TrackZero
10-02-2008, 12:25 AM
Far Cry 2 Multiplayer Hands-On Preview
Title: Far Cry 2
Platform: PS3/360/PC
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft (http://www.ubi.com)
ESRB: M (Mature 17+)
MSRP: $59.99 (360 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001ASJIRM/ref=nosim/cog-20)/PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001ASJIRC/ref=nosim/cog-20)), $49.99 (PC (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000X9FV5M/ref=nosim/cog-20))
Editor: Andrew 'TrackZero' Hodder
http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_Setting_Up.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_Setting_Up.JPG)http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_FC2_Multiplayer.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_FC2_Multiplayer.JPG)
To begin with, Far Cry 2 supports both online mutliplayer as well as LAN play. It also features a now familiar "leveling" system, where you earn levels through your play, but these translate into "diamonds" which you then spend to upgrade the various class kits. The classes as they stand are the "Commando", which is your standard soldier type class. "Gunner" brings in the heavy machine guns. "Guerilla" is the up close and personal shotgun wielder. "Sharpshooter" is the sniper of the group. Those are all fairly standard arrangements and staples in any team game where you need to fill particular roles. But there's two remaining classes (which I found the most fun), the "Rebel" with his flamethrower (I'm sure anyone playing a Pyro in TF2 will be using this one) and the "Saboteur". Now the Saboteur starts out as a fairly weak class (firing stun darts with long reload times), but it definitely begins to shine as it levels up, since their load-out starts to change. In the case of the Saboteur, you unlock the IED (Improvised Explosive Device), which is essentially the remote detonated C4 of multi-player. It's got a great blast radius, and certainly changes up tactics, especially when you're on the defense (protecting your "diamond", a capture point, or a road). The Rebel unlocks the Rocket Launcher upon upgrade, which can turn the tide of a losing battle in short time. Each class has multiple slots to "fill" with diamonds. So for example, as a Rebel you can decide to keep your flame thrower instead of upgrading it, while pushing up the rest of your kit; there's definitely room for variance.
Getting those class basics out of the way, we can turn to the multi-player modes. Four are featured, with the standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch being present (and always appreciated), followed by "Capture the Diamond" (Capture the Flag) and "Uprising" (capturing points with a twist). The first three modes play out like you'd expect and are always good times. It's "Uprising", though, that we all found ourselves craving for. Each round begins with three neutral positions on the map that the two teams must compete to capture. However, each team only has one "Captain" who is capable of doing so. This plays out as some form of VIP, where your team is trying to keep the captain protected, while at the same time moving forward to grab the next point (they can be taken back by the other team, points are earned by how long they're held). The tactics were extremely varied in this mode; sometimes with the Captain sneaking off on his own keeping a low profile trying to flank the enemy team and grab one of their existing capture points, other times with a split team (one as a distraction and his core team trying to secure another position on the map). Sometimes you'd just have everyone sticking together to overtake the enemy. Combine these tactics with various forms of vehicles on the map, burning forests, IEDs and general craziness occurring in every firefight and you'd never know how things will turn out. There's nothing quite like using a hang glider in the fog to fly over a firefight (with literal fires burning everywhere) to reach an unsecured position, flank your opponent and take his base.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_APR.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_APR.JPG)http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_UFLL.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_UFLL.JPG)
In retrospect, the immediately noticeable additions are similar to the single player. It's all about weather and time of day effects added on to good solid multiplayer modes. As well as using fire as a improvised break wall to ward the other players away from objective points. However, the real key here is that the map editor will play a major role in the longevity of this title. For console players, it'll be their first true taste of user-created maps making it into a mainstream FPS. The entire process is very streamlined to easily create maps and share with your friends. That's what will set this apart from the pack and is the thing you should be definitely looking forward to. Expect to see some wild level designs out there.
The multi-player, combined with the single player and the pure fun of just designing your own map from scratch make for a great title. I hope you've all gotten a good taste of what to expect.
CoG says, "Keep your eyes on this one for sure."
Title: Far Cry 2
Platform: PS3/360/PC
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft (http://www.ubi.com)
ESRB: M (Mature 17+)
MSRP: $59.99 (360 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001ASJIRM/ref=nosim/cog-20)/PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001ASJIRC/ref=nosim/cog-20)), $49.99 (PC (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000X9FV5M/ref=nosim/cog-20))
Editor: Andrew 'TrackZero' Hodder
http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_Setting_Up.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_Setting_Up.JPG)http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_FC2_Multiplayer.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_FC2_Multiplayer.JPG)
To begin with, Far Cry 2 supports both online mutliplayer as well as LAN play. It also features a now familiar "leveling" system, where you earn levels through your play, but these translate into "diamonds" which you then spend to upgrade the various class kits. The classes as they stand are the "Commando", which is your standard soldier type class. "Gunner" brings in the heavy machine guns. "Guerilla" is the up close and personal shotgun wielder. "Sharpshooter" is the sniper of the group. Those are all fairly standard arrangements and staples in any team game where you need to fill particular roles. But there's two remaining classes (which I found the most fun), the "Rebel" with his flamethrower (I'm sure anyone playing a Pyro in TF2 will be using this one) and the "Saboteur". Now the Saboteur starts out as a fairly weak class (firing stun darts with long reload times), but it definitely begins to shine as it levels up, since their load-out starts to change. In the case of the Saboteur, you unlock the IED (Improvised Explosive Device), which is essentially the remote detonated C4 of multi-player. It's got a great blast radius, and certainly changes up tactics, especially when you're on the defense (protecting your "diamond", a capture point, or a road). The Rebel unlocks the Rocket Launcher upon upgrade, which can turn the tide of a losing battle in short time. Each class has multiple slots to "fill" with diamonds. So for example, as a Rebel you can decide to keep your flame thrower instead of upgrading it, while pushing up the rest of your kit; there's definitely room for variance.
Getting those class basics out of the way, we can turn to the multi-player modes. Four are featured, with the standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch being present (and always appreciated), followed by "Capture the Diamond" (Capture the Flag) and "Uprising" (capturing points with a twist). The first three modes play out like you'd expect and are always good times. It's "Uprising", though, that we all found ourselves craving for. Each round begins with three neutral positions on the map that the two teams must compete to capture. However, each team only has one "Captain" who is capable of doing so. This plays out as some form of VIP, where your team is trying to keep the captain protected, while at the same time moving forward to grab the next point (they can be taken back by the other team, points are earned by how long they're held). The tactics were extremely varied in this mode; sometimes with the Captain sneaking off on his own keeping a low profile trying to flank the enemy team and grab one of their existing capture points, other times with a split team (one as a distraction and his core team trying to secure another position on the map). Sometimes you'd just have everyone sticking together to overtake the enemy. Combine these tactics with various forms of vehicles on the map, burning forests, IEDs and general craziness occurring in every firefight and you'd never know how things will turn out. There's nothing quite like using a hang glider in the fog to fly over a firefight (with literal fires burning everywhere) to reach an unsecured position, flank your opponent and take his base.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_APR.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_APR.JPG)http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/2_UFLL.JPG (http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogcontroltv/1_UFLL.JPG)
In retrospect, the immediately noticeable additions are similar to the single player. It's all about weather and time of day effects added on to good solid multiplayer modes. As well as using fire as a improvised break wall to ward the other players away from objective points. However, the real key here is that the map editor will play a major role in the longevity of this title. For console players, it'll be their first true taste of user-created maps making it into a mainstream FPS. The entire process is very streamlined to easily create maps and share with your friends. That's what will set this apart from the pack and is the thing you should be definitely looking forward to. Expect to see some wild level designs out there.
The multi-player, combined with the single player and the pure fun of just designing your own map from scratch make for a great title. I hope you've all gotten a good taste of what to expect.
CoG says, "Keep your eyes on this one for sure."