Clearing House: Farcry 2

I have finally finished Farcry 2. That isn’t anything special, but it was one of a large pile of uncompleted games sitting on my shelf looking guiltily at me. Seemed as good a choice as any to make a start on.

I bought it last year second-hand along with Condemned 2. Condemned 2 I finished in about three evenings (after dark, naturally). Farcry, I’ve been playing on and off since then. Rather ironic that a game costing under £8 has given me such a good replay value. Mind you, that was because I got so bored that I couldn’t stand playing for more than an hour at a time.

Don’t get me wrong, the setting and story are very compelling, and were principally what kept me coming back time after time. My Bayonetta defence opined that games need to address controversial themes, and I can’t think of a more apt example than war crimes, whatever the bleeding-hearts might think about it. 

The problem with Farcry 2 is that half your time is spent slogging from one end of the map to the other, all the while being assaulted at every checkpoint by guards, or getting run over by jeeps and cars. Missions frequently divert you all the way across the map, and save points are so infrequent that you’re often forced to start any given slog all over again if you die. All the missions are essentially identical to one another; go here and kill him / destroy that, or go and be a good Samaritan in return for malaria pills (disease being the only thing Crytek could think of as a motivation for doing the right thing). Oh, and the map was a pain in the arse too; filling half your screen and unequipping your weapons. I was holding out for a decent endgame, and I guess it met my expectation. All things considered though, I’m glad to be done with it.

Nice knowing you Farcry 2!