http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/ A games writer in the UK who also sometimes tries to make things. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:40:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-228416 Post 500, by Tom Francis Sat, 28 May 2011 19:35:41 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-228416 [...] Far Cry 2: Impersonation Of A Buddy Thanks to a celebrity cameo in the comments – cheers, [...] http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-225269 Jason L Sat, 09 Apr 2011 04:25:17 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-225269 http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2001/20011231l.gif http://www.penny-arc... ...11231l.gif]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-201881 Fatalism in Leboa-Sako and Bowa-Seko | Five Players Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:06:54 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-201881 [...] Cry 2′s launch was very nicely covered and illustrated by PC Gamer’s Tom Francis in a trilogy of posts to which Clint Hocking himself responded with some explanations for the more radical [...] http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-135837 Coint & Plick 2008 #17: Far Cry 2 « The ILG Coint & Plick Awards Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:16:08 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-135837 [...] Developer-Reviewer discussion [...] http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-127877 Far Cry 2: A Far Cry From What It Could Have Been « Thee Brouhaha Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:49:22 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-127877 [...] Clint Hocking, falls in the same trap. Some of the problems have already been discussed over at Penadact’s blog which Clint Hocking actually visited and discussed for awhile, which is a major plus in my book. I [...] http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-53207 MartinJ Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:26:02 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-53207 Well, I finished the game 2 minutes ago. I have to say that I completely understood the ending and didn't find it bad at all, one thing was disappointing - I didn't get to do the final thing. SPOILERS SPOILERSSPOILER SSPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: When you're supposed to kill yourself with a bullet, I say the game should give you an anim of the protagonist taking the gun out of his briefcase and putting it in their mouth or to the side of their head. Then, YOU have to press the button which pulls the trigger. Would feel much more .. sad that way. When the photos of fleeing people appeared, I had no idea what was going on, and was expecting to see my guy die, but you can't see that. Totally ruined the moment for me. When you're supposed to kill yourself with a bullet, I say the game should give you an anim of the protagonist taking the gun out of his briefcase and putting it in their mouth or to the side of their head. Then, YOU have to press the button which pulls the trigger. Would feel much more .. sad that way. When the photos of fleeing people appeared, I had no idea what was going on, and was expecting to see my guy die, but you can't see that. Totally ruined the moment for me.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-52548 Bret Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:13:33 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-52548 Ah, it was those blasted invisible machete wielding shotgun robots. Diabolical.
Diabolical.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-52255 Redhawk Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:37:49 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-52255 So you ran into Michelle too, huh? I'd heard about her reputation, but when I ran into her in Fictionesia, saving her life for a UFLL lieutenant that I quietly nicknamed Lenin, I figured she'd be grateful for being rescued from some thugs that were probably getting a little gropey. So I thought that she wouldn't try to screw me over. So Lieutenant Lenin tells me I need to go fuck some Special Forces guys. He pays me in advance, informing me that Lenin is not terribly intelligent, but I opt to do the job anyway. Michelle somehow hears about it and tells me that the SF guys have a Belgian informant in a nearby villa. She has a gig with some APR guys and if the Belgian redirects them to Mostaba, she can get the guys to ambush them and I get my job done way easier. Awesome, I think. The infamous Michelle is now falling all over herself to help me. And she is living in my safe house. If only girls back in the States were this easy. So I fight through the Belgian's private army, get him to redirect the SF team, and put a bullet through his skull. Michelle calls me up to let me know that she and her boys are on the way. I actually get to enjoy the river breeze in Fictionesia for once, thinking this job is pretty much done. Then I get to Mostaba and see what a little clusterfuck shantytown it is. No problem, I think. I'll just give Michelle a ring and see if she's ready to go. No answer. Hrm. Whatever. The ambush must be on its way. I'm a sneaky motherfucker, so I'll just pick off some of the perimeter guards. It would be silly to detail what happened next, so let me just say that, through a hilarious combination of circumstances, a significant amount of Mostaba was set on fire and I was lacking a lot of grenades and ammunition at the end of it. I'm not certain if the several dozen strong garrison was APR or UFLL; no one seems to wear a uniform in this fucking country which I'm sure makes massed firefights fun. But I am certain that Michelle's promised ambush never came. As I hustled out of the flaming wreck formerly known as Mostaba, Michelle called me. Seems the very APR goons that she had said were coming to help me had had a disagreement with her and she was pinned down nearby. Could I help? Oh sure, Michelle. I'll come help. You're my bestest buddy. Michelle was pinned down by a laughable three spastic mercenaries which I finished off in about thirty seconds. I found her huddled in a corner, clutching an AK to her chest. She smiled weakly when she saw me and muttered something about these fucking guys. I chuckled and she turned her back. Michelle's corpse would later be found with her knees blasted off by a shotgun and her spine severed by a machete. That I happened to be carrying both shotgun and machete at the time is entirely coincidental, I swear.
So Lieutenant Lenin tells me I need to go fuck some Special Forces guys. He pays me in advance, informing me that Lenin is not terribly intelligent, but I opt to do the job anyway. Michelle somehow hears about it and tells me that the SF guys have a Belgian informant in a nearby villa. She has a gig with some APR guys and if the Belgian redirects them to Mostaba, she can get the guys to ambush them and I get my job done way easier.

Awesome, I think. The infamous Michelle is now falling all over herself to help me. And she is living in my safe house. If only girls back in the States were this easy.

So I fight through the Belgian's private army, get him to redirect the SF team, and put a bullet through his skull. Michelle calls me up to let me know that she and her boys are on the way. I actually get to enjoy the river breeze in Fictionesia for once, thinking this job is pretty much done.

Then I get to Mostaba and see what a little clusterfuck shantytown it is. No problem, I think. I'll just give Michelle a ring and see if she's ready to go. No answer. Hrm. Whatever. The ambush must be on its way. I'm a sneaky motherfucker, so I'll just pick off some of the perimeter guards.

It would be silly to detail what happened next, so let me just say that, through a hilarious combination of circumstances, a significant amount of Mostaba was set on fire and I was lacking a lot of grenades and ammunition at the end of it. I'm not certain if the several dozen strong garrison was APR or UFLL; no one seems to wear a uniform in this fucking country which I'm sure makes massed firefights fun. But I am certain that Michelle's promised ambush never came.

As I hustled out of the flaming wreck formerly known as Mostaba, Michelle called me. Seems the very APR goons that she had said were coming to help me had had a disagreement with her and she was pinned down nearby. Could I help? Oh sure, Michelle. I'll come help. You're my bestest buddy.

Michelle was pinned down by a laughable three spastic mercenaries which I finished off in about thirty seconds. I found her huddled in a corner, clutching an AK to her chest. She smiled weakly when she saw me and muttered something about these fucking guys. I chuckled and she turned her back.

Michelle's corpse would later be found with her knees blasted off by a shotgun and her spine severed by a machete. That I happened to be carrying both shotgun and machete at the time is entirely coincidental, I swear.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-50604 Greg Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:41:52 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-50604 plus i freaking loved this game. sure it was a little repetitive, but I've been to africa, and it reminded me so much of being there(with the exception of being shot at by everyone, haha) which is probly why i enjoyed it so much. http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-50603 Greg Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:40:00 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-50603 for all of you asking why everything you are asked to do in the game is bad, watch the film blood diamond. TIA! http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-45867 Far Cry 2: What I’d Like, by Pentadact, who is secretly Tom Francis Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:46:02 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-45867 [...] Comments    Anthony: I quite enjoyed the game and sure, it didn't...On Far Cry 2: Impersonation Of A Buddy Pod: The full CC comes with a proper shark's mouth...On Field [...] http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-45866 Far Cry 2: What I Do Like, by Pentadact, who is secretly Tom Francis Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:45:41 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-45866 [...] promise. For those who don’t follow the comments, something pretty remarkable happened in the Impersonation Of A Buddy post. The guy who actually made Far Cry 2, Clint Hocking, showed up to explain how some of this [...] http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38638 Anthony Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:17:22 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38638 I quite enjoyed the game and sure, it didn't meet my expectations, but seeing as I've been looking forward to it all year how could I not enjoy it? The game had it's flaws, but I still loved it. I was upset to see my friend Paul die after injecting three morphines into him on a rainy night leaving me left alone. What I was confused about was how did this match the theme The Heart of Darkness? [SPOILER] The goal was for the main character to kill The Jackal. He turned this country upside down putting his life on the line for the months, but when he gets the oppurtinity to kill The Jackal, instead of putting two bullets in the heart and one in the end, he kills himself because The Jackal told him to. WTF? When Clint returns, I would like to discuss this game, though it has flaws, I still love it. I'm trying to get all buddies, diamonds, safe houses etc.
The game had it's flaws, but I still loved it. I was upset to see my friend Paul die after injecting three morphines into him on a rainy night leaving me left alone.

What I was confused about was how did this match the theme The Heart of Darkness?

[SPOILER]
The goal was for the main character to kill The Jackal. He turned this country upside down putting his life on the line for the months, but when he gets the oppurtinity to kill The Jackal, instead of putting two bullets in the heart and one in the end, he kills himself because The Jackal told him to.
WTF?

When Clint returns, I would like to discuss this game, though it has flaws, I still love it. I'm trying to get all buddies, diamonds, safe houses etc.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38637 Anthony Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:10:51 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38637 Where's Clint? I would like him to come back on to discuss the game.
I would like him to come back on to discuss the game.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38560 Chinese_boxer Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:25:53 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38560 This is our new website, the last one got to expensive after 6yrs. Any way Our clan started on Ubi games on the ps2( junglestorm, ghost recon, GR2...ect, in fact Ubi games were probably one of the only companies that were international. We are an international clan and play only international games. I have a few questions that no one will answer on the far cry 2 forum. 1.)Why do you region lock the game after it was region free?? I am going to have to go play that socom crap now! 2.) Please put in a patch to atleast give us a choice to turn off the respawn. This should atleast be an option!! 3.) Please make it so we can keep our weapons in non-ranked rooms. I hate starting over evey time I play the game. Fix these probles please!!!!!!! Great game, one of the best I have played from ubi, but I will have to sell it, especially if you do not make it international, all 40 of us! Respawn gets boring, please give us the option, Thank you. 1.)Why do you region lock the game after it was region free?? I am going to have to go play that socom crap now!
2.) Please put in a patch to atleast give us a choice to turn off the respawn. This should atleast be an option!!
3.) Please make it so we can keep our weapons in non-ranked rooms. I hate starting over evey time I play the game.
Fix these probles please!!!!!!! Great game, one of the best I have played from ubi, but I will have to sell it, especially if you do not make it international, all 40 of us! Respawn gets boring, please give us the option, Thank you.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38301 dual_barrel Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:08:12 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38301 Adam, All I asked for is, I wanted the enemy to behave in an organized manner during a gunfight, like taking cover, trying to flank me out if they can - coordinating among themselves. I wanted the enemy to act as a whole, instead of each of them running around on their own from cover to cover without any form of coordination.
All I asked for is, I wanted the enemy to behave in an organized manner during a gunfight, like taking cover, trying to flank me out if they can - coordinating among themselves. I wanted the enemy to act as a whole, instead of each of them running around on their own from cover to cover without any form of coordination.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38298 JMareel Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:32:09 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38298 Well first and foremost let me give kudos to Tom for his insightful and hilarious blog post here, to Clint for commenting and giving us the gamers a little insight into his and the team's thinking behind the game, and the public here for keeping as it was said before... civil. Now I am going to repeat the question that UBCS asked before me... Why haven't we seen any info concerning an SDK (except for one blurb in an interview way back) and why on God's green Earth would you EVER consider not letting Far Cry 2 and the Dunia engine to be modded?! Knowing how big modding has become and is in the past years, makes the decision to keep tight-lipped about mod-ability is I believe a BIG error. Especially with the modding community in your own backyard (referring to Far Cry 1) that was anxiously awaiting this game even though its from a different production house and totally different story line. I also ask from a personal desire to mod the Far Cry 2 world and Dunia engine, as we have a team chomping at the bit for an SDK so we can create a rich experience for the game with our competitive shooting and hunting mod called Mwindaji Expeditions http://me.g2mods.net . So please can we get some insight as to why not much information into no appearance of SDK and why the modding community has been left in the dark about mod-ability? Thanks so much for this game that could have so much future possibility. Help us help you realize this potential.
Now I am going to repeat the question that UBCS asked before me... Why haven't we seen any info concerning an SDK (except for one blurb in an interview way back) and why on God's green Earth would you EVER consider not letting Far Cry 2 and the Dunia engine to be modded?!

Knowing how big modding has become and is in the past years, makes the decision to keep tight-lipped about mod-ability is I believe a BIG error. Especially with the modding community in your own backyard (referring to Far Cry 1) that was anxiously awaiting this game even though its from a different production house and totally different story line.

I also ask from a personal desire to mod the Far Cry 2 world and Dunia engine, as we have a team chomping at the bit for an SDK so we can create a rich experience for the game with our competitive shooting and hunting mod called Mwindaji Expeditions http://me.g2mods.net . So please can we get some insight as to why not much information into no appearance of SDK and why the modding community has been left in the dark about mod-ability?

Thanks so much for this game that could have so much future possibility. Help us help you realize this potential.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38293 J-Man Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:09:40 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38293 @Adam, I'd like there to be missions to hunt paticularly elusive or rare animals, with the reward being diamonds, and a head mounted on the wall of a safehouse.
I'd like there to be missions to hunt paticularly elusive or rare animals, with the reward being diamonds, and a head mounted on the wall of a safehouse.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38283 Adam Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:58:47 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38283 Oh, and while I'm yammering on... Clint. Please. DLC for more fauna. I wanna see elephants crossing the road and have to slow down my truck to let them pass, lest they go crazy. I want to be making my way toward an enemy camp, only to realize that my prey are being stalked by another predator, a pride of hungry lionesses. I want to be breezing down the river, relatively certain of my safety from enemy forces, only to have to gun the engine when I venture too far into a hippo's territory. Those guys are the worst! I want to wrestle a giraffe. (Or at least see one.) Race a cheetah. Plan my attack around avoiding a rhino. See a bongo. Ride a bongo. Hug a bongo. Play with a bongo!* *I will pay 800 MS points for a bongo add-on pack.
Clint.

Please.

DLC for more fauna.

I wanna see elephants crossing the road and have to slow down my truck to let them pass, lest they go crazy.

I want to be making my way toward an enemy camp, only to realize that my prey are being stalked by another predator, a pride of hungry lionesses.

I want to be breezing down the river, relatively certain of my safety from enemy forces, only to have to gun the engine when I venture too far into a hippo's territory. Those guys are the worst!

I want to wrestle a giraffe. (Or at least see one.) Race a cheetah. Plan my attack around avoiding a rhino. See a bongo. Ride a bongo. Hug a bongo. Play with a bongo!*

*I will pay 800 MS points for a bongo add-on pack.]]> http://www.pentadact.com/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy/#comment-38282 Adam Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:55:38 +0000 http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2008-10-24-far-cry-2-impersonation-of-a-buddy#comment-38282 dual_barrel: You said... The enemy in a gunfight doesn't behave tactically as in F.E.A.R or in S.T.A.L.K.E.R ...and there are a couple of issues with it. First of all, I really think you're glossing your memory of STALKER's AI a little. I don't remember it being all that smart and now that 1up FM is doing a backlog replay of STALKER at the end of their podcasts, I'm feeling that this memory of mine is pretty confirmed. I never got the impression that STALKER's enemies were working to ambush me or route me or flush me out. In fact, I'd set STALKER and FarCry 2's enemies right about the same level. Which isn't that great, since it's been some time since STALKER and they really could have improved on that since then. As far as FEAR goes, you need to remember that FEAR is set in a series of extremely linear hallways. The AI used in an environment like that simply doesn't work for the wide-open spaces of a game like FarCry 2 (or even STALKER) because the AI has a lot more choice in how it will respond to your actions. It should also be noted that FEAR is well-known for its use of clever coding tricks to present an AI that seems more intelligent and tactical than it really is. A combination of dynamic AI and scripted actions are what give FEAR its wickedly smart foes. Could that be adapted for FarCry 2? Sure, but it'd be far more limited in scope, far more prone to bug the hell out and its repetition would be a lot more noticeable.

The enemy in a gunfight doesn't behave tactically as in F.E.A.R or in S.T.A.L.K.E.R

...and there are a couple of issues with it. First of all, I really think you're glossing your memory of STALKER's AI a little. I don't remember it being all that smart and now that 1up FM is doing a backlog replay of STALKER at the end of their podcasts, I'm feeling that this memory of mine is pretty confirmed. I never got the impression that STALKER's enemies were working to ambush me or route me or flush me out. In fact, I'd set STALKER and FarCry 2's enemies right about the same level. Which isn't that great, since it's been some time since STALKER and they really could have improved on that since then.

As far as FEAR goes, you need to remember that FEAR is set in a series of extremely linear hallways. The AI used in an environment like that simply doesn't work for the wide-open spaces of a game like FarCry 2 (or even STALKER) because the AI has a lot more choice in how it will respond to your actions. It should also be noted that FEAR is well-known for its use of clever coding tricks to present an AI that seems more intelligent and tactical than it really is. A combination of dynamic AI and scripted actions are what give FEAR its wickedly smart foes. Could that be adapted for FarCry 2? Sure, but it'd be far more limited in scope, far more prone to bug the hell out and its repetition would be a lot more noticeable.]]>