they'd have one terrific game. For us old-timers, anyway :-()

FC2 is a w@&k of art :-X

[fragger]

Here's some screenies I never got around to posting. You just don't see beautiful atmospheric effects like this in FC3 - sunsets that you can actually watch, realistic haze, impressions of blistering heat, ever-changing fractal clouds, etc etc etc...

[smg id=7250 align=center width=600]

[smg id=7251 align=center width=600]

[smg id=7252 align=center width=600]

[smg id=7253 align=center width=600]

[smg id=7254 align=center width=600]

[PZ]

Very nice, fragger - just beautiful  :-X

[Art Blade]

absolutely :)

[fragger]

 ^-^

I may have encouraged myself to get back into it again...

[Binnatics]

Sometimes there's no word to describe how much I agree with the above. There's something magic in that African air.

There's got to be some weirdos somewhere on the planet doing the same trick again. There's got to be a FC3, I mean a true sequel to our beloved game. I'm sure of one thing; it won't be called FarCry ;)

[PZ]

^-^

I may have encouraged myself to get back into it again...

I think you may have encouraged me to get back into the game, particularly since I modded the game to my satisfaction

[Art Blade]

sounds like a plan, actually.. now that I got a modded AS50 and those DLC..  :-()

[PZ]

I also am refreshed by the fact that I do not need to sign into an online game server to play the game

[Art Blade]

  that is SO true.. :)

[Art Blade]

By the way, only recently, after getting my "new" DLC (well, DLC for the first time) I finished a new playthrough. Kind of forgot to mention it here :)

And the picture of today is..

[smg id=7257 type=preview align=center caption="what it is about"]