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Far Cry 2

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Far Cry 2
Developer(s)Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Designer(s)Clint Hocking
Composer(s)Marc Canham[4]
SeriesFar Cry
EngineDunia
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Action, First-person shooter, Sandbox
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Far Cry 2 is a 2008 first-person shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. Although featuring new characters and storylines, Ubisoft has marketed Far Cry 2 as the true sequel to the original Far Cry. Crytek, developers of the original game, are not involved in the development of Far Cry 2. It was announced on January 3, 2008, that in addition to Microsoft Windows, Far Cry 2 will also be available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,[6] and will ship simultaneously with the Windows version on October 21, 2008 in North America[1] and October 24, 2008 in Europe[1] and Australia[3].

Gameplay

Gameplay will revolve around the player character's quest for the notorious Jackal, a war supporting weapons dealer, through a fictional region of Africa and will be entirely open-ended, with the player being able to ally with anyone he/she chooses. The player's choices are completely unfettered, giving a sandbox style of gameplay and allowing the story to progress at the speed the player chooses.[7][disputed – discuss] Instead of using individual maps, the game will take place in a sprawling African landscape, with terrain ranging from savannah to jungle.[8] The gameplay area will be 50 km2 (20 sq miles). Some members of the Ubisoft Montreal team spent two weeks in several locations in Africa filming and photographing native wildlife. The team will use the animal footage and environment photos to create an extremely realistic environment.[disputed – discuss]

The player's actions may also have a lasting effect on the environment: for example, one of the missions shown so far by the developers had the player sabotage a pipeline owned by one of the factions that's pumping fresh water from a lake to a neighboring country, exchanging it for arms and munition. After the player destroys it, part of the surrounding area becomes flooded, including a mine where another mission may take place.[9]

Various factions and vehicles will be featured; enemies will include human mercenaries, but sci-fi creatures such as the mutants from Far Cry will not be featured.[10] Furthermore, the player's feral abilities introduced in Far Cry Instincts and its expansions will not be returning in Far Cry 2. A dynamic weather system has been added that has a day night cycle and different weather conditions such as storms and strong winds. The time of day also affects the AI by making them more alert and aggressive or more relaxed and banal. One minute real-time is equivalent to five minutes in-game.

A pre-alpha video of the game, showcasing visuals and 13 minutes of gameplay with developer commentary, was made available online in spring 2008. The video showcases many dynamic gameplay features which included procedural breakage of vegetation, allowing players to shoot down trees and shoot branches and leaves off of trees, which can eventually re-grow. The developers also showcased dynamic propagation of fire, and volumetric wind effects capable of breaking vegetation and spreading fire. Man-made structures were also shown to be highly destructible.

The game will be much more realistic with features such as the player having to use a map and navigation system to get around, and more life or death related features such as having to use tools to dig bullets out of the body and pat themselves down when on fire. Weapons will wear-down over time, adding a grimier look to them, and causing them to jam and eventually just explode in your hand. Several species of African wildlife can be encountered in the game, and will be able to distract the enemy as well as make them aware of your presence.[11] All the large animals in the game will be grazing herbivores only, such as zebras, wildebeest, gazelle, buffalo, impala, gemsbok, and the like. The reasoning was thus stated by one of the developers: "The problem was, if we wanted to put predators into that ecosystem we would have to balance it to make sure the lions didn't eat all the gazelles and then all starve to death."[11]

File:Fc2 rl.jpg
Far Cry 2's African-themed setting and visuals.

The game's producer, Louis-Pierre Pharand, says that the single-player game will "potentially have close to 50 hours of game play."[12][13] It has now been stated and claimed by Ubisoft that the game will have 100+ hours of gameplay.[citation needed]

During a demo at the DreamHack Summer 2008 event, Ubisoft developers also showcased some new game play mechanics, such as weapon jamming, vehicle damage, propagating fire, destructible environments, adaptive enemy artificial intelligence, as well as day and night cycles, and dynamic weather.

The player will also be able to tag certain objects and locations such as cars, sniper towers, ammo pickups and buildings, so that they will be able to monitor them on their map. The player will also have to deal with malaria. Every 30 to 40 minutes real time, the player will have to take a pill in order to combat the effects of the illness. When the player runs out of Medicine, he or she will have to do a simple mission in order to get more. The player's reputation comes into play as the more and more notorious the player becomes, the harder it will become to obtain the medication.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer in Far Cry 2 attempts to include the dynamic elements of the singleplayer game (such as fire propagation) and to provide as accessible gameplay as possible so that it is available to all skill levels and so that players have specific gameplay aspects to keep in mind when designing their own maps in the map editor.[14] It will also include a vast amount of vehicles[15]

There can be up to twenty players per map, and the game will ship with fourteen developer-designed maps ranging from the slightly undersized to the modestly corpulent.[16]

Modes

Four modes have been confirmed to be shipping with the game:

  • Deathmatch
  • Team Deathmatch
  • Capture the Diamond - a slight variation of the standard Capture the Flag
  • Uprising - Each team has a captain who must capture points across the map, with the assistance of his teammates. Once all points have been captured, the opposing captain must be assassinated to win the round.

Classes

Multiplayer gameplay is class based. Each class can choose an appropriate primary weapon and a side arm, as well as carry explosives such as frag grenades or Molotov cocktails. Players are able to unlock more powerful weapons within each class by spending up to three "blood diamonds" on a class; diamonds are earned through experience points gained by killing other players and completing objectives. Potential upgrades for individual weapons within a class include operation manuals, maintenance manuals, and bandoliers.

There are six classes:

  • Commando - "Mid-range assault class. Effective at fire-and-movement tactics."
  • Sharpshooter - "Long-range specialist. Armed with highly accurate weapons."
  • Guerrilla - "Short-range class. Specializes in close combat and ambush tactics."
  • Rebel - "Specialist in explosives and fire. Strong on offense or defense."
  • Gunner - "Heavy firepower specialist. Highly effective from static firing positions."
  • Saboteur - "Equipped with silenced weapons. Specializes in stealth tactics."

Setting and plot

File:Far Cry 2.jpg
One of the possible player characters.

Far Cry 2 abandons the science fiction aspects of its predecessor in favor of a more realistic setting. The game will take place in the small, fictional, failed Central African state, currently embroiled in a civil war.

The protagonist of previous Far Cry games, Jack Carver, will not be featured in this game. When Ubisoft interviewed players about the original Far Cry in their research for this game, the interviewees didn't find the character very memorable or likeable. As a result, in the sequel the player will be able to choose from nine different characters to play, each with a unique look and back story.[17] All of the playable characters will be different types of mercenaries. The playable characters the player does not choose to play will become non-player characters who are friends of the player's character and who can be found around the in-game nation.[8]

According to the game's plot, the nation's government has recently collapsed, leaving two major factions vying for control. At war are the United Front for Liberation and Labor (UFLL, led by Addi Mbantuwe, a former opposition leader) and the Alliance for Popular Resistance (APR, led by Oliver Tambossa, Chief of Staff for the former government). Both factions have claimed that they have the people's interests at heart, but both have shown signs of ruthlessness, warmongering, greed, and a general disregard for the well-being of the people. Both sides have hired many foreign mercenaries to bolster their strength over the course of the conflict.

Within the game world, it has recently been revealed that the nation's diamond mines have been exhausted, throwing the nation, its people, and the conflict into further turmoil, and possibly leaving the many foreign mercenaries without pay and without a way out, in a country in whose fate they have no real interest.

The goal of the player's character will be to find and assassinate "The Jackal," an arms dealer that has been selling weapons to both sides of the conflict. The player must accomplish this goal by whatever means necessary, perhaps even through actions which are dangerously close to the level of immorality employed by the warring factions and the Jackal himself.

Development

System Requirements[18]
Minimum Recommended
Microsoft Windows
Operating system Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
CPU Pentium 4 3.2 GHz, Pentium D 2.66 Ghz, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ or betterIntel Core 2 Duo Family, AMD 64 X2 5200+, AMD Phenom or better
Memory 1 GB2 GB
Free space 12 GB of free space
Graphics hardware NVidia 6800 or ATI X1650 or better; must support Pixel Shader 3.0NVidia 8600 GTS or better, ATI X1900 or better

History

The unveiling of Far Cry 2 took place on July 19, 2007 in Paris, France,[19] by head company Ubisoft. Ubisoft stated that the game had been in development by the Ubisoft Montreal team, and would be released on October 24, 2008.

Research

In July 2007, Ubisoft sent a team of the game's developers to Africa to carry out research for the game. They reportedly spent two weeks traveling around Kenya and camping out on the savannah. The game's producer, Louis-Pierre Pharand said that following the trip they realized they had gotten the design of the game "so wrong" and made several changes to "make the game feel like you were really there".[20]

Map editor

Far Cry 2's map editor has been designed specifically for ease of use. It will include features more advanced then most other map editors, such as easily raising/lowering terrain and applying textures, but is much easier to use than most similar programs. A video was shown showcasing the editor, including an Eiffel Tower made completely from in-game pieces.[21][22]

The map editor will feature thousands of objects found in the single player game including vehicles, buildings, bridges and more. However, weapons cannot be placed on maps to support the game's class-based gameplay. The objects in the player made maps, such as buildings and structures are prefabricated from the game, making the map files smaller. This means that uploading and downloading maps will be quick and easy. It was announced at the GC 2008 that there will be a memory space limit for each map.

Engine

Ubisoft has developed a new engine specifically for Far Cry 2, called Dunia, meaning "world" or "earth" in Arabic but also used in many languages including Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali, Swahili, Assyrian, Indonesian and Malay.[23]

The engine will take advantage of multi-core processors as well as multiple processors and support DirectX 9 as well as DirectX 10.[24] Only 2 or 3 percent of the original CryEngine code is being re-used, according to Michiel Verheijdt, Senior Product Manager for Ubisoft Netherlands. Additionally, this engine will be less hardware-demanding than CryEngine 2, the engine used in Crysis.[25]

Far Cry 2 will also support the amBX technology from Philips. With the proper hardware, this adds effects like vibrations, ambient colored lights, and fans that generate wind effects.

Marketing and release

Ubidays 2008

During Ubisoft's Ubidays, held in Paris, France on May 28 - 29, 2008, Ubisoft revealed brand new video footage for Far Cry 2.[26] Along with the new footage, Ubisoft displayed in-game screenshots showing off the visuals rendered by Ubisoft's Dunia Engine (see engine). A video of Ubisoft Montreal's developers talking about the upcoming game's features can be seen on G4TV's website.[27]

Collectors' Edition

To celebrate the release of Far Cry 2, Ubisoft also unveiled the Far Cry 2 Collectors’ Edition, available in certain territories outside the US, that will include:[28][1]

  • Exclusive wooden box
  • Original Far Cry 2 Game
  • Limited edition Far Cry 2 t-shirt
  • “The Art of Far Cry 2” Art book
  • Collector 50km² map
  • Making-of DVD, including video from the development team's trip to Africa


The United States receives a separate Limited Edition package, available exclusively for those who pre-order it at GameStop. Dubbed the GameStop Exclusive Pre-Order Edition, the package sells at the same price point as the regular SKU, and includes the following:[29]

  • 6 Bonus Missions with about 3 extra hours of gameplay
  • A fold out map of the open world of Far Cry 2
  • Exclusive game packaging

Reception

Far Cry 2 has so far received mainly positive reviews from game critics, receiving the coveted Editor's Choice award from PC Gamer America magazine.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Thorsen, Tor (September 5, 2008). "Far Cry 2 howling October 21". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  2. ^ "Official Release Date & Map Editor Info". Ubisoft. September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  3. ^ a b Thorsen, Tor (October 24, 2008). "Ubisoft announces Far Cry 2 Release Date". XBoxWorld Australia. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  4. ^ "Far Cry 2 Soundtrack Preview by Nimrod Productions Director and Composer Marc Canham". Music 4 Games. August 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  5. ^ "Far Cry 2: 720p, but no 60 frames a second". VideoGaming247. October 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  6. ^ Robinson, Martin (January 3, 2008). "Far Cry 2 Spreads its Wings to PS3 and 360". IGN - AU. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  7. ^ Onyett, Charles (January 22, 2008). "Far Cry 2 Progress Report". IGN - AU. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  8. ^ a b Osborn, Chuck (2007). "Far Cry 2: Survival Guide to Africa". PC Gamer. 14 (10): 24. ISSN 1080-4471. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Far Cry 2 PlayStation 3 Show - E3 2008: Live Wire Demo". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  10. ^ Smith, Graham (July 31, 2007). "Far Cry 2 - first look!". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  11. ^ a b Valen, René (February 8, 2008). "QUESTIONS FROM LP'S VIDEO". Far Cry 2 official blog. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  12. ^ Jackson, Mike (May 28. 2008). "Far Cry 2 single-player "close to 50 hours"". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-09-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  13. ^ Jackson, Mike (May 28, 2008). "Far Cry 2 single-player "close to 50 hours"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2008-09-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ Miller, Jon (September 19, 2008). "Far Cry 2 Exclusive Multiplayer Hands-On -- Game Modes, Weapons, and Blood Diamonds". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  15. ^ "IGN Video: Far Cry 2 Xbox 360 Interview - Far Cry 2 Multiplayer Video Interview". Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  16. ^ Moses, Travis (September 24, 2008). "Character classes, blood diamonds, and hang gliders. Far Cry 2 multiplayer revealed!". GamePro. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  17. ^ "Far Cry 2 - All nine playable characters' full details, images included". VideoGaming247. September 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  18. ^ "FC2 PC Specs Revealed!". Ubisoft. August 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  19. ^ "Ubisoft announces Far Cry 2". Ubisoft. July 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  20. ^ Stuart, Keith (April 25, 2008). "FarCry 2 Interview". Three Speech. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  21. ^ Plunkett, Luke (August 20, 2008). "Far Cry 2 Map Editor Looks Absolutely Amazing". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  22. ^ Miller, Jon (October 14, 2008). "Far Cry 2 Map Editor Gone Wild". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  23. ^ Amancio, Alex (2008-08-14). "Introduction to the Dunia engine". Far Cry 2 official site. Ubisoft Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  24. ^ "GameTrailers.com - Far Cry 2 - Developer Diary - Engine Introduction". GameTrailers.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  25. ^ de Vries, Wilbert (2007-12-14). "Ubisoft light tip of the veil on Far Cry 2". Tweakers.net. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  26. ^ G4TV.com - The Feed http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/ May, 2008
  27. ^ G4TV - The Feed http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/685862/Far_Cry_2_Videos__Screenshots.html
  28. ^ "Ubisoft Confirms Release Date for Far Cry 2 and Announces Collectors Edition Content". IGN. September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  29. ^ "Ubisoft Confirms Far Cry 2 Ship Date and Announces Exclusive Edition". IGN. September 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  30. ^ Edwards, Tim (November 2008), "Far Cry 2", PC Gamer UK
  31. ^ GamesRadar (October 2008). "GamesRadar: Far Cry 2, Far Cry 2 Review, PC Reviews". GamesRadar UK. {{cite web}}: Text "Citation" ignored (help)
  32. ^ IGN (24st October 2008). "Far Cry 2 UK Review". IGN.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Citation" ignored (help)
  33. ^ PC PowerPlay (December 2008). "PC Powerplay #158 Synopsis". PC PowerPlay. {{cite web}}: Text "Citation" ignored (help)
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