Whimpering for Vengeance: Far Cry:Vengeance (Wii) Review
Posted on
Thursday, July 05, 2007
by Gary A. Ballard
The term launch title is generally used in a derogatory manner to indicate the type of game typical of the launch of a new console. Other than a few stellar titles, most console launches are filled with their share of rushed ports from other platforms and simplistic licensed games based on recent popular animated movies. The insult launch title was made for drek like Happy Feet. But based on the fact that the Far Cry series had been successfully ported from its original PC platform to the other consoles, and that Far Cry: Vengeance for the Nintendo Wii wasn't meant to have a great deal of new content, one wouldn't think it could sink to the depths that a kids movie tie-in might. One would be wrong.
Far Cry: Vengeance (FC:V) for the Wii is a mixed bag, where the mixture consists of about 80% horse crap. FC:V didn't have to be as bad as it is. As I said, the game is mostly unchanged from previous versions, with a little new content thrown in. While the motion-sensing controls of the Wii are a new twist, the gameplay they add is so basic when compared to other FPS titles like Red Steel or Call of Duty 3 that the designers displayed little imagination. The Far Cry graphics engine, capable of rendering gorgeous vistas on the PC and other platforms, appears to have devolved three graphics generations. While I will certainly admit the Wii's graphics chip lacks the power of the Xbox 360 or the PS3, other launch titles have shown it perfectly capable of rendering exciting visuals. But what FC:V ends up with is a muddled, angular, badly-textured mess. Characters not only look angular, often it appears their bodies were put together using the most primitive shapes possible. GameCube games like Eternal Darkness absolutely sparkle when compared to FC:V.
Even worse than the artistic inadequacies, the technical aspects of FC:V are glaringly bad. Cutscenes rendered with the in-game engine are choppy and pixelated, as if they were thrown together the night before the game went to press. It's one thing if heavy action causes graphical slowdown (and in this game, that does occur), but when a pre-rendered, non-interactive cutscene can't even be displayed at 30 frames per second, someone should be looking for a new job. There's simply no excuse for that sort of garbage, launch title rush or not. The game compounds this series of errors by piling on bug after bug. After about an hour of play, the game froze on me, locking up and producing an irritating sound stutter that continued until I reset the system. After the second hour of play, my Wiimote lost sync with the system and could not reconnect, a problem which required multiple resets to remedy. Upon returning to the game, I discovered that my progress in the game had been completely wiped. Faced with replaying those two hours, I chose instead to the return the game to my rental service. Life is too short to be playing games that bitchslap you with little warning.
The most disappointing aspect of this comedy of errors is that the gameplay wasn't as bad as all that. While not up to the standards of Zelda, Red Steel or Call of Duty3, it was nevertheless a mildly entertaining game. Though linear to a fault, as a "shooter on rails" it was playable. Had the polish and presentation of a normal title been in any way present, one might even have been able to enjoy it despite it being standard shooter fare. But adding all the bugs and bad designs together with the uninspiring gameplay, one is left with a steaming pile of launch title. The game was blatantly underdone to make a launch window, rushed and improperly tested, built with a lazy indifference that's infuriating. It's obvious that other than Red Steel, Ubisoft had not placed its faith in the Wii making any sort of progress against the release of the PS3, and thus put out a few cursory titles for a quick buck. FC:V is currently on sale for $19.99, which is about $14.99 more than anyone should ever be asked to pay for it.
For its complete lack of anything worthwhile to recommend it, I give Far Cry: Vengeance 1 star, a star it only gets because its gameplay wasn't as atrocious as the rest of the package. Rent this game if you really have nothing else to play, but be prepared to take it back early.
Far Cry: Vengeance (FC:V) for the Wii is a mixed bag, where the mixture consists of about 80% horse crap. FC:V didn't have to be as bad as it is. As I said, the game is mostly unchanged from previous versions, with a little new content thrown in. While the motion-sensing controls of the Wii are a new twist, the gameplay they add is so basic when compared to other FPS titles like Red Steel or Call of Duty 3 that the designers displayed little imagination. The Far Cry graphics engine, capable of rendering gorgeous vistas on the PC and other platforms, appears to have devolved three graphics generations. While I will certainly admit the Wii's graphics chip lacks the power of the Xbox 360 or the PS3, other launch titles have shown it perfectly capable of rendering exciting visuals. But what FC:V ends up with is a muddled, angular, badly-textured mess. Characters not only look angular, often it appears their bodies were put together using the most primitive shapes possible. GameCube games like Eternal Darkness absolutely sparkle when compared to FC:V.
Even worse than the artistic inadequacies, the technical aspects of FC:V are glaringly bad. Cutscenes rendered with the in-game engine are choppy and pixelated, as if they were thrown together the night before the game went to press. It's one thing if heavy action causes graphical slowdown (and in this game, that does occur), but when a pre-rendered, non-interactive cutscene can't even be displayed at 30 frames per second, someone should be looking for a new job. There's simply no excuse for that sort of garbage, launch title rush or not. The game compounds this series of errors by piling on bug after bug. After about an hour of play, the game froze on me, locking up and producing an irritating sound stutter that continued until I reset the system. After the second hour of play, my Wiimote lost sync with the system and could not reconnect, a problem which required multiple resets to remedy. Upon returning to the game, I discovered that my progress in the game had been completely wiped. Faced with replaying those two hours, I chose instead to the return the game to my rental service. Life is too short to be playing games that bitchslap you with little warning.
The most disappointing aspect of this comedy of errors is that the gameplay wasn't as bad as all that. While not up to the standards of Zelda, Red Steel or Call of Duty3, it was nevertheless a mildly entertaining game. Though linear to a fault, as a "shooter on rails" it was playable. Had the polish and presentation of a normal title been in any way present, one might even have been able to enjoy it despite it being standard shooter fare. But adding all the bugs and bad designs together with the uninspiring gameplay, one is left with a steaming pile of launch title. The game was blatantly underdone to make a launch window, rushed and improperly tested, built with a lazy indifference that's infuriating. It's obvious that other than Red Steel, Ubisoft had not placed its faith in the Wii making any sort of progress against the release of the PS3, and thus put out a few cursory titles for a quick buck. FC:V is currently on sale for $19.99, which is about $14.99 more than anyone should ever be asked to pay for it.
For its complete lack of anything worthwhile to recommend it, I give Far Cry: Vengeance 1 star, a star it only gets because its gameplay wasn't as atrocious as the rest of the package. Rent this game if you really have nothing else to play, but be prepared to take it back early.
Labels: Video Games, Wii
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 7:38 PM
0 Comments
|
|
Save This Page
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home