Far Cry 2

I'm not going to go with my normal format for reviewing games this time. Why? Because I couldn't actually bring myself to finish Far Cry 2, or as I now refer to it, African Driving Simulator. I played nearly 5 hours of the game, and I'll guarantee 4 of those were driving back and forth long distances to get a new mission to drive all the way back.

I'm not usually for quick travel in an open world game like this. It ruins the experience. I love to travel the frozen wastes of Skyrim on foot or horseback exploring the wilderness. And that is the real problem with Far Cry 2's lack of quick travel. There is nothing, I repeat, NOTHING of interest between the two destinations you've been assigned to go. A couple outposts with 4 or 5 guards, but absolutely no reason to kill them when it's easier to drive past. And then you drive more..and more..

Everything else in this game is passable or good. I love the fact that some of the guns you pick up from the poor combatants of this African nation are rusted and liable to jam. The missions I played were enjoyable and usually had different ways to finish. The actual gun play is alright, and if it weren't for the human bullet sponges, it would have been good. The story, well, it's basically non existent and pretty awful, but the other things make that an acceptable thing in a game more about the shooting.

If you enjoy driving around for most of your gaming experience, play Far Cry 2. If you actually want to play a game that involves more than scenic road trips, try it's successor, Far Cry 3. It's essentially the same concept, except better in every way. I don't even use the fast travel in 3 because there are actually things to do in between the two destinations. FC2 really missed out because it could have been at the very least, a passable game that you could enjoy for a while. What you get instead of a fun, open world shooter, is this.

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Next game, hopefully it's not a tragedy like FC2, is..
Scribblenauts Unlimited - $29.99

I've played it a bit when I bought it, but got distracted by something. Time to finish it.

Also, anybody who is on the fence about buying the new Tomb Raider, I played through and beat it over the last couple days, and I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised. It takes what's good about a game like Uncharted, and makes the shooting actually fun. If you enjoyed Uncharted, give it a try, because it really is a great game.