Sorry I lost this discussion and wanted to be part of it (Gunship). I still have Gunship 2000 (DOS and Amiga), Gunship Original (C64). I played the hell out of the C64 version. I used to be so proud of myself when I would come back to base on fumes and sometimes have to auto-giro down to the landing pad to continue. What about Jane's Longbow since we're on the subject...or Apache/Havoc? They are both pretty good helo sims. And I have both of them, plus Commanche/Hokum. There were some pretty significant super patches made to the Enemy Engaged series. A helo sim is a perfect example of how consoles are limited to what you are allowed to do in a game. A console would have to turn it into an arcade game for it to work.
It's funny how people are different. For myself, FC2 is leaps and bounds better than FC3. I think it depends on what you're looking for out of a game. FC2 is a very spartan experience. No HUD, no screen prompts, you open the map to look at it instead of having a flashy screen pop up with music and little thumbnail videos playing. There are no quick events in FC2 (called "takedowns" in FC3). You feel like you're in the game much more than FC3. In FC2 you aren't walking on money like in FC3. The weapons must be bought and will wear out eventually. The days/nights/weather are more realistic and have more natural and long cycles. The enemy acts intelligent (and speaks intelligently!) in FC2. The combat in FC2 is much more realistic and you really feel like you're on your own. No fantasy powers or equipment (like seeing through hillsides and buildings in FC3). What does FC3 have? Pretty graphics and a huge map that is so big you get bored eventually. Money laying everywhere to buy weapons that will quickly become free once you climb a tower or two. The sidework consists of hobbies that have nothing to do with the game (artifacts and letters). FC3 is sort of like Super Mario Brothers on steroids in my opinion. I played it once and uninstalled it out of disgust. In my opinion, FC3 is a step backwards. But I can see why it was developed the way it was. It's meant to appeal to the casual gamer who has no interest in learning skills and such. Another "instant gratification" game for the masses. As to Gunship...and MicroProse...they are both legends in gaming history that have yet to be surpassed.
It's a funny world... As, everything you praised about FarCry 2... are things I found wrong with the game. FarCry 2 can look fantastic, and the gunplay/combat can be a lot of fun. But, the game itself is tedious, dull, repetitive and a chore. The story did nothing to draw me into the game. It's presentation, the characters you interacted with... nothing made it feel like a living world that needed you. Add in some truly awful voice acting. That when combined with some horrible gameplay design. Yes, the weapons wearing down "OVER TIME" was a nice idea. But, buying a weapon and having it turn to rust and break in almost no time was incredibly stupid. Add in dull rinse and repeat missions that caused you to spend the bulk of your time driving from point A to point B and back to point A. Toss in the fact that every single character you run into outside the towns in instantly hostile towards you... And... your sick. Yay. Cause getting a crappy overlay on the screen randomly making you press a button is so much fun. FarCry 2 was a game that had a ton of promise, but completely missed it's mark with a terrible story, awful voice acting, a dull lifeless world filled with the same mission over and over. Add in incredibly dumb enemy AI that respawns in a matter of seconds. Broken stealth, and "checkpoint" encounters that do nothing to add to the game but cause you get out of your car to about ten seconds. Kill everyone. Drive away. Only to come back through a minute or so later and do it all over again. FarCry 3 was a brilliant step in the right direction for the series. A lush, great looking world with enough artistic style to it's design to give it it's own look. Brilliantly written and acted characters that help make the world, and your goals feel worth while. Solid gunplay, stealth that actually WORKS and is fun. A great game. FarCry 2 sits as a game I've tried to finish three separate times. And each time, gotten so bored with the game I couldn't even force myself to finish it. A game that I see as a huge waste of potential and a big disappointment.
It is amazing I agree. I've played FC2 start to finish at least 36 times. I became so familiar with it's design I began challenging myself with additional goals. For example, trying to get as many double or even triple head shots using the sniper rifle as possible. Sometimes I would have to wait 20 - 30 minutes before finding a position where two or more enemy would line up for a single shot/multi-kill sniper engagement. Another would be trying to go through the entire game using only the machete and silenced pistol. The two biggest complaints I encounter about FC2 are the lack of wildlife and the respawning checkpoints. I agree about the wildlife. From playing the game so many times I figured out how the respawning works. If you play game you will notice the map is divided into 9 sections. After clearing a checkpoint and driving/walking/boating into another map section, the cleared checkpoint respawns. My solution...don't backtrack unless absolutely necessary. One of the most enjoyable things I found in FC2 that is totally missing in FC3 even though it's advertised as a feature is the lack of vehicle chases. In FC2 I would deliberately drive within detection range of a checkpoint and get some of the enemy to come after me in their trucks or cars...then have a ball driving down the roads or go offroad for some fun. The trucks are lethal and you must be very good to outsmart them. But even if your engine starts smoking you can always bail at an opportune spot and run for cover. Usually they will continue to pursue in their vehicles until they get stuck, then dismount and come after you on foot. Sometimes I'm even able to get them to drive close enough to another faction and the two of them start fighting each other and forget about me. The enemy seems to pursue you much further across the map than they do in FC3. Sometimes I'd leave a checkpoint behind and move to my mission objective and be creeping in under cover when some of the enemy from the checkpoint would show up looking for me and then the whole place would go on alert! FC3 is indeed a visually stunning offer. I think this in some ways influences some people's judgment of the game overall. The other things I didn't like was the ridiculous amount of money laying everywhere you walk, the ease with which to collect weapons, the super powers, the collection hobbies, and maybe most of all, the screen prompts at boss levels and for takedowns. For me, with what it had, FC2 just felt more immersive. I honestly was expecting FC3 to be all that FC2 was with updates and corrections...a polished FC2. So you can imagine my disappointment in FC3 when I came upon an enemy to attack and a "Press F for takedown" message appeared onscreen. The vehicles don't behave the same way in FC3 as they do in FC2. The enemy doesn't chase you and ram you or just try to get in front of you and block your path like they do in FC2. To me this is more intelligent than what FC3 enemies do. They just try to keep up with you until you lose them which is way too easy. Most of the time you blow right past them and they just sit and watch you drive away with some small arms fire being sent your way. One more thing...in FC3 it's a sandbox game until you reach a mission. Then it switches to a scripted experience complete with warnings that you're leaving the mission area. There is none of that in FC2...a true sandbox world. Anyway, we both have our reasons for liking each game. I wish FC3 had come with some sort of "hardcore" or "realistic" mode that would make it more like FC2 but without all the fancy stuff that for me is a distraction.
Do you guys think COD: Ghosts is worth a shot now that its been patched so extensively or is it still a pile of dog poop ?
It has zero anti-cheat measures. Not even VAC. It's not worth it even if they manage to fix the stutter.
It's ok .. if you like COD SP then you will probably like this one too. The space level in particular gets a lot of praise!