Sequels can be such a messy business.
Crytek, the studio that brought us the original Far Cry and the more recent Crysis, isn’t developing Far Cry 2. The game won’t be built on CryEngine 2 (the engine behind Crysis) but on Dunia, a custom-built engine that re-uses only 2-3% of the original CryEngine code. Lush island forest landscapes have been exchanged for 50km² of African savannah. The story is quite different from the original and Jack Carver won’t even be reappearing as the protagonist.
So what about the game makes it Far Cry 2? Using the original CryEngine, Far Cry showed us that games could have great graphics and be set in a large open-ended environment that can be explored non-linearly without pausing to load. Far Cry 2′s game mechanic centres around this concept and it promises to push the envelope of open-ended first-person shooters.
Fairly little is known about the characters or story. Apparently our hero is the “strong, silent type” and seeking to rid the world of a filthy literary critic slash warlord. You find yourself in a fictitious African country, bed-ridden with malaria and this man has the gall to enter your hotel room uninvited, read your memoirs, and mock them. He also happens to supply both sides of a faction war with weapons.
Malaria is one of the biggest killers on our continent so what better choice of handicap mechanic for a game set in Africa? Peter Redding, narrative designer of Far Cry 2, revealed at the Game Designer’s Conference earlier this year that the disease is also used to force the player to interact with the non-threatening characters. The friendlier NPCs have access to medicine without which you will die.
The depth of the interaction with NPCs promises to give more scope to the open environment than just being able to wander wherever you want. Your path to the kingpin is not pre-determined by a set story but guided by an intricate progression mechanic. To get to him you must advance through the ranks inside the factions. This you earn with your reputation.
Your reputation is based on how you do a mission and who you do it with. Walking the fine line of fame and notoriety within the factions gives you access to different missions, each of which can be approached in a variety of ways.
Ubisoft Montreal have gone to great lengths to immerse the player in the game world. They use new ways of graphically depicting game mechanics as Far Cry 2 will forego a classic heads-up display. Mission briefings, healing and even viewing the map are seen from the first-person perspective.
Far Cry 2 promises much, the hype machine stands poised and the fans have high hopes. It’s a little sad that the studio that was responsible for the original Far Cry has had no hand in it’s sequel but (dare I say it) given how Crysis turned out… maybe that’s a good thing.
