Alex: So there are six player types - commando, sharpshooter, guerrilla, rebel, gunner and saboteur - and each has three levels of upgrades, which you activate using diamonds that are rewards for skilful play rather than the usual 'you got the most kills'. Martin: We should explain - the game's got a class system and the weapons are all upgradeable by collecting diamonds. I played mainly as the commando, who has a grenade launcher as a secondary weapon, which you unlock by collecting diamonds. Alex: Shooting people is certainly one thing that Far Cry does well, especially when you start unlocking some of the bigger weapons. I just want to shoot people! All too often I spend time playing multiplayer games in a state of confusion, while a PR tells me the convoluted rules: "You've got to run around the base twice, then back a jeep up into this bit here then steal the diamonds." Just keep it simple, that's what I say. With Far Cry 2, however, you know exactly what you have to do - shoot the enemy! Martin. Players need to understand what you have to do the moment you're dropped in the game and that wasn't the case with Kane & Lynch. Alex: To me, a multiplayer game needs to be accessible above everything else.
Martin: Far Cry 2's multiplayer is very much by the numbers. Alex: It was, but it wasn't obvious enough. You had to work as a team to rob banks and such, but ultimately you had to make a decision - do you get greedy and try to take the lion's share of the cash by stabbing your team mates in the back, or work with them to improve your chances of survival but split the swag more ways. Martin: I never really played Kane & Lynch online. Besides, straying from the tried and tested formula of deathmatch, and the like more often than not doesn't work. Having said that, it does what it does pretty solidly, which is what most people what from a multiplayer game. I was expecting more big open levels, or for some of the smaller levels to have that elements of freedom rather than playing out like a straight shoot out. Alex: Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed playing it, I was just expecting something.
YES NO Martin: We've started off on a fairly negative note - Far Cry 2's multiplayer does have a number of factors in its favour and the vehicles are certainly one of the best factors.
That was when the multiplayer game really came into its own.
#FAR CRY 2 MULTIPLAYER ZIP#
The best levels were certainly the largest levels, where you could use hang gliders to drift from one level of the map to the next or vehicles to quickly zip across the map. What else do you associate Far Cry with? Alex: Sure, it had some expansive environments, but most of the stuff we played through was set in compact, built-up areas like shanty towns rather than vast, open vistas. Martin: It had the expansive environments. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just not in keeping with what I associate Far Cry with. To me it felt like a tacked-on addition rather than an extension of the single-player game. The emphasis is on narrative - and one that looks quite daring for a videogame - so it's transition to multiplayer could be rocky. As you said, the single player is unique - it's got an atmosphere and various mechanics that mean as a game it's got more in common with something like BioShock than Call of Duty or Halo. Martin: Having spent a good few hours with the campaign, it was a bit jarring to see it in multiplayer. It's is an odd one because the single-player game is so unique - the open-world gameplay works a treat in the campaign game but how do you feel it translated to multiplayer?