Before getting into my next video game retrospective (and to set the tone for this entire blog, really), I have a confession to make: where gaming is concerned, I’m basically a grumpy, reclusive old man. Specifically, I have a very old-fashioned sense of ownership. I grew up on the idea that one could go to the store, fork over $60+ (or, back in 1998, $20 for “SNES classics” - to this day I consider A Link to the Past on of the best deals I ever got), and get a game.
That was all; you paid for the game, you got the game, and it was yours forever. Cynics will argue that nothing lasts forever and they would be right, but for the fact that vintage Nintendo products are virtually indestructible. When the apocalypse comes, only two things will remain on the ravaged Earth: cockroaches, and Nintendo consoles.
That was all; you paid for the game, you got the game, and it was yours forever. Cynics will argue that nothing lasts forever and they would be right, but for the fact that vintage Nintendo products are virtually indestructible. When the apocalypse comes, only two things will remain on the ravaged Earth: cockroaches, and Nintendo consoles.
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| Behold: the future. |
Additions and changes to this simple “pay, get, own forever” concept tend to annoy me at best, and induce incoherent screaming rage at worst. DLC doesn’t bother me insofar as it merely adds extras to a game that stands perfectly well on its own. Patches annoy me (fuck waiting for an “update” to finish downloading, I want to play NOW - and also, couldn’t you be bothered to make a good product to begin with?) Do not get me started on microtransactions, and DRM is the devil: Steam only got to refuse to let me play a game I'd purchased (on account of not having a functional Internet connection at that particular moment) once, before I uninstalled everything and never looked back.
I dislike multiplayer; to me gaming has always been a solitary, pseudo-sacred activity and a way for me to get AWAY from people. I enjoy having the freedom to immerse myself in a world and then at the simple push of a button have time itself come to a standstill so I can step away from the screen and go take a piss, or have a snack, or have a snack while taking a piss (I have no pretension of being a classy grumpy, reclusive old man).
"But you're going to review Far Cry 2, and it has multiplayer!" I hear you all clamoring on the other side of the Internet. Firstly: Shut the hell up, it’s annoying. Secondly; yes, I know damn well that Far Cry 2 has multiplayer. I just deliberately never touched the thing, because I’m contrarian like that, and also because (SPOILER!) my objective is specifically to discuss the game’s single-player experience.
Speaking of single-player experiences, I abhor excessive hand-holding and/or especially lengthy tutorials sequences that get shoved down your throat like some sort of shitty endoscope. I should probably launch into an "in my time" tirade right about here, but that would be hypocritical, since obnoxious tutorials aren't exclusive to recent games: Eternal Darkness, I’m looking at you.
Well, that's enough from me; I'll let my fellow blogger and grumpy gamer JBbear offer some closing comments on this one.
JBbear's Two Cents
What MAFcat said. Done.
RANT OVER. On with the Far Cry 2 retrospective!
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JBbear's Two Cents
What MAFcat said. Done.
RANT OVER. On with the Far Cry 2 retrospective!
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