DarkStar
Tank
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- Jul 11, 2003
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I posted this on the Ubisoft forums and I'd thought I'd share it with you guys too. Well, what can I say? Far Cry just flat out ROCKS. Totally amazing. It is essentially everything I someday expected a FPS game would eventually evolve into, only not so soon. It combines all the best parts of my favorite games into a neat, tidy package. Far Cry is truly a "next-gen" type of game (I hate that term, but it really does apply here.) It is about time the FPS genre came out of the corridors and into the wider world. I predict this game will be the breakout, half-unexpected supersuccess that Half-life was in 1998. Boys and girls - this is it. Get ready for the next big thing.
Below I will tell you guys what I think rocked about the demo and offer a little constructive criticism as well. Note that "THE BAD" category isn't so much things that are bad but really things the devs could add to really improve upon an already excellent First-Person Shooter. Anyway, here goes...
THE GOOD
-------------
1. Performance - 1024x768 Runs great with all video settings at VERY HIGH on my admittedly mediocre rig - (Although I do have an Nvidia Card, and getting 30 frames per second isn't the end of the world in my book)
2. Amazingly smart A.I. - (At one point I shot a guy off a dock early on in the level and continued on thinking he was dead, a little later I'm on the beach and suddenly get capped from behind. The guy had swum ashore and snuck up behind me. The dudes will flank, distract you, actually call in reinforcements from elsewhere on the island that arrive by boat, use cover, retreat, everything. Best A.I. I've seen since Halo.)
3. Sexy Graphics - (Real-Time shadows and lighting, huge, I mean HUGE outdoor enviroments, minutely detailed characters, hi-res textures, bump-mapped everything, all kinds of different shaders, amazing water effects, seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor sections, etc...)
4. Best physics system I've seen in a game to date - (You get the feeling that objects and ragdolls really have "weight" and are not just made out of styrofoam. In Max Payne and Deus Ex 2 the physics feel far too "floaty" for example. This is one thing I am worried about with HL2.)
5. Nonlinear Gameplay - (You can choose many paths up to the top of the island and they are all extremely cool and interconnected, top-notch level design. How you play is up to you, going stealthy all the way or running and gunning. Stealth is integrated much better than in most FPS games, basically the enemies won't spot you if you're hidden behind a bush. If you can't se them, basically they can't see you. All fun, all polished, there is no one "correct" way to play it.)
6. Innovative Ideas - (Such as the binoculars being actually useful by "tagging" targets so you can see them on your radar, or having a flash grenade not only make the screen white for a second but also leaving an imprinted image of the moment on your vision that slowly fades away over time.)
7. Awesome weapons - (Sniping some fool from a kilometer away has to be experienced to be appreciated. Alternate fire modes, mounted weapons, etc...)
8. Cool Vehicles - (The boats and jeep handle exactly how they should.)
9. Small Touches - (Like seeing the actual enviroment through scopes on weapons, or bodies floating in the water as blood leaks out in a cloud around them. The way the binoculars also funcion as a microphone and some of the conversations they have are really funny, very NOLF-like. Also, try shooting the chain that the shark is hanging by at the very beggining!
10. Locational Damage - (ala Soldier of Fortune, where you can see exactly where you shot dudes by injury decals on the bodies. Not over-the-top like SOF though. There's even different sized decals depending on the gun you are using!)
11. Sound - (Nice music and ambiant sounds. All the guns sound like they should. The voice acting so far seems totally professional. The sound the mortar makes is especially cool.)
THE BAD
-----------
1. While the Crytek engine does indeed have geomod type capabilites (ala Red Faction), I could only find a few areas where I could actually change the shape of the terrain with grenades. This is a cool feature that I believe sets Far Cry out from the crowd and should be implemented more often if possible.
2. Glitchy A.I. at times - (Not often)
3. Grenades that sort of shoot out of your penis or something instead of actually being "thrown" like in Halo.
4. No allies to fight with - (At least in the demo)
5. No third person view for vehicles - (Makes driving a bit harder without it.)
6. Bodies that dissapear after a while - (Although this may be a technical limitation because of the MASSIVE map size.)
7. No way to interact with objects - (How cool would it be to pick up a barrel, throw it down a hill knocking a bunch of guys over? Or picking up a manhole cover and using it as a primitive, makeshift shield? What's the point of such a robust physics system if their is no way to use object others other than pushing them around with your stomach? Some way to interact with the physics would be nice, ala the gravity gun in HL2.)
8. No visible footsteps - (Those footsteps in the blood under the shark were so cool! Why not do that in other places? Like when you walk through a puddle of mercenary blood or when you walk on wet sand?
9. No melee attack with guns - (Again, ala Halo. This is so useful for when a clip runs out or you just want to knock out a dude with the butt of your gun. Could also have very interesting stealth applications as well.)
THE UGLY
------------
1. A few textures - (The old japanese artillery cannons for instance.)
2. For some reason the coconuts in the palm trees don't sway with the tree, but rather remain fixed in midair - (Maybe I'm the only one with this problem.) It would also be quite comical to be able to shoot these out of trees and crush the skulls of unsuspecting mercenaries.
4. The Explosions - (Not bad, but could probably use a little more work. Maybe add in more flying debris particle effects.)
5. Blood Effects - (Try using the knife on a dead body and tell me the red lines coming out actually look like blood. It looks awful. The pooling blood under the dead bodies isn't as bad, but it looks a bit cartoonish and could maybe stand a redo. Also, this game would really benefit by having "blood splatter" decals for walls. The blood splatter decals from the first Half-Life have still not been topped in my opinion.)
Bottom line - You know you have a success on your hands when mods are being released almost daily for a DEMO. If the devs on this one take their time and iron out few kinks, this one really has a chance to give HL2 a run for its money. I mean a SERIOUS run for its money. From now on HL2 is playing catch up in my book. Keep up the great work UbiSoft!
Below I will tell you guys what I think rocked about the demo and offer a little constructive criticism as well. Note that "THE BAD" category isn't so much things that are bad but really things the devs could add to really improve upon an already excellent First-Person Shooter. Anyway, here goes...
THE GOOD
-------------
1. Performance - 1024x768 Runs great with all video settings at VERY HIGH on my admittedly mediocre rig - (Although I do have an Nvidia Card, and getting 30 frames per second isn't the end of the world in my book)
2. Amazingly smart A.I. - (At one point I shot a guy off a dock early on in the level and continued on thinking he was dead, a little later I'm on the beach and suddenly get capped from behind. The guy had swum ashore and snuck up behind me. The dudes will flank, distract you, actually call in reinforcements from elsewhere on the island that arrive by boat, use cover, retreat, everything. Best A.I. I've seen since Halo.)
3. Sexy Graphics - (Real-Time shadows and lighting, huge, I mean HUGE outdoor enviroments, minutely detailed characters, hi-res textures, bump-mapped everything, all kinds of different shaders, amazing water effects, seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor sections, etc...)
4. Best physics system I've seen in a game to date - (You get the feeling that objects and ragdolls really have "weight" and are not just made out of styrofoam. In Max Payne and Deus Ex 2 the physics feel far too "floaty" for example. This is one thing I am worried about with HL2.)
5. Nonlinear Gameplay - (You can choose many paths up to the top of the island and they are all extremely cool and interconnected, top-notch level design. How you play is up to you, going stealthy all the way or running and gunning. Stealth is integrated much better than in most FPS games, basically the enemies won't spot you if you're hidden behind a bush. If you can't se them, basically they can't see you. All fun, all polished, there is no one "correct" way to play it.)
6. Innovative Ideas - (Such as the binoculars being actually useful by "tagging" targets so you can see them on your radar, or having a flash grenade not only make the screen white for a second but also leaving an imprinted image of the moment on your vision that slowly fades away over time.)
7. Awesome weapons - (Sniping some fool from a kilometer away has to be experienced to be appreciated. Alternate fire modes, mounted weapons, etc...)
8. Cool Vehicles - (The boats and jeep handle exactly how they should.)
9. Small Touches - (Like seeing the actual enviroment through scopes on weapons, or bodies floating in the water as blood leaks out in a cloud around them. The way the binoculars also funcion as a microphone and some of the conversations they have are really funny, very NOLF-like. Also, try shooting the chain that the shark is hanging by at the very beggining!
10. Locational Damage - (ala Soldier of Fortune, where you can see exactly where you shot dudes by injury decals on the bodies. Not over-the-top like SOF though. There's even different sized decals depending on the gun you are using!)
11. Sound - (Nice music and ambiant sounds. All the guns sound like they should. The voice acting so far seems totally professional. The sound the mortar makes is especially cool.)
THE BAD
-----------
1. While the Crytek engine does indeed have geomod type capabilites (ala Red Faction), I could only find a few areas where I could actually change the shape of the terrain with grenades. This is a cool feature that I believe sets Far Cry out from the crowd and should be implemented more often if possible.
2. Glitchy A.I. at times - (Not often)
3. Grenades that sort of shoot out of your penis or something instead of actually being "thrown" like in Halo.
4. No allies to fight with - (At least in the demo)
5. No third person view for vehicles - (Makes driving a bit harder without it.)
6. Bodies that dissapear after a while - (Although this may be a technical limitation because of the MASSIVE map size.)
7. No way to interact with objects - (How cool would it be to pick up a barrel, throw it down a hill knocking a bunch of guys over? Or picking up a manhole cover and using it as a primitive, makeshift shield? What's the point of such a robust physics system if their is no way to use object others other than pushing them around with your stomach? Some way to interact with the physics would be nice, ala the gravity gun in HL2.)
8. No visible footsteps - (Those footsteps in the blood under the shark were so cool! Why not do that in other places? Like when you walk through a puddle of mercenary blood or when you walk on wet sand?
9. No melee attack with guns - (Again, ala Halo. This is so useful for when a clip runs out or you just want to knock out a dude with the butt of your gun. Could also have very interesting stealth applications as well.)
THE UGLY
------------
1. A few textures - (The old japanese artillery cannons for instance.)
2. For some reason the coconuts in the palm trees don't sway with the tree, but rather remain fixed in midair - (Maybe I'm the only one with this problem.) It would also be quite comical to be able to shoot these out of trees and crush the skulls of unsuspecting mercenaries.
4. The Explosions - (Not bad, but could probably use a little more work. Maybe add in more flying debris particle effects.)
5. Blood Effects - (Try using the knife on a dead body and tell me the red lines coming out actually look like blood. It looks awful. The pooling blood under the dead bodies isn't as bad, but it looks a bit cartoonish and could maybe stand a redo. Also, this game would really benefit by having "blood splatter" decals for walls. The blood splatter decals from the first Half-Life have still not been topped in my opinion.)
Bottom line - You know you have a success on your hands when mods are being released almost daily for a DEMO. If the devs on this one take their time and iron out few kinks, this one really has a chance to give HL2 a run for its money. I mean a SERIOUS run for its money. From now on HL2 is playing catch up in my book. Keep up the great work UbiSoft!
