First impressions

[fragger]

I haven't gotten to that point yet. Oh boy. Something to look forward to ::)

[PZ]

 ???

[Art Blade]

it even contains QTEs which adds to the fun. ::)

[JRD]

The escort convoy mission seems fun even though it is 100% scripted.

Now that Shangri-La bow in the cave part......  ???

What's with the ghosty puffy tiger? Is it your delusional pet buddy?

[PZ]

The escort convoy mission seems fun even though it is 100% scripted.

I think so too, but the fact that it is so short is what would make fun and not drawn out and boring.  At least Hoyt doesn't jump out at you with a knife, or some idiot giant boss magically transport you to a dark arena.

[nexor]

Yes the Tiger is your buddy and helps killing those demons.
Riding shotgun is fun yes but very short.
I got through the second Shangri-la mission, worked out ok as long as you're patient and sneak around killing demons, eventualy they all get killed, there a few with flamethrowers, you have to get him from behind in a takedown.
I did one of the main missions which was quite a lot of action, no linear at all and was enjoyable.
It seems like it is only the Shangri-la missions that have demons, so far.........

[JRD]

I did one of the main missions which was quite a lot of action, no linear at all and was enjoyable.

I thought I would never read this sentence in this thread!  ::)

Still not willing to get this game... not for the current price at least.... the graphics seems really nice but a good campaign is crucial to me.  :-\\

[PZ]

I remember a few main missions in FC3 that were not too bad - one called the Medusa, or something like that, and another one at some kind of petrol place.  Neither was times, and you could approach however you liked.

[nexor]

I agree with you JRD.
The Shangri-la missions will be the main reasons for me not doing a re-play  :-\\

[nexor]

I just liberated one of the forts, went in with silenced weapons and was able to disable the alarms, then a few quick headshots and all over.
As I mentioned in my previous post, it seems like it's only the Shangri-La missions that are extremely unpleasant to play, the rest could be quite fun. 

[fragger]

I can't really say that I've enjoyed any of the main missions so far. Admittedly, many of them will probably become easier to accomplish in subsequent playthroughs, once you know what to expect. But that's just it - you'll know what to expect. They're too scripted, linear, race-against-timey, or all three, and there's little scope for experimentation outside of weapons choices. There was one that wasn't too bad, when I had to torch a bunch of opium fields, a bit like the dope fields mission in FC3. That's been my least disliked mission so far (I still wouldn't say I was enamoured of it).

What's with the ghosty puffy tiger? Is it your delusional pet buddy?

:-D Yep, he goes "invisible" when demons are nearby. You help him at the start of the sequence when he shows up wounded and you pull a magical knife out of him. He then disappears in a cloud of fog, then shows up not long later, reincarnated and ready to turn the demons into Fancy Feast. You order him to attack the demons by pointing the magical dagger that you pulled out of him at the demons you want him to pounce on. If any demons get past him you can do takedowns on them, but they have a nasty habit of winking out and then reappearing somewhere else, often right in your face, or right behind you.

The Shangri-La missions are the worst so far. So far... there's still a lot of game ahead. Lord knows what other rude surprises are in store. I've only had one attempt at trying to get through the first Shangri-La gig. My tiger seemed to go AWOL for a while and left me in the lurch. By the time he showed up again all the demons were ganging up on me and I got overwhelmed. Thanks a lot Tigger :D

Like I said before, it's a crying shame, because there is quite a bit of fun to be had outside of the story. The game has so much potential but the story missions are letting it down - for me, anyway. Different strokes for different folks, but knowing some of you as I do, I can feel pretty secure in saying that you won't enjoy the mains, but you will enjoy some of the other aspects of FC4. It's a beautiful game to look at, the environment is quite rich, the day/night cycle is not too bad at all, sound effects are excellent, there are some fun vehicles to pilot such as the gyrocopters and hovercrafts, and there's heaps to do. There is a great variety of spontaneous side missions that pop up, way more than in FC3, and they can be a lot of fun to take on. The wildlife is very well rendered - a rhino charge is distinctly unnerving (they've given me the occasional adrenaline surge) and the elephants are great fun to ride and attack with. Even the grappling can be fun, although you can only do that where indicated. The climbing vines are still around in other places, and the climbable ledges with the dangling ropes. Actually, some of the climbable ledges don't have dangling ropes but you'll still get the "climb" prompt when you stand near them - you just need to get close and see if the prompt appears.

I'm starting to drop into a behavioural pattern. A main mission will tick me off and I'll quit the game in a fit of pique, but the next night I'll go back in determined to tough it out so that I can get back to the fun stuff. Main mission routine is the same as in FC3 - once you get into one, you're locked into it until you finish it. There are checkpoints throughout the main missions, and as in FC3, if you quit the game mid-mission to pick it up later, you'll restart right back at the beginning of that main mission, not at the last checkpoint you reached. That sucked in FC3 and it still does in this one...

I think I'm falling into a love-hate thing with this game. It's like having a sexy girlfriend who shows you such a rollicking good time that you keep going back to her, even though you know you're ultimately setting yourself up for more pain and disappointment :-\\

[PZ]

... There was one that wasn't too bad, when I had to torch a bunch of opium fields, a bit like the dope fields mission in FC3. That's been my least disliked mission so far (I still wouldn't say I was enamoured of it).

How original - change from dope to opium  :D

... but they have a nasty habit of winking out and then reappearing somewhere else, often right in your face, or right behind you.

I hate that - nothing like stupid demons disappearing.  Reminds me of the same stupidity in a JC2 mission.  Who do they think is playing this game - dope heads high on crack?

I can't really say that I've enjoyed any of the main missions so far. Admittedly, many of them will probably become easier to accomplish in subsequent playthroughs, once you know what to expect. But that's just it - you'll know what to expect. They're too scripted, linear, race-against-timey, or all three, and there's little scope for experimentation outside of weapons choices.

I can just imagine the discussions in the Ubi focus groups: "let's find a stupid idea and then stick with it!"

Main mission routine is the same as in FC3 - once you get into one, you're locked into it until you finish it. There are checkpoints throughout the main missions, and as in FC3, if you quit the game mid-mission to pick it up later, you'll restart right back at the beginning of that main mission, not at the last checkpoint you reached. That sucked in FC3 and it still does in this one...

What kind of IDIOT comes up with an idea like this????????  Even the 12 year-old morons don't want to start all over again from the beginning.  I'd forgotten (perhaps purposefully) about this stupid FC3 "feature"

If those fools at Ubisoft had half a collective brain, they would offer an in-game option to opt out of the main missions altogether.  That way you would satisfy the fools that like the scripted timed missions and the open world gamers like many of us.

Game developers really have missed the boat - they could easily put all kinds of option toggles into the menus, but no, they know best and are going to force the gamer into their way of playing.  What idiots they are - they would actually increase game sales if they catered to more of the population rather than forcing everyone down the same corridor.

Although I don't know how they do it in the gaming developer world, I have been involved in book publishing, and I can tell you this.  The publishers will assemble a group of people and conduct a focus group, which will determine the direction of a book.  Imagine that - a group of 15 or so people determining what millions of people will read.  I've always thought that a stupid way of doing things.

/rant

[Binnatics]

Amen :bow

On a side note; I'm glad you see some sunshine in between the dark clouds the main story is spelling towards you Fragger. I hear you speak of a wonderful world with cool side missions. That means you actually start enjoying the game form time to time :) :-X

@ PZ; I think the game developments moves more and more towards the Hollywood routine. It seems that better engine and graphics power draws the devs closer to the entertainment idea of total immersion. People are being entertained by a game, instead of they entertain themselves with the toolbox / playbox they are offered. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, playing DayZ. This game is so empty, not a story to worry about, no missions, no scripts, no stunning characters, just a true sandbox in digital dimensions.  Millions of people are entertaining themselves with it. They invent their own goals, set their own paths, hook up and join together.... that is a total different direction than what the mainstream game designers choose; the path of the entertainment. Mindless freaks can't play for themselves, they need to be driven through a predefined path, and they probably need recognition, hence the drugs in the game and the tough guy sections.
Sad but true; the majority belongs to the mindless freaks. Glad there's still developers aiming for intelligent gamers who seek a bit of liberty for their creative minds :)

[Art Blade]

Do cheats still w@&k?

[fragger]

Good comments, chaps :-X

I agree PZ. Games like FC4 could be so much more if the devs would just embolden themselves a little and risk the bottom line by trying to appeal to a larger range of play styles. It's a risk that might just pay off for them, if they had the guts to venture out of the money bin. I remember in an earlier post of yours, you linked to an article in which the devs were quoted as saying that they had learned from FC3 and had decided to make the FC4 gaming experience more accessible and less story-dependent, or words to that effect. They didn't exactly deliver on that promise. Well, they sort of did in terms of creating a greater number and variety of side quests and activities, but as far as the story and its missions go, it's just more of the same, only wordier.

Yep Binn I have had some terrific fun with the game until, like an idiot repeatedly sticking his finger into a light socket to see if the power is still on, I take on the next main mission and I get burned again even though I should have learned from the last poke. Unfortunately you have to go through this if you want to get to the northern region, the rest of the game, and the unlocking of the rest of the weapons chest. As in Far Cries 2&3, there's a north and south aspect to this game - you can't go to the northern region until you reach a particular point in the story, and a number of weapons and other stuff then becomes available. Why do they persist with this concept? Surely it's not necessary to repeat this routine with every FC game they bring out. It detracts from the open-world experience and it's getting old.

@ Art, I don't know whether cheats will w@&k or not. I don't see why they wouldn't, but I don't know because I haven't tried. Some of you may be surprised to know that I have never used any cheats (or mods) in any of the Far Cry games. Not because I'm any kind of gaming purist or because I frown on cheat codes, far from it. If it's a single player game, then as far as I'm concerned, whatever makes the player happy is AOK. Cheating in a MP game is another kettle of fish entirely... Then it really is cheating in the truest negative sense of the word, and those who do so deserve to get dragged outside and given a damned good thrashing. I just never bothered with cheats or mods in the FC games, I don't know why. I cheated in a couple of the Tomb Raider games because some of the sections were so ridiculously difficult to get through and I got sick of dying and doing the same bit over and over (the later TRs use checkpoint saving - that's why I cheated in them).

I had a hard day at w@&k today and I don't need any more exasperation, so I'll be cuddling up with a nice relaxing Civ session tonight

[PZ]

I agree PZ. Games like FC4 could be so much more if the devs would just embolden themselves a little and risk the bottom line by trying to appeal to a larger range of play styles...

[dripping sarcasm] I actually likely wrote without thinking it through entirely.  [/dripping sarcasm]  8-X

The developers are caught between a rock and a hard spot so to speak, because they risk irritating the minority (us oldsters) or the dim-witted gamers (majority) who would cry foul to the Gods if they had too many choices in the menus.  That type of gamer needs to be led by the nose down their gaming pleasure, and any side deviation is yet another reason to complain in complete ignorant bliss about something they know nothing about.

[fragger]

 :-D ;) :-X

[PZ]

My JRD inspired signature becomes more true with each passing day

[fragger]

Didn't notice that, so very true...

[nexor]

Guess who popped in for a visit........ ::)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK-ZXA7eqQI&feature=youtu.be

[nexor]

One thing though, I haven't come across any invisible walls yet, don't know about you fragger?

[Dweller_Benthos]

Once I get into playing it more, I bet I will find some invisible walls, and some map holes, I'm pretty good at that.

[nexor]

That's for sure   :-D

[Art Blade]

I'll think about getting FC4 if cheats are still working. Fragger doesn't cheat but I know D_B may want to try.. not sure about nexor..

Can you guys confirm that they w@&k?

[nexor]

Nope, haven't got any cheats for it, yet..... :-D