studnoth1n

he's probably one of the more "realized" characters, but this speaks more to the performance than anything else. the writing was not particularly great. there were no real clever remarks or dialogue, or poignant insights that peaked my interests beyond the superficial. all the characters, despite their respective performances, essentially operate as expected and they're all deeply rooted in their own little impressionistic world, which is not a bad thing, since it does not necessarily detract from the whole hallucinogenic tone of the game. but no, no one has ever uttered anything, or even remotely suggested something where i later went, "huh. never thought about it like that." if anything, video games tend to make me feel better and superior in my adequate intelligence and taste, so i never question my understanding of the material. i'm i'm wrong, it's because the game mislead me;)

@the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG: you can shoot the box, but it only disables that specific alarm panel. the others will still be active, unless you physically disable the panel up close. besides, if the enemies are already going for the alarm, you've already missed the big xp payoff in taking the outpost undetected. plus, once the outpost is yours, you're stuck with these ugly, broken alarm panels. who needs that aggravation.

@PoisonJam7: The one thing you have to understand is that the AI can still inuit your position, or triangulate your general location based on where the shot was fired, assuming they actually witness one of their allies being shot. So ideally, if your picking them off from a distance, you want to ensure that the others don't witness your shots. If they're alerted after the fact, once they find a body, they'll freak out a bit but they won't investigate your position. However, if they're alerted while witnessing one of their allies being shot, that's when their awareness really heightens and they begin converging on the position from where the last shot was fired.

And just to be clear, once you alert them in any way, the AI awareness does heighten, so it becomes easier for them to detect you.

@sins_of_mosin: Actually, with the exception of the poker game, all the other points, beats, whatever, we pretty rote. The poker/showdown was predictable, in the sense you knew sabotaging Hoyt's operation wouldn't go unnoticed. And the fact he would still have time for a poker game in the midst of all this and not question your intentions, you would need some really dopey video game writing for that to make any sense. However, I still thought it was effective in building suspense. A little hokey in some parts, but I was still a little shocked when he offed Sam, and I knew it was coming. Maybe not in that way specifically, but something was definitely going to happen. I should always assume, at least in a video game, most characters are usually going to be bumped offed in the most violent, over-the-top ways. No one ever poisons a drink, it's just too subtle.

Also, I refuse to believe there's an alternative ending. You save your friends, that's really the only way the story can salvage any amount of coherency. I can't imagine just how flat and dull the alternative would be, and so far I've only heard negative things. Maybe it was thrown in there intentionally as a "fuck you" for being a selfish prick and picking the stupid ending, who knows.

@ZeroV2: In all fairness, most people in their twenties are pretty superficial and self-involved, some more than others. I don't know what other people were saying, but I thought the characters were shit because they were just so generic and one dimensional. The motivation is sort of irrelevant, so long as it propels something interesting in the story. The one saving grace was the performances. The voice acting was effecting in spite of the writing, certainly not as a result.

@DystopiaX: So because the majority thinks it's fine, any dissenting view should kindly go elsewhere? And by the way, it only seems arbitrary since we have very little in common on the subject, but please, feel free to try to bully and intentionally twist my words around. Also, I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to make me sound like I'm all over the place, and I keep changing my mind every five seconds. I've been fairly consistent on the subject, and I've already acknowledged that the topic title was a little sensational, and admittedly somewhat misleading. Now...

I've also acknowledged I have no problem with the map editor, but I'm also not the only one to have pointed out that even that component is still a little undercooked. It's not nearly as accessible or functional, especially for those who ONLY wanted the map editor to create and share their work. And once again, my OPINION is that these wouldn't be issues at all if the game were more focused and didn't have such a divided production, along with, what I'm assuming, an invasive marketing strategy. Or maybe I'm just being naive and it's all marketing now, but regardless, it's not inventive and even remotely interesting to include a co-op if all they intend to do is copy and paste from another series, especially when it seems that the part of the market that actually did push for cooperative play (specifically in a sandbox style game like far cry) probably didn't have this in mind exactly. It's all playable, sure, but it doesn't make it any less of a stupid idea and a waste of potential.

If you want to go on, fine by me, but don't rely on reducing my points and intentionally misinterpreting me and expect to get away with it.

@DystopiaX: I never said anyone was wrong about their opinion, I just don't think most people care enough to look beyond the superficial. And the whole topic is hardly based on "assumption," but like most topics here, it's not exactly science either. Take it or leave it, but it's you who seems unwilling to walk away and apparently looking for a fight. This topic reflects my opinion and I strongly disagree with the practice in producing content for the lowest common denominator, and that includes the obligatory MP components, diminishing the overall quality for the sake of marketing.

And I certainly don't mind if no one else agrees with me, but don't expect me to feel sympathetic towards someone who breathes contempt (nostrils flaring) towards another simply because they have a more aggressive view point on the subject.

@Mnemoidian: The point of the topic, which I should have clarified, isn't necessarily to point out the things the MP does poorly. Actually, I would say that is a "passable" multiplayer, but to me, that middling, blatant pandering to trends is worse, than say a game that just turns out bad, or even broken. In those cases, it's usually so obvious you don't need a conversation, but here I honestly thought it would be an opportunity to talk about games that perpetuate this stupid bullshit rather than standing on the convictions of their unique design choices. Maybe that's a little hoighty-toighty, but it is what I believe to be the missing piece in most conversations around here.

Besides, there are more than enough boring, superficial topics to choose from, why do I have to add to that growing pile? And if it seems like "raging," it's only because of the stifling attitude around here, and the impression I get is that there's little room for opposing, or even divergent views.

@Mnemoidian: Well I haven't played those other games, so maybe it only seems disproportionate. Also, just because one game is worse than another game, does not necessarily mean there is nothing wrong with that particular game. There's a greater amount of nuance to these questions (and discussions) than most people are willing to admit, but the problem is convincing people of that. I sure as hell haven't figured it out.

@DystopiaX: Well you're right, it is my opinion, but it's also informed by experience, sight and sound. And the reason I keep saying the same thing over is because what I'm experiencing with the multiplayer never seems to change.

Aaaand since I'm not interested in other people's lethargic attitude about it being "fine," I keep steamrolling my point. What's not to get? Besides, what the fuck is wrong with having a high standard and encouraging growth in one's work? I might have been provocative with the topic title, but still, I think throwing blatant gimmicks into a product weakens the overall quality, and certainly says little about the care entrusted in that particular IP considering there's NOTHING the publishers are unwilling to prostitute themselves for an easy money grab. I'm sure most of you could give a shit, and trust me, you've made that very clear, but my intention is not to sway your opinion, specifically. You're already lost, so it'd be a wasted effort anyway.

And obviously I don't really want them to patch out the multiplayer (Although I will admit, it's been fun listening to some of you take that literally). However, now it might actually be pretty funny if they did. One can only hope.