Far Cry 2

Fifty square kilometers of African terrain. That’s how much open space you have to accomplish Far Cry 2’s primary objective: Kill the weapons dealer known as the Jackal, who has been supplying both sides of a bloody civil war in the game’s fictional setting. If the sheer size of the game world sounds daunting, just consider the fact that it’s densely occupied with dozens of towns, numerous encampments, and a whole population of NPC characters (potential allies and enemies alike). Far Cry 2’s expansive environment is undoubtedly its most notable asset, but what’s really impressive is that the game is filled with enough compelling action to actually make use of it.

As a stranger in unfamiliar territory, it’s clear that you can’t just shoot your way across the country to find your target. Getting to the Jackal requires you to form allegiances with mercenaries and guerrilla factions to earn enough prestige and currency (in the form of diamonds) to work your way through the loosely scripted story to the climatic showdown. A buddy system helps you along the way—you befriend a cast of NPCs that become both your quest givers and sidekicks in the inevitable shootouts. In fact, the game is structured a lot like Grand Theft Auto, but with GTA’s urban jungle swapped out for a real one. This role-playing-lite experience was definitely enjoyable and let us progress at our own pace. Our only gripe is that the NPCs’ voice delivery sounded rushed at times.

Your tasks are varied enough to facilitate different gunplay styles. Though tasks typically fall into the “assault the enemy base” or “retrieve a valuable package” categories, the range of mission locations—walled fortress, riverside swamp, oil pipeline, to name just a few—gave us plenty of opportunities to experiment with tactics. The guns-blazing strategy indeed works, but we preferred the more stealthy approach, especially since we could complete any mission under the shroud of the midnight sky.

In fact, many of the thrills come not from the shootouts, which are pretty challenging given the smart enemy AI, but from the planning we had to do before making our assaults. Scouting out the mission area, planting explosive traps, and picking out easy targets before executing a plan added tension to each firefight. The anticipation of carrying through a well-thought-out strategy—whether everything goes according to plan or not—is a huge part of what makes this game fun. And even when nothing goes according to plan, we were given plenty of opportunities in later missions to try similar approaches (the missions do get somewhat repetitive by the end).

And in between missions, we loved being able to drive around and explore the country, looking for new safe houses and scenic vistas that show just how much effort was put into designing such an amazing world. A functional river system with motorboats, rickety bridges, and gorgeous waterfalls makes the game world very believable. But we also had to prepare ourselves for a fair amount of walking if our vehicles were destroyed after a battle.

Far Cry 2’s level of immersion goes beyond what any first-person shooter has ever achieved. From the lack of a HUD to the streaming level content (meaning no load screens), we at times forgot that we were playing a game. It also doesn’t hurt that this is one of the best-looking games ever made—if your system can support it. But with its fully realized game world and the exciting combat scenarios, Far Cry 2 is one of our favorite shooters of the year.

Far Cry 2

Suntan

Massive detailed environment, intense combat missions, open-ended play.

Heatstroke

Some repetitive tasks, high system requirements, weak vehicle combat.

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