You can stick with the weapons you find on killed enemies, but you really do get what you pay for. Weapons you purchase at the shop are brand-new, and do not have issues jamming mid-gunfight. It turns out your enemies do not shop at the same swank establishments as you, and probably fish their guns out of the bottoms of rivers. Using a found weapon is a crapshoot. Most times, they will function just like any other gun, but they have the tendency to jam at inopportune moments; forcing you to hit 'X' to clear the jam and get back to shooting. It is more alarming when the weapon has finally run its course, and literally falls apart in your hands; forcing you to switch to another weapon in your possession. Oddly enough, you never seem to find your enemies running in the same jamming and disintegrating weapons issues you have when firing their guns. Purposely low-quality weapons are not the only handicap the game saddles your character with. You begin the game with a nasty case of malaria, and your race to get to The Jackal leaves you no time for recouping. Almost every character you meet can see it on you, and how sickly you look is usually the first thing out of their mouths. Even worse, you have flare-ups of nausea, bouts of dizziness that almost knock you off your feet, and nearly pass out when sprinting for too long. It all makes for cool visual effects, but gets annoying when you almost black out in the middle of clearing a guard post. Keeping your supply of medicine up requires completing side quests for 'The Underground', which are about the only people in the game not ready to shoot you on sight.
The enemy A.I. is inconsistent. They seem to do exceedingly well when in vehicles, especially when you do not hear them coming; which happens at least once every ten times you attempt to clear a guard post. It is frustrating, but you appreciate the effort when you begin to notice enemies standing right in front of you with their guns pointed in the wrong direction, just waiting for you to take them out. Given how replaceable they are, it is possible they are dumb on purpose. Each time you clear a guard post to make it to your next objective, it restocks with fresh guards within minutes. It makes you wonder whether it is really worth your time and bullets to stop and eliminate each enemy, or just plow through and risk a truck chasing you down. It seems as though the game attempts to make up for lack of enemy brains when on the ground by running you over. With how well the enemies blend into the backdrop, they have plenty of advantage of you as is. The dizzying inability to tell exactly where shots are coming from only enhances their ability to blend into the surroundings. The game flashes red slashes in different spots on the screen, but neither the sound nor the visual hints seem very accurate. You will frequently take cover only to find you just gave the enemy a better shot. The scarcity of save points makes for infuriating deaths, since you should know at least the general direction of your enemy. There is nothing worse than driving ten minutes only to die and have to re-load, and make the drive all over again.
The controls are tight in the story mode, but either aiming or hit detection is a bit wonky online. You will occasionally unload on a crouched enemy for half a clip of lead to the upper-body, only to have them turn and pop off a couple of shots to take you down. It is strange, given how fluid the game plays over Live. It seems to happen more frequently the closer you are, and is not such a rampant problem that it ruins the experience. The online modes offer ranked and player matches, but without a party system is not exactly easy to play with your friends. Ranked matches do not allow for invites, and user-created maps overrun player matches; which require you to download the map prior to playing. It helps that the game asks you whether you want to keep the map once done with the match, and antsy players in the lobby can see the status of each player's download, but it is still a hassle. There really needs to be three sections of the online game, separating the user-created and on-disc maps for player matches. The four modes available are standard at this point, with the exception of Uprising; where a game of control points morphs into 'kill the leader' when the same team controls all points. Regardless of what mode you play, the constantly crowing announcer explaining what type of game it is, what you should do next, and how much time is left is grating.
You start each online game selecting a class to play as, with each getting their own load-out of weapons. The online game has its own rank system, rewarding you for leveling up with diamonds to purchase additional weapons for the different classes. It is a nice idea, but does not seem so great when you are opposing someone who has unlocked the rocket launcher. Like Halo, the game separates the ranks for ranked and player matches, giving you plenty of reason to play both. There are a solid set of pre-made maps to play through online, but the game really gets its legs from the map editor. The editor is incredibly easy to use, giving you the opportunity to clip the playing space to make maps as large or small as you want, within reason. The combo of the wheel selection tool and drill-down menus make finding just the right items you want to place a synch. You also have the ability to alter the terrain, making large sinkholes or valleys and large hills for cover. The separate 'map community' option is great for finding the best of the user-created battlefields; allowing you to sort by most popular or highest ranked of the last week or month. There is also a solid search option, making it easy to find specific content like user-generated versions of New York City. The online functionality and map editor makes up for most of the story mode annoyances.
Despite the drab dirt-brown and green color pallet, the game looks great. The vegetation behaves realistically given the situations and the rocky landscapes look as good up close as they do when gazing at the horizon. Taking a flamethrower to a patch of brown grass can turn on you in a hurry, since the fire spreads quickly in all directions. The buildings and vehicles look appropriately worn-down, with most of the structures made of nothing more than corrugated steel sheets. The game successfully drives home the themes of poverty and desperation. The voice acting is also up to task, delivering solid performances throughout to keep you engrossed in the story. The pounding rhythmic score, cranked-up when in battle, makes sure you never forget the setting. Far Cry 2 has a lot to love, but it is far from flawless. In the end, the solid story and open world experience make it worth dealing with the few frustrating issues.
