Far Cry 2 Review
Developers: UbiSoft
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

Can you find the jackal hiding in this lush bush?

Far Cry 2 puts you in the muddy boots of a mercenary who’s been sent to East Africa, a country in the heat of civil war after the collapse of its government.  Now two factions the UFLL (United Front for Liberation and Labour) and APR (Alliance for Popular Resistance) are fighting for control.  However both sides are being armed by a corrupt money lusting arms dealer known as ‘The Jackal’.  It’s your ultimate goal to hunt down and kill the jackal to try and put an end to the civil war.

Graphics and Presentation

Far cry 2 was one of the first Xbox 360 titles that really showed the graphical capabilities of the console.  Ubisoft Montreal definitely did a great job with their new game engine Dunia which was developed especially for this game.

The lush African jungle, dry arid deserts and patchy savannahs are sure to leave your jaw wide open.  Widespread area of animated vegetation and trees really make you feel like you’re lost in the heart of East Africa.  The large range of colours from the deep greens in the jungle to the copper tones in the sand will keep your eyes glued to your screen.

The geometry is made to look even more special with the dynamic lighting.  Ubisoft have developed a day/night cycle.  The suns light will transform from a crisp bright light in the day to a soft warm glow in the evening, giving you a different perspective on the world around you depending on what time of day it is.  There is also a dynamic weather system which effects, wind speed, direction and intensity of rain and sunlight.

Player models are well modeled and textured with a high level of detail, especially character faces.  There are a good range of player models so not every enemy you come across will appear the same.  Graphically the star of the show has to be the fire effects.  As well as being dynamically generated they are some of the most realistic looking fires ever witnessed in game.

Far Cry 2’s menu system is laid out in what appears to be an old tatty journal of some kind, which really gives you a sense of that traveling theme.  Something you will be doing plenty of in this game.  Menus are clear and easy to follow leaving you less time working things out and more time playing the game.

Sound

With the game being set in Africa, you would half expect some music resembling the culture.  This is what is delivered in the form of bongo drums and traditional African chanting, cleverly faded in and out to create tension when shots are fired or enemies are alerted.

Wildlife sounds are often heard when traversing through the wilderness, giving you a sense of the wildlife around you.  However one of the better sound effects is the crackling of fire.  If you shut your eyes and listened you would swear to yourself that you’re going to get burnt at any second.

Dialogue is heard in both English and the African native language depending on the character, however any character in direct conversation with you will always speak English and subtitles are always shown at the bottom of the screen.

Gameplay

The game opens with you sitting in a jeep driven by an African gentleman telling you stories like any typical taxi driver.  As you are driven to your hotel in Pala you are struck with an episode of illness brought on by Malaria a disease you have contracted whilst in the country.  Your contraction of this disease plays a significant role in the game as you have to scour the 50km2 of open land to find pills to ease your symptoms.  Whilst playing the game you will experience blurred vision which can only be treated with these special pills, failing to take the pills will result in your death.  This can become a burden especially when you a trying to complete the mission at hand.

Your health can be restored by injecting yourself with syrettes found in medical boxes.  Sometimes serious injuries such as bullet wounds and broken bones will need to be healed first before a syrette can be used. Failure to heal your self in time will obviously result in death.  Death does not however mean all is lost.  When your character dies you will be reverted back to your last save point.

Save points are located in safe houses which can be found in numerous places all over the map.  Most safe houses are locked, to unlock them and be able to save your game at these locations you must kill the existing inhabitants consisting of armed militia. Safe houses also allow you to sleep and rest.  You can set your alarm on your stopwatch to a suitable time of day to carry out your next mission.  Once a safe house is unlocked you may be awarded with a buddy depending on the region your in.  A buddy will come to your aid when your near to death and drag you to a safe distance.  This can be a real godsend as it will often save you from having to restart a mission from the beginning.  Be sure to take care of your buddies, their not invincible, and once their dead they do not respawn.

Choosing a suitable time of day to complete missions is very important.  Enemies act differently to temperature and light.  If the weather is hot enemies will be subdued allowing you to catch them off guard, night will mean enemies will be more alert but less likely to spot you  n the cover of darkness.  Once an enemy has spotted you he will alert other guards who will work as a team to take you out using any weapons and vehicles at their disposal. Depending on the situation you may want to stay and fight or flee and hide.  But be warned that the AI are no pushover and will pursue you.

Your ultimate goal is to find and kill the arms dealer Jackal.  Accepting missions from different militia groups and speaking to characters through out the game will get you closer to your target.  There are also side missions available which can be accessed through many of the radio towers dotted around the map.  Missions can seem to become very monotonous after long periods of playing; often having to do a lot of traveling before you reach your target.  Traveling can be made quicker with the use of jeeps, cars, boats and gliders.  Some vehicles such as jeeps and boats are fitted with machine guns which often come in handy for fending off enemy vehicles.  Be sure to look after your vehicle, if it becomes damaged you can repair it by approaching the hood of the car and pressing Y.  Vehicles cannot be repaired after serious fire damage or explosions.  Without a vehicle you will find yourself spending a large amount of time walking on foot which can become very boring very quickly.

There are numerous weapons at hand to help you complete missions, such as sniper rifles, flame throwers and even a tranquilizer gun.  Weapons can be bought at the armory by trading diamonds found throughout the map.  Use fire as a weapon in the dry savannahs.  A fire in a dry environment will often rapidly grow out of control and race through entire settlements.  Use this to your advantage when fighting large amounts of resistance, a very nifty feature indeed. 

Another nice feature incorporated in to the game is weapon jamming.  Weapons can also be scavenged from dead enemies, but used weapons are more prone to jamming.  Be sure to invest in a nice new primary weapon, you will need a reliable weapon when completing missions.

Diamonds are your currency in the world.  Locate and collect diamonds using your GPS and phone.  The green light will flash faster or slower depending on your bearing and proximity to the nearby diamond which are always found in briefcases.

Closing Comments

Far Cry 2 has definitely raised the bar visually for Xbox 360 titles, from the lush animated geometry to the dynamic day/night and weather cycles.  The AI is smart and fun to play against and will often test your decision making and shooting skills.  However where more effort has been put in to the visuals less effort has seemed to of gone in to the story and game itself.  After a few hours of playing you develop a strange sense of déjà vu and cant help but think you have done it all before.  Despite that the games definitely worth a try to experience its stunning visuals but do expect this novelty to ware off within a few hours.

3-5
Reviewed by Ayden Thomas.