Far Cry: Vengeance for Nintendo Wii
- ESRB Rating: M - (Mature)
- Publisher: Ubi Soft Entertainment
- Genre: Shooter / FPS
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Pros
Inexpensive, nice environments, varied vehicle modes and free form exploration
Cons
Spotty and inconsistent controls, frame rate slow downs
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
For $20 it's better than most reviews say it is. However, it's exasperating controls force me to explain to my 10 year old why daddy has such a potty mouth.
Far Cry Vengeance for the Nintendo Wii, has been one of the most universally panned releases for this console outside of Rapella Pro Bass Fishing.
Well, I can't say that Far Cry doesn't deserve at least "some" of it's criticisms, but for a smooth $20 bucks you can pick up this title for 60% off it's original price in most places and for that kind of dough, you get a pretty enjoyable little shooter with a really fun 2 player multiplayer aspect that is great fun....when it works.
THE GOOD:
Again, we are treated to FPS shooters on the Wii. Being primarily mouse and keyboard guy, the Wii has finally succeeded in getting me off my computer when it comes to FPS shooters. Far Cry is no exception. The use of the nunchuck and pointer once mastered is vastly superior to the dual analog thumbsticks that are required on every other console.
Those hardcore gamers that have finally mastered the dual analog stick, will not be impressed in the least, but for me, the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo for controlling FPS has gotten me excited again about FPS on consoles.
It's odd that Far Cry got so universally panned for it's controls as they are for the most part vastly superior than Ubisoft's other title Red Steel. Holding the A button down allows you to stop the screen panning so that you can accurately target bad guys without causing your facing to change. The use of the "C" button to reload is also much easier to grasp than Red Steels jerk up of the Nunchuck or Call of Duty's use of the small "minus" key.
The game also allows some pretty cool driving sequences using Jeeps, Trucks, and various watercraft. The Wiimote/Nunchuck again shines on this level where mouse and keyboard control of vehicles on a PC were awkward at best, driving vehicles using the Wii controls was pleasantly intuitive and accurate.
The game features split screen multiplayer with a nice variety of maps, and an real cool "predator" gameplay mode where one player plays a standard run and gun player, and the other player plays his character in "beast mode" with god like leaping ability, enhanced speed, and deadly melee claw attacks. If you kill the "predator" you then become the predator yourself.
This adds a welcome change to the standard "deathmatch" style of play that has become standard fare. My son and I took great joy in switching out who becomes the "dog" while we "hunted" each other as the predator.
It's a shame that some flaky controls and design decisions have caused the game to get universally panned and as a result universally ignored. It deserves better.
THE BAD:
As you may have guessed by reading some of my earlier reviews one of my beefs about most reviewers reviewing games for the Wii seem to take the low road and bash the Wii for it's lack of next gen graphics.
The Graphics for this game has been panned by nearly everyone with a pad and pen, and for the most part, these criticisms are unfair. The graphics for this game are adequate, but by no means should they be compared with the original CryTek CryGraphics engine employed on the PC version of Far Cry.
Vegetation gets overly pixelated when viewed up close, which is quite often since you play a majority of this game in the jungle. Graphics popup is also quite noticable at times, yet for some reason, that particular issue has never really bothered me in games.
There is also a weird bug which sometimes provides some real cool water effects, but then those same waves appear to get really pixelated as you get closer to them. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, you think you are looking at a level from Duke Nukem 3D.
In short, if you compare this game with any other Far Cry game, it looks down right ugly. But those of us with Wii's have never placed eye candy as the defining factor for our games, and Far Cry's graphics are more than adequate.
The only big crack I can make on the graphics is some uncharacteristic slow downs in frame rates when running some cut scenes and in some particularly fierce firefights.
This is not an issue with the Wii perse because Call of Duty 3 has much better graphics without the slowdowns. So I will chalk that one up to some poor programming or poor optimization on the part of the developers.
Other critics have trounced this game for the lack of online multiplayer, but it seems kind of ridiculous to blame the game developer for lack of online content, when the Wii itself does not support any real online gaming.
Another one of my beefs with this game and Wii FPS in general is the lack of programmable functionality. Each FPS game I have used (I've played Call of Duty, Red Steel and Far Cry) has had its share of great mappings, and some not so great mappings. I don't see why you can't simply go into the interface and assign various functions to various controls and save that as part of your profile.
PC games for years have allowed this, and it's a real bummer that you can't do that here.
As far as the default controls go, this game has captured it....almost. However there are still some issues that have almost wanting to intentionally throw my Wiimote/Nunchuck into the TV.
THE UGLY:
The first of these is the Melee attack. It simply doesn't work all the time. The Melee attack is supposed to happen anytime you wag the wiimote left to right vigorously. However since this motion is also used to change your facing, the fact is you have to really jerk it to get the attack to be detected. And even then it's not always consistent. There is nothing more frustrating, than trying to execute a melee attack while you are being sprayed with machine gun fire only to have the game not detected.
Zooming in your view is also ludicrous. You have to initiate zoom by jerking your wiimote forward to zoom in. The problem this causes is that most of the time, when you are zooming it, you can't precisely eliminate any lateral movement from your arms, so when you zoom in on your scope, you almost always have to reacquire your target since you've moved off it. Also, if you are in sniper mode and you get jumped by your opponent, it is hard to un-zoom which often makes you cannon fodder.
Zooming clearly needs to be a button push, and I'm shocked that all the game developers are using this push in pull out feature for sniping because it clearly is substandard and inaccurate.
Another frustrating aspect of the game is using the A key to "enter predator mode". There have been times I wanted to go "beast like" and the game just refuses to note that I am holding down the A key. Remember, the A key is also used to "lock" the screen so that you can target. Why anyone would meld those two into a single button is beyond me.
The shake controls on the Nunchuk are also inaccurate. According to the game, shaking the Nunchuk left to right will allow you to use some of your Predatine to heal your self, but half the time it's detected as up and down which causes you to jump up and down like Mario on Speed. When you are hiding behind a rock trying to be stealthy, the last thing you want to do when you are trying to boost your health for the upcoming fire fight is to leap up from behind your cover like a crazed jack in the box and bring the attention of everyone in sight.
However the most frustrating problems are during multiplayer. When you are close in with your enemy, sometimes the player view is locked in it's current condition, so that if you are looking down when your opponent closes in on you, if he is too close, you can't look up, which gives him ample opportunity to shoot while you are looking down at your shoes, flaying your wiimote around in a vain attempt to change your point of view.
Some might think this is a design consideration which punishes you for not being aware of your surroundings, but it doesn't fell "as designed" it feels like and smells like a bug, and has often caused outbursts of "that's not fair" when I am plugging my son away at close range and he can't get off the dreaded melee attack to fend me off. If it is a design decision, Ubisoft should have given the defending player the option of a move to shove the attacking player off him, but as it stands, if you are found to be in this position, it's gonna cost you a life.
Finally, this game has the annoying tendancy to tell you you are "too far" away from the game if you are more than 8 to 10 feet from the TV.
I know how the IR sensor bar works, so I know the Wiimote has to read the IR sources off of the sensor bar. However, Red Steel and COD 3 don't have such a limited range. So I don't see why Far Cry should force you to be within 6 to 8 feet of the TV.
OVERALL: While I was not bothered by the graphics as some were, what really kills this game is it's spotty controls. If I spent 50 bucks on this game, I might be a bit miffed. But the overall game is well worth the $20 you can get it for now.
While it won't completely rock your world, it does give you some FPS goodness until the planets align and someone out there perfects the FPS genre on the Wii.
One can only hope and pray it will be soon.
Well, I can't say that Far Cry doesn't deserve at least "some" of it's criticisms, but for a smooth $20 bucks you can pick up this title for 60% off it's original price in most places and for that kind of dough, you get a pretty enjoyable little shooter with a really fun 2 player multiplayer aspect that is great fun....when it works.
THE GOOD:
Again, we are treated to FPS shooters on the Wii. Being primarily mouse and keyboard guy, the Wii has finally succeeded in getting me off my computer when it comes to FPS shooters. Far Cry is no exception. The use of the nunchuck and pointer once mastered is vastly superior to the dual analog thumbsticks that are required on every other console.
Those hardcore gamers that have finally mastered the dual analog stick, will not be impressed in the least, but for me, the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo for controlling FPS has gotten me excited again about FPS on consoles.
It's odd that Far Cry got so universally panned for it's controls as they are for the most part vastly superior than Ubisoft's other title Red Steel. Holding the A button down allows you to stop the screen panning so that you can accurately target bad guys without causing your facing to change. The use of the "C" button to reload is also much easier to grasp than Red Steels jerk up of the Nunchuck or Call of Duty's use of the small "minus" key.
The game also allows some pretty cool driving sequences using Jeeps, Trucks, and various watercraft. The Wiimote/Nunchuck again shines on this level where mouse and keyboard control of vehicles on a PC were awkward at best, driving vehicles using the Wii controls was pleasantly intuitive and accurate.
The game features split screen multiplayer with a nice variety of maps, and an real cool "predator" gameplay mode where one player plays a standard run and gun player, and the other player plays his character in "beast mode" with god like leaping ability, enhanced speed, and deadly melee claw attacks. If you kill the "predator" you then become the predator yourself.
This adds a welcome change to the standard "deathmatch" style of play that has become standard fare. My son and I took great joy in switching out who becomes the "dog" while we "hunted" each other as the predator.
It's a shame that some flaky controls and design decisions have caused the game to get universally panned and as a result universally ignored. It deserves better.
THE BAD:
As you may have guessed by reading some of my earlier reviews one of my beefs about most reviewers reviewing games for the Wii seem to take the low road and bash the Wii for it's lack of next gen graphics.
The Graphics for this game has been panned by nearly everyone with a pad and pen, and for the most part, these criticisms are unfair. The graphics for this game are adequate, but by no means should they be compared with the original CryTek CryGraphics engine employed on the PC version of Far Cry.
Vegetation gets overly pixelated when viewed up close, which is quite often since you play a majority of this game in the jungle. Graphics popup is also quite noticable at times, yet for some reason, that particular issue has never really bothered me in games.
There is also a weird bug which sometimes provides some real cool water effects, but then those same waves appear to get really pixelated as you get closer to them. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, you think you are looking at a level from Duke Nukem 3D.
In short, if you compare this game with any other Far Cry game, it looks down right ugly. But those of us with Wii's have never placed eye candy as the defining factor for our games, and Far Cry's graphics are more than adequate.
The only big crack I can make on the graphics is some uncharacteristic slow downs in frame rates when running some cut scenes and in some particularly fierce firefights.
This is not an issue with the Wii perse because Call of Duty 3 has much better graphics without the slowdowns. So I will chalk that one up to some poor programming or poor optimization on the part of the developers.
Other critics have trounced this game for the lack of online multiplayer, but it seems kind of ridiculous to blame the game developer for lack of online content, when the Wii itself does not support any real online gaming.
Another one of my beefs with this game and Wii FPS in general is the lack of programmable functionality. Each FPS game I have used (I've played Call of Duty, Red Steel and Far Cry) has had its share of great mappings, and some not so great mappings. I don't see why you can't simply go into the interface and assign various functions to various controls and save that as part of your profile.
PC games for years have allowed this, and it's a real bummer that you can't do that here.
As far as the default controls go, this game has captured it....almost. However there are still some issues that have almost wanting to intentionally throw my Wiimote/Nunchuck into the TV.
THE UGLY:
The first of these is the Melee attack. It simply doesn't work all the time. The Melee attack is supposed to happen anytime you wag the wiimote left to right vigorously. However since this motion is also used to change your facing, the fact is you have to really jerk it to get the attack to be detected. And even then it's not always consistent. There is nothing more frustrating, than trying to execute a melee attack while you are being sprayed with machine gun fire only to have the game not detected.
Zooming in your view is also ludicrous. You have to initiate zoom by jerking your wiimote forward to zoom in. The problem this causes is that most of the time, when you are zooming it, you can't precisely eliminate any lateral movement from your arms, so when you zoom in on your scope, you almost always have to reacquire your target since you've moved off it. Also, if you are in sniper mode and you get jumped by your opponent, it is hard to un-zoom which often makes you cannon fodder.
Zooming clearly needs to be a button push, and I'm shocked that all the game developers are using this push in pull out feature for sniping because it clearly is substandard and inaccurate.
Another frustrating aspect of the game is using the A key to "enter predator mode". There have been times I wanted to go "beast like" and the game just refuses to note that I am holding down the A key. Remember, the A key is also used to "lock" the screen so that you can target. Why anyone would meld those two into a single button is beyond me.
The shake controls on the Nunchuk are also inaccurate. According to the game, shaking the Nunchuk left to right will allow you to use some of your Predatine to heal your self, but half the time it's detected as up and down which causes you to jump up and down like Mario on Speed. When you are hiding behind a rock trying to be stealthy, the last thing you want to do when you are trying to boost your health for the upcoming fire fight is to leap up from behind your cover like a crazed jack in the box and bring the attention of everyone in sight.
However the most frustrating problems are during multiplayer. When you are close in with your enemy, sometimes the player view is locked in it's current condition, so that if you are looking down when your opponent closes in on you, if he is too close, you can't look up, which gives him ample opportunity to shoot while you are looking down at your shoes, flaying your wiimote around in a vain attempt to change your point of view.
Some might think this is a design consideration which punishes you for not being aware of your surroundings, but it doesn't fell "as designed" it feels like and smells like a bug, and has often caused outbursts of "that's not fair" when I am plugging my son away at close range and he can't get off the dreaded melee attack to fend me off. If it is a design decision, Ubisoft should have given the defending player the option of a move to shove the attacking player off him, but as it stands, if you are found to be in this position, it's gonna cost you a life.
Finally, this game has the annoying tendancy to tell you you are "too far" away from the game if you are more than 8 to 10 feet from the TV.
I know how the IR sensor bar works, so I know the Wiimote has to read the IR sources off of the sensor bar. However, Red Steel and COD 3 don't have such a limited range. So I don't see why Far Cry should force you to be within 6 to 8 feet of the TV.
OVERALL: While I was not bothered by the graphics as some were, what really kills this game is it's spotty controls. If I spent 50 bucks on this game, I might be a bit miffed. But the overall game is well worth the $20 you can get it for now.
While it won't completely rock your world, it does give you some FPS goodness until the planets align and someone out there perfects the FPS genre on the Wii.
One can only hope and pray it will be soon.
