far-cry-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Steam weekend deal: Far Cry series is half-off

by David Hinkle { Feb 6th 2010 at 6:00AM }

The first Far Cry may seem a bit ancient if you've never played it before, but Far Cry 2 is still a very viable source for securing your quota of fun. Each are 50 percent off on Steam this weekend -- Far Cry for $5 and Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition for $10.

If you're wondering what all of the hullabaloo is about, this collection of words should help clear it up for you. Or you could just check out this image in our gallery. If you click through the images fast enough, it's almost like you're playing the game!

Nvidia details next graphics chip, codenamed 'GF100'

by Ben Gilbert { Jan 20th 2010 at 4:00AM }

There's nothing quite like a 30-second tech demo clip to get our hearts racing. Maybe, just maybe, the inclusion of some steaming hot data to go with that footage, perhaps from a big PC hardware company like Nvidia regarding its next graphics chip. Good thing then that we have just that (we're shaking in anticipation just putting down these words), as Nvidia unveiled its "GF100" (a codename) alongside said video clip (embedded after the break) just recently.

What about those pulse-pounding specifics, you say? Well, the chip features "3 billion transistors, double the CUDA cores of previous generation GPUs, a high speed GDDR5 memory interface, and full DirectX 11 support." Whoa, whoa, settle down there kiddo, there's more. Reports have gauged it as running games like FarCry 2 at 84.3 frames per second with the resolution cranked all the way up. No price has yet been given, but can you really put a price on quality? (The answer is yes, and it could be a high one.)

[Via BigDownload]

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Left 4 Dead 2 demo, new Games on Demand available now

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:20PM }

The demo of the zombie survival training game (also known as Left 4 Dead 2) is available now to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Although the retail game completes the scenario snippet on offer, the demo certainly feels like "more of the same," albeit with the addition of some new melee and bullet-required weapons.

Also on the shooter front: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat can now be acquired through Games on Demand for $20. Far Cry 2 is also available outside of North America. As always, we feel it prudent to mention that the titles are likely to be found cheaper at a local brick-and-mortar shop (at the risk of running into shopper zombies!).

Shortcuts:

Add Left 4 Dead 2 demo to your download queue [via Xbox.com]
Purchase and add Battlefield 2: Modern Combat to your download queue [via Xbox.com]

XBLM 'Deal of the Week' is Far Cry 2 DLC

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 27th 2009 at 2:31PM }

Now this is the Xbox Live Deal of the Week that we know and don't love. After a month of decent deals (plus one week of The Force Unleashed marketing), the Deal of the Week has returned to its roots: DLC for a game that came out last year. The game in question is Far Cry 2. The DLC in question is the Fortunes Pack, which includes three weapons, two vehicles and four multiplayer maps. Usually 400

($5), Deal of the Week status knocks it down to only 240

($3). We suppose it might be a good deal if you're still playing Far Cry 2. Then again, if you're still playing Far Cry 2, you probably have the Fortunes Pack already.

Thank goodness, we'd almost forgotten the empty, tepid feeling that the Deal of the Week can inspire. Welcome back, complete indifference!

Far Cry 2 bugs squashed on 360, 'Hardcore Mode' added

by Ben Gilbert { May 12th 2009 at 11:30AM }

It's been quite a while since Far Cry 2 was released on Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC -- 203 days, to be precise, but who's counting? -- and just yesterday Ubisoft released a patch aimed at a game-breaking save problem. And we'd know all about it, as after 25 hours spent terrorizing the African wilderness, we were halted in our tracks by the save file corrupting-bug patched just yesterday.

Our bitterness is somewhat assuaged by the arrival of the promised "Hardcore" multiplayer mode, advertised on the developer's forums back in February. The team has also added the ability to play Rank matches, employing some of the more ... well-developed user maps created over the past half year. Unfortunately, while the (likely malaria infested) save bug has been squashed, the fix isn't retroactive and thus, those who encountered it are out of luck. As for you folks playing FC2 on a PC or PlayStation 3, the patch should be headed your way soon. Not 203 days ago-soon, but soon none the less.

Gallery: Far Cry 2

Jack Thompson takes his fight to Utah radio

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 7th 2009 at 4:31PM }

Fueled by the recent veto of his Utah game bill and the constant thirst for more, Jack Thompson made an appearance on Utah radio show "Utah Eagle Forum" recently to discuss the merits of the bill and, well, to be Jack Thompson. Claiming the Columbine school shooting occurred due to "training on Doom" and saying the recent school shooting in Germany occurred due to the shooter's predilection for Counterstrike and Far Cry 2, Thompson immediately built a case for the audience to be concerned "why this is so terribly serious, to their own safety."

As GamePolitics points out, at no point in the show does anyone make note of Thompson's lack of an actual license to practice law or of his disbarring. He is, in fact, introduced as "an attorney from Florida." An odd omission considering the theme of the show is "Truth in Advertising."

Cry some more: Far Cry 2 'Fortunes Pack' now on Steam

by Randy Nelson { Mar 19th 2009 at 6:40PM }

Fire up your Steam client -- Ubisoft has loosed the Far Cry 2 Fortunes Pack on the PC gaming public. It's just a wee bit late; the DLC was originally supposed to be available by the end of last November. We're willing to forgive (but not forget -- we never forget) when new content includes the likes of a silenced shotgun. Take a moment to let that one settle in.

Priced at $4.99, the pack also introduces a sawed-off shotgun and crossbow (!) to the game's arsenal, along with two new vehicles -- a quad and the "Unimog" (Ubisoft's helpful description: 'a big truck') -- and five multiplayer maps, including the dubiously titled "Lake Smear" and "Jungle Seizure." We're assuming the latter doesn't flash a convulsion-inducing pattern of lights on your screen.

PSA: Steam did not just gift you Far Cry 2

by David Hinkle { Feb 20th 2009 at 10:02AM }

Multiple members of Team Joystiq received a weird email this morning, which stated that Valve, the beloved developers behind PC's great platform, Steam, had gifted us Far Cry 2. With an email address originating from the Steam URL, you could imagine how (almost) convinced we were. Turns out it was all a hoax.

The activation link in the very convincing email (seriously, it looks legit!) goes to a third-party site. We can only imagine the malice awaiting us on the other side of that link, so if you were also the recipient of this email, know that IT'S A TRAP!

Far Cry 2 patch to add 'Hardcore' multiplayer mode, rebalances weapons [update]

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 7th 2009 at 10:00PM }

We didn't know anyone wandered into Far Cry 2's expansive, hojillion-hour-long single-player campaign and somehow managed to make time to check out the game's multiplayer offerings, but apparently there's a sizable community of online FC2 players out there. This group has been calling for more realistic match settings for quite some time -- players can apparently catch more lead than Sonny Corleone and walk away with little more than a scratch and an interesting story.

Their pleas have been answered -- in a recent post on the FC2 community blog, the game's developers announced a patch which will, in addition to rebalancing the weapons in all multiplayer modes, add a more realistic "hardcore setting" to all match types. This mode will boost the damage for all weapons (ensuring speedier demises) and will let players tweak the "spawn times" (but not the "spawn rates", whatever that means). ~~They didn't specify which platforms the patch will be landing on~~ -- hopefully, they'll be affording a hasty death to all three.

Update: The update is coming to "all platforms". Huzzah!

[Via Big Download]

Ubisoft: Prince of Persia had 'slower take-off', Far Cry 2 ships 2.9m

by Ross Miller { Jan 22nd 2009 at 1:45PM }

As part of its fiscal earnings report for the quarter ending December 2008, Ubisoft has revealed the "sell-in sales" (that's to retailers, not consumers) for a handful of key titles. Far Cry 2, launched in late October, shipped 2.9 million, while Raving Rabbids TV Party has tallied up 1.5 million since its mid-November unveiling.

Unfortunately, a certain wisecracking acrobat didn't seem to meet expectations. According to the report, the above figures helped to "offset the impact of a slower take-off" for Prince of Persia and its 2.2 million shipped units for December. Yesterday's NPD stats put PoP's US sales at around 483K. Ubisoft has also confirmed a fiscal 2009 release window for Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and a new Ghost Recon.

LittleBigPlanet shifts over 200K copies in UK

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 7th 2009 at 10:56AM }

Media Molecule's platformer and form-your-own-platter, LittleBigPlanet, has earned itself "Gold" status in the UK, as awarded by the ELSPA group to titles that sell over 200,000 copies. As Edge Online points out, this comes after the game fell out of the all-format top ten just one week after its fourth-place debut. Sales are said to have been buoyed by a strong TV advertising campaign and, presumably, mankind's inalienable love for squishy sack persons.

Other notable recipients of the gold in them thar prestigious hills are Bethesda's post-apocalyptic Fallout 3, Ubisoft's pre-apocalyptic Far Cry 2 and Blizzard's socially apocalyptic Wrath of the Lich King. ELSPA also awarded "Platinum" status -- that's for selling between 300,000 and 600,000 units -- to Fable 2, which can be apocalyptic if you play as a complete bastard.

Joystiq's Top 10 of 2008: Far Cry 2

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 1st 2009 at 12:31PM }

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Would you believe that Far Cry 2 is a lot like the original Star Wars trilogy? It's true! Before he took to bludgeoning audiences with obnoxious special effects, director George Lucas delivered a coherent, lived-in world that seemed more cobbled together than intentionally designed. The spaceships were old and busted, the bars were filthy and sometimes, the hyperdrives just didn't work.

Far Cry 2's approximated Africa feels like just such a place -- dangerous, dirty and devoid of designer fingerprints. There's no level design here, no dynamic vegetation and no sophisticated radiosity. There's only a blistering sun creeping through the trees, their leaves shivering in fear of the approaching downpour.

And then you shoot stuff!

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Far Cry 2 getting DLC by end of month

by Andrew Yoon { Nov 21st 2008 at 3:25PM }

Not too long after the release of Far Cry 2, Ubisoft has announced a new DLC pack to be made available by the end of November (so, next week, perhaps?). The Fortune's Pack DLC brings new vehicles and weapons to both the single-player and multiplayer aspects of Far Cry 2. It will be available for $9.99.

The Fortune's Pack DLC for Far Cry 2 will include:

Single-Player Mode

Three brand-new weapons:
Silenced shotgun; Sawed-off shotgun; Crossbow
Two new vehicles:
Unimog; Quad

Multiplayer Mode

Four new maps:
Cheap Labor; Last Resort; Lake Smear; Fort Fury
New single-player weapons and vehicles also available in multiplayer

Gallery: Far Cry 2 DLC

Far Cry 2 'Fortune's Pack' adds new vehicles, weapons, maps

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 21st 2008 at 3:00PM }

Ubisoft has revealed a new batch of downloadable content for its incredibly aggressive African safari, Far Cry 2. Due to be released "by the end of November," the Fortune's Pack bolsters the game's collection of weapons, multiplayer maps and, perhaps most importantly, fuel-guzzling transports. It's not quite the turret-equipped elephant we were hoping for, but a quad should do us fine. There's also a "unimog," which is either a big truck thing or an adorable Final Fantasy creature with a tertiary education. Probably the former.

Also added to both the single- and multiplayer components are three new weapons: the sawed-off shotgun; the silenced shotgun; and the crossbow. Be sure to use those on Fortune's four additional multiplayer maps, dubbed Cheap Labor, Last Resort, Lake Smear and Fort Fury.

The pack will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store for $10 -- or two of the diamonds you found in a suspicious briefcase in the middle of nowhere.

Gallery: Far Cry 2: Fortune's Pack

Branching Dialogue: Wild file preservation (and other Far Cry 2 stuff)

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 12th 2008 at 5:45PM }

Presenting Branching Dialogue, a weekly, wordy and often worryingly pedantic discussion of video game genres, trends and err ... stuff I didn't think to put in this introductory line.

Alright, that's it. After starting, deleting, undoing, regretting and then restarting this opening paragraph numerous times, I'm just going to write things as they tumble out of my brain and work their way down to my fingertips. Far Cry 2 is a struggle. Narratively, mechanically, stylistically, everything about the game is a to-and-fro tug-of-war. And for me, Ubisoft's open-world shooter is a struggle to decode, to disassemble in my mind's eye and discover that one piece that makes everything click into place. But I think I've found that critical cog in the machine -- the relatively limited save system.

Why? Well, now that I've saved that paragraph for the last time, I'm just going to have to figure that out as I go along.

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