When Morrissey sang about starting things he was unable to finish, he laid bare his ineptitude in its entirety. He never finished any games and, as a consequence, lacked the life skills required to advance in society beyond a lonely sod idolised by a group of 30-somethings who miss the 80s despite that decade being tripe to live in, and young people who have only come into contact with the 80s through BBC 2 clip shows.
This is not a life I wish to lead. Therefore I've decided to continue finishing things throughout the remainder of time to bring myself a small, smug self-satisfaction and then tell some strangers on the internet about my accomplishments. As a sidenote, I would've wrote this sooner but some clever git pulled my phone line out the other week. It was probably Morrissey.
Far Cry 2: Malarious
I'm going to come right out and say this: Far Cry 2 is great. I've had that game since release and always baulked at the idea of limping through the early stages but, once I had a handle on the systems at play, it was child's play. Malaria and the shoddy guns were just minor inconveniences that you could plan around and this game loves to make you plan things out. Indeed, what kept me going through the 17 hour journey was the way I would plan a mission out.
Where is it? How can I get there with the least resistance? What do I do once I get there? That whole routine just became part of the gameplay loop and the game felt much more satisfying because of it. Getting in a quick execution and then sneaking out felt great. As did when situations required a plan B. How many of you guys went to that mission where you need to take out the guy on the barge only for the map to direct you to the railway bridge? I can't have been the only one who decided, "Well, I've got one way down there." and just took a leap of faith off the bridge into the water below. I felt like such a badass when that landing didn't shatter my pelvis.
The story kinda interested me, too. Maybe not the main through-line (I mean, it's just 'Get this guy. Get paid.') but the idea of this African nation, possibly in the infancy of civil war (Is it established? The plane in the introduction implies its just getting started but I'm not sure about that.) being flooded with mercenaries looking to get theirs. The fact that they give the player that role means they can be as ambiguous as they want to whilst doing a decent job of presenting the mercenaries as a faction unto themselves. The two warring factions are both being advised by outsiders with the guns arriving from the Jackal whose dodgy wares effectively perpetuate the conflict. Although I really have no idea why two warring entities who have recruitment offices within the same block. Videogames.
Of course this is at odds with its tone but I don't blame Ubisoft for trying and it does hit in some interesting spots. It was still effectively a company trying to bring an identity to an IP that, up until that point, was somebody else's. The Ubisoft mission structure was largely there, although perhaps not as prevalent as in 2015. No towers just a lot of mission types that involved going somewhere and shooting something. Or blowing something up because we have fire tech we'd like you to see. Also it could be argued that malaria, checkpoints and gun lifespans resulted in you avoiding some of the side content for the sake of self-preservation. That's actually how I played it. Still, it was an enjoyable time that I would actually recommend. Its legitimately good, even after the best part of a decade has passed.
Far Cry 4: Grand Theft Ajay
And so the next logical step was to give GOTY contender Far Cry 4 a shot. I've not played 3 so the possibility of burnout was lessened and I could judge this without that game colouring expectations. Naturally, first port of call was the secret ending. During the 15 minute wait I was pondering just why the hell Ajay would move in the first place? Nobody tells him to. There's no reason for him to explore the mansion. Heck, he's just been given orders from the King to sit his arse down and wait. He'll know where to scatter ghost mother's ashes.
So the entire game proper is based around some bullshit premise that a computer man can see text ordering him to explore a mansion and to get involved in a rebellion he simply has never given a toss about. Effectively, Ajay is a protagonist that makes a series of terrible decisions. He's not an everyman. He's a catastrophe. Don't do what Ajay Don't does. He's not a soldier and he'll tell other people this whilst brandishing an AK47. Relax, he's just here to scatter his mother's ashes. And ride elephants. Into people.
Once I hit my first tower the icons sprayed over the map like projectile vomit and the completionist in me want to chase everything down. Thing is, I get bored of that. Its too much. I looked at the diamonds in FC2 and just thought, "Is there any need? I get plenty from the missions." and so I got to the point where I took the grenade launcher and just went ahead with the story. Missions are certainly more structured than in 2 but that maybe made them feel a lot more rigid. There was a simplicity to the African campaign. There is a dude waiting to be shot or an object waiting to be exploded. Go. Far Cry 4 wants to funnel you more. The memorable, self-made moments that came courtesy of 2's combat now come courtesy of the world's wildlife which, whilst entertaining, doesn't really stick with me as much.
I still had fun and there's a lot of content to dig around in, I just felt burnt out at the end of it. I missed the careful planning and, whilst stealth worked better in 4, I didn't feel the need to use it. It was great to have the shackles off and explore but almost everything is pointed out to you with markers. Still, its done. Good game. Possibly great.
Infamous First Light: Short and Sweet
I finished the month out by beating this short accompaniment to Second Son. It was a nice way to remind me just how good Sucker Punch made that city and its characters look whilst I also remembered just how quiet things were at street level. Fetch's story leading up to the main game was definitely a decent one that added a bit more meat to Second Son's bare bones and I definitely approached the game in the same way I took on the predecessor. Do the side stuff, grab all the upgrades you can and then blitz it. Because superheroes need to be superpowered. It also helps that Neon was my favourite power just for getting around.
Movement seemed easier this time too with there being a lot less in the way of resistance. Seattle's almost yours to roam freely and all the Dan Rykert's you can shoot. I wasn't too keen on the arena stuff but using it as punctuation for "Hey, new power unlocked!" was fine and the detention centre made a good backdrop for the telling of the tale. Its also nice that Fetch isn't retconned into some sort of saintly martyr. She's a smackhead after revenge. And smack. And neon gas which must be some sort of mega, super smack. Fetch is arguably the only member of the supporting cast worth fleshing out, too. Eugene gets a mention which is about all he's worth.
Shame they couldn't allow you to get all the powers in a single playthrough but I suppose the challenges add legs to a brief expansion. Not sure I'm coming back to it but it does make me want to consider replaying Second Son.
So that was the month. 3 down. I'm happy with that. February involves mobile ports I've had to review and a lot of Metroid. Possibly more PS Plus catch-up due to work leading to bitesize gaming sessions. Life's a bitch.
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