Is Far Cry really as hard as people say it is?

[[McD] James]

Far Cry 1 never really interested me that much until now, but I've been hearing murmurs of it being one of the most brutally difficult first-person shooters of all time. It was never a game I really thought about playing in the past, but I might want to check it out just to see what all the commotion is about. Opposing Force, Unreal* and Shadow Warrior have also been lauded for their intense difficulties, but I didn't have much trouble with them on the highest difficulty settings. System Shock 2 is definitely no slouch, especially when you're trying to get your bearings together while hiding from those kamikaze robots. Serious Sam was also pretty tough for me, but I found its difficulty to be as a result of its poor overall design. 

 

Edit: *I actually played through Unreal on the second highest difficulty setting, via the Old Unreal patch.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Ajora

[Deleted_Account]

Realistic mode is a bitch. Here’s an in-depth walkthrough for that difficulty if you're curious.

 

 

[Bauul]

My overriding memory of Far Cry is beautiful water and hitting an absolute brick wall at Level 3.  I ended up using a trainer that enabled instant resurrection to make progress, and by the time I finished the game I think my death count was in the four figures.

[geo]

I too have heard how difficult it is due to sniper accuracy from enemies hiding in a bush a mile away. I guess I'll have to install it and give it a try and report back.

 

...

 

Wow 4+ GB. I'm surprised.

[Bloodshedder]

I didn't find it particularly difficult until I got to the part with the mutants, but I don't recall what difficulty level I was playing on.
 

[Avoozl]

There's a mod which improves a lot of the landscape textures called FCAM which I used with my last playthrough, ground textures no longer look like grainy or blurry messes with it.

[mrthejoshmon]

You can't play it like a conventional shooter on harder difficulties, you need to be cunning in your approach and careful with your moves, every gunfight could end in seconds before you are even aware of it starting.

 

Also, if you like tough games try Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, 1 bullet and it could be all over.

[Skeletonpatch]

It's a very hard game, that's for damn sure. It's a very fun and rewarding game except for when it isn't. I went into the game mostly blind with little knowledge of what I was actually getting into, and it's one of those games that greatly benefits from that. Note however that Far Cry features the single worst checkpoint system I have ever experienced, there is no manual saving and checkpoints are often half an hour or more apart; it's even worse than Call of Duty: Finest Hour (the only Call of Duty game I've ever personally owned).

 

The cut-scenes and dialogue are also the most unapologetically atrocious I've ever witnessed in any game ever, it's truly a glorious sight to behold.

[CARRiON]

It has some quirks, and it borders on bullshit difficulty at a few points.

[Avoozl]

1 hour ago, mrthejoshmon said:

Also, if you like tough games try Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, 1 bullet and it could be all over.

Ugh that game, I bought it years ago and I just couldn't get past the first level, I tried camping in the small building but it wasn't much help and I still died, its normal mode isn't really that easy at all. I haven't played that game again since but I did playthrough the sequel Red River and it was much easier.

[mrthejoshmon]

1 hour ago, Avoozl said:

Ugh that game, I bought it years ago and I just couldn't get past the first level, I tried camping in the small building but it wasn't much help and I still died, its normal mode isn't really that easy at all. I haven't played that game again since but I did playthrough the sequel Red River and it was much easier.

It's so much easier in co-op, the game feels way too hardcore for it's own good and prioritises combat emulation over fun, making it very niche.

[geo]

Well, I just played it.  Even the training is a challenge. I can't call it hard, but its a good barrier for entry that has the ability to crush players. Play it like Doom, end up dead. Play it like Skyrim and just stealth arrow people and you'll have a more enjoyable time.

 

First and foremost, there are difficulty settings. The third difficulty warns you that enemies will be more accurate. There's also a checkbox for AI Auto Balance. I always fear those check boxes as I remember when Lego Star Wars Saga became a challenge because of it. I went for normal or second difficulty as that's the default.

 

Second, Far Cry 1 is a stealth action game. Stay hidden, crouch walk at all times until your enemies are alerted. The game gives you binoculars to see and plan long ahead of time. You hear tells from the enemies "hey what was that?" You even see their ID go red on your map or orange when they know you're around.

 

Enemies can spot you through bushes that obscure your vision. Hang out in a guard tower and the other guard towers can see you from far away. Foes will indeed shoot you from far away, but with the second difficulty its more like they spray your direction so out of five bullets, one might hit you and you'll live. I've realized that you too can sniper them. If you can barely see someone they're that far away, but you know they're there because of bullets... just shoot using the "aim" mode and you're likely to get them. I can't call it iron sights more like you zoom in closer.

 

The AI at least for the healthy training process feels just as good as other games that boast their AI. Meaning sure they only react when they hear and see something, but they run at you rather than flank out. What's that? Guy in a guard tower? Time to run straight at it! Reminded me of Deus Ex: reboot where the game boasts about its AI only to have them line up single file for me to shoot rather than fan out to flank me. With a building around, the enemies seem to run into a building for cover.

 

Stray soldiers can run over to a siren and hit it, but a lot of them just don't seem to bother. Maybe because they're already alerted from the gunfire they don't care. Its always cool they have the ability to call in more troops, but when they ignore it and just rush me that's a bit awkward.

 

Again, training is training, maybe they get smarter. I saw one guard shoot directly into a propane he was standing next to for cover and blew himself up. Reminds me of Aliens: Colonial Marines and Mass Effect 1 where my own AI would shoot their cover and not beyond it.

 

Other than that enemies can shoot through walls if they're close enough. Its an exploit that a lot of FPS still have to this day. Maybe its the material. Shooting through a hanger or something would be realistic if its vinyl.

 

* edit *

 

Yeah I take it back. Its hard. Out in the open world, the troops are relentless. Leave no one alive. They can sniper you and sniper you under water. Saves happen at save points. It becomes brutal. Spend 5 minutes dispatching 2 guards, die from a boat that appears behind you... that's 5 minutes wasted. Spend 15 minutes taking out a boat carefully, there's always another boat. Sniper rifles would be handy. Am I even shooting someone or am I hitting the leaves?

Edited April 14, 2018 by geo