14 DAY TRIAL // I've been under the spell of Far Cry 2 lately. After having played it on the Xbox 360 to see how the control element felt, I switched to the PC and I am currently in the process of listening to the creepy communications tower voice in order to assassinate everyone I can. But I've been thinking that the game could be so much cooler if only Ubisoft took three simple steps. It would not be enough for a full sequel, but here are some suggestions for Far Cry 2.5.
1) Get rid of all the repetitive stuff. No more fixing cars. There are enough vehicles in the world already, so once a jeep gets to shot up, make it so that it begins to burn and proceeds to blow up in a few minutes. Also, program the game to send a jeep filled with enemies after your character walks for more than 10 minutes without getting a vehicle. As a bonus, deliver enemies the ability to hitch a ride on a jeep so that you might encounter one with six guerrillas riding off the sides.
2) Introduce real buddies. OK, I admit mercenaries don't play nice with each other, but the fact that some of those in Far Cry 2 are interested in offering a bit of help, in the form of rescues and of alternate mission progression, is great. Hitching a ride with another buddy in a jeep with him manning the machine gun would be really nice. When you reach certain critical options, the buddy would hang back to watch the vehicle while you’re completing the mission. The big zinger would be the introduction of a real faction system, but that's probably asking too much.
3) More urban environment. The bigger towns in the game are cease fire areas and are not actually that sprawling. A bit of urban combat, like an extended Fort area, would be a nice change from crawling in the jungle and taking out guys with the machete before getting the assault rifle out and charging in. A great bonus would be for the game to force you do to a bit more scouting prior to starting a fight as you currently can approach almost any situation with brute force.