A Close Call in (Far Cry 2’s) Africa
The AI in Far Cry 2 seems like some of the best I’ve seen in a what is primarily an action game. Perhaps examined on an individual NPC level, the AI isn’t actually that good; however at a higher level, especially with multiple NPCs interacting with each other, they (usually) give the appearance of being human-like. Even with sometimes questionable behavior, the game seems to have an “emergent” feel to it, rather than a scripted feel. This plus the open-ended nature of the game environment takes the game beyond “just another shooter”, and I highly recommend the game to anyone with a rig powerful enough to play it. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the game; I think it is largely because real tactics can actually work out in expected ways most of the time. Sometimes, though, things just go wrong…
A recent mission sent me to a derelict airport to assassinate a drug dealer. I approached on foot in the middle of the night, hoping to sneak into a good position to take him out without having to fight off too many guards. I was just coming over a small rise when a shot rang out. A sniper, perched atop a high, open frame tower had seen me! I quickly ducked behind a nearby rock, trying to decide what to do. I exchanged a few rounds with him, but he was still quite a ways off and I was not getting many hits with my AK-47. He did eventually go down. All of a sudden, I hear the roar of Jeep; apparently this sniper had friends, and they were coming overland right at me! I barely escaped being run over; the Jeep crashed into into the rock I had so recently used as shelter. The driver was getting out while his buddy in the back blasted away with the mounted machine gun. Again using the rock as shelter, I managed to kill both the gunner and the driver. I was not hurt too badly, but I had used up a lot of ammo.
Continuing forward, I found some ammo at the base of the sniper’s tower. Not enough to completely fill up, but it would have to do. I decided to press on. Approaching the ramshackle hanger, I could see sentries patrolling. I figured I could take a few out at distance, and lure the rest out into the open. Unfortunately, there were quite a few more enemies than I had anticipated. Soon I was out of ammo and running back toward the sniper tower. It was interesting to watch the guards search for me; they first looked where they saw or heard shots coming from, then fanned out from there. At this point, the mission seemed a bust. I’d have to go re-arm and try again.
A sudden thought entered my mind; what about the rifle the sniper was using? In this game it’s generally best to avoid using enemies’ guns. They are typically in very bad shape and jam after a few shots. At this point though, I didn’t have much to lose. I quickly scaled the tower and grabbed the rifle. Up on the tower, I could see half a dozen or more guys searching for me. I managed to kill most of them at distance. A few ran for the tower, and it was a close thing killing them before they reached the top. After all this, there were still guards around the building where my target waited. I noticed a red barrel (which, of course, is the universal sign for “shoot me, I explode”) and took it out. There must have been more barrels nearby, because the whole place went up. Unfortunately, buildings aren’t destructible, but I could see the flames sweeping through the interior. One guy ran out of the building, hopped in a jeep, and took off into the distance. I took a few pot shots at him but didn’t hit him. I wonder if he was going for help, or just getting the hell out of there?
After the flames died down, my target was somehow still alive. Not only that, but someone was shooting at me from inside the building. I couldn’t see the person, even with the rifle scope. However, I did occasionally see a muzzle flash near a hole torn in the side of the building. Bad news for him. A few shots later, the sniper was silenced. It turns out that the sniper was my target. Mission accomplished.
The great thing about the experience is that it would have unfolded entirely differently if I had used different tactics. I could have taken the jeep that attacked me earlier, set some explosives on it, driven it over there, jumped out, ran like hell and detonated it. I could have used stealth to get in closer and a silenced weapon to take the guards out one by one. All of those tactics (and many more) are totally viable and I would have had a totally different story to tell. The freedom of action and the varied reaction of your enemies is experienced over and over in the game and makes it something more than your usual shooter. I’m looking forward to my next mission in Far Cry 2.
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