Schrade said:
Walking scripted paths isn't scripted?
Disclaimer: It's been a long ass time since I've played Far Cry.
Well of course there is scripting but not in the COD sense where everything is scripted. COD allies & enemies generally a) bob up and down behind crates / emplacements, b) charge head on c) have no free will at all, being 100% scripted. Even worse, the game relies on infinite spawning, hidden triggers and other tricks to mask the weak AI.
Far Cry relies more on a decision making AI and randomness. Mercs will behave differently depending on their alertness level, troop strength, your last known position, etc. The AI was still pretty stupid at times but at least it TRIED, relying on its own wits, and didn't cheat such as launching infinite waves of automatons at you.
Games like FEAR, Uncharted, Resistance and KZ2 adopt a hybrid approach, offering fairly linear experiences, but with smarter AI in it. There is some scripting going on, but the enemies are not complete morons and do try to flank, take cover etc.
IMO smart enemies makes the experience far more satisfying and fresh. I find the AI in COD to be very off-putting and antiquated. It's barely improved in the ten years the series has been running.