Far Cry 2 (PC) Review

Posted by Chris Vicari on 11.15.2008

Out of the jungle and into the desert. How does the change of scenery fare for Far Cry 2?



Far Cry 2
Developer - Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher - Ubisoft
Genre - First-Person Shooter
Players - 1-16
Rated - M for Mature
Platform - PC (Also on PS3 and Xbox 360)

After four years of dealing with Jack Carver’s overacting, macho tendencies, and snappy one-liners while shooting mercs, Trigens, rocket-launching soldier mutants, and more, we now get to play the next installment in the Far Cry universe without any of that crazy scientific stuff. Developed by Ubisoft instead of Crytek, developers took a completely new direction with the series and the only thing Far Cry 2 has in common with its predecessor is the name. Instead of sloshing our way through bright blue Caribbean ocean water and trudging through jungle greenery, we’re now sent off into the African deserts, swamps, and forests.

Your mission is to survive and hunt down an arms dealer called “The Jackal,” who is selling arms to both sides of an African civil war. Far Cry 2 features an open-world environment where you’re allowed to do whatever you please be it completing the game’s main storyline or simply exploring the countryside. Let’s see how well the game stacks up to the myriad of other FPS games out there.

Gameplay

Far Cry 2 is your typical FPS cake, but with a wide assortment of icings and flavors. Forgive the reference, I was forced to attend a birthday party the other day. While you get the rip-roaring action FPS games usually entail, Far Cry 2 contains a few additions of its own allowing it to stand out from the rest of the pack, and you receive a few RPG-esque qualities, providing an enriching and far more interesting experience. Far Cry 2 doesn’t play like Bioshock, but it most certainly has more substance than Crysis.

While traversing the African wilds, you’ll be spending a majority of your time taking missions from both sides of the conflict to ascertain the whereabouts of “The Jackal,” to kill him. Far Cry 2 takes advantage of its politically-charged setting by having a wide array of appealing missions taking you to various locations such as run-down towns, a decrepit airport, deserts and forests.

The missions can range from assassinating specific individuals, taking out a group of soldiers, stealing a briefcase or just blowing something up. The only downside is that you’ll be doing a lot of traveling going to and from the mission area. Luckily there is an ample supply of fast vehicles and you can also take advantage of the game’s busing service, located in strategic locations to lighten the travel load. One complaint I have is with enemy checkpoints near crossroads, rivers and streets, because when you pass them, they immediately hop into their vehicles and chase you down, forcing you to stop and kill them. Enemies also have a tendency to respawn quite quickly, so if you wiped out a camp on your way to a mission, chances are you’ll have to fight them on the way back. While running around all the time can be a downer, the missions themselves are quite entertaining because of the many different ways they can be completed.



Thanks to the game’s open-world scheme, there are a wide array of means available to complete your missions. Do you wait until nightfall while your enemies sleep before moving in? Would you prefer to pick off your enemies from afar? Or do you just want to run in and blow shit up? Many options are available to you giving missions quite a refreshing feel to them, even though the objectives have been done many times over. I thoroughly enjoyed the day/night cycle as well and picking a time you want to fight in is really simple. If a particular mission calls for some late-night reconnaissance, but it’s 2:30 in the afternoon making stealthing a little more difficult, all you have to do is make a stop at one of your safe houses – which are dotted all over the map, and take a quick nap on the cot.

As you make friends with mercenaries by rescuing them, they will give you a call and ask you to perform side objectives making missions a little easier for you. This could mean taking out an outfit commander to prevent reinforcements from arriving on top of you, or blowing up a nearby structure to fool enemies into moving away from their assigned posts. While the side objectives don’t have to be accomplished, it helps add another layer to the mission. If you want to learn a little more about the people you're working with, you'll be a little disappointed. The only thing you get in regards to back-story is a mere sentence or two. While not a big deal, it could help flesh the story out some, giving you a glimpse into each character’s aversions and motivations.

Even though you can plow right through and complete the game in a matter of hours, there’s a good deal of other activities you can perform to take up some of your time. Side-missions, which are acquired from your new friends, are numerous and can be more interesting than the main storyline. Once completed, you become friendlier with the merc you helped, earn reputation points, and some perks at your safe houses such as vehicles, medkits and ammo. There are 40 or so side-missions interspersed throughout the game, so you miss quite a bit if you don’t complete them.



Other side activities include diamond hunting, which can be found in small suitcases all over the place, scouting enemy checkpoints, sightseeing, or outfitting the armory with high-quality weapons purchased from arms dealers with your hard-earned diamond currency. With so much to do, you’ll be spending a good deal of time in the deserts of Far Cry 2, more than you probably originally anticipated. Longevity is certainly a good thing here.

One addition, which to my knowledge has only been included in System Shock, is weapon jamming and firearm degradation. When you buy weapons from the arms dealer, they are top of the line. This means they have less recoil and hardly ever jam. Weapons you find from killing enemies are quite the contrary though. The devs spent a great amount of time on character animations and weapons models, because when your rust-covered weapon jams, your character fiddles with the weapon trying to fix it. I thought that was really cool. Every animation is unique to the weapon you’re using. If your shotgun jams, you’ll bash the side of the gun trying to dislodge the shell and if your MG goes bust, you’ll mess with the ammo belt. As you use weapons, they’ll begin to rust as well and will eventually break. Luckily, weapons purchased at the arms dealer will forever remain in the armory next door, waiting for you to swing by and pick them up.

The enemies you fight throughout the game are exceedingly competent and will communicate with each other to combat you. One notable aspect, which seems missing in many games, is that when the enemy hears you firing off a few sniper rounds, they’ll immediately scurry for cover as opposed to running out in the open, ripe for a headshot. At times though, I found the AI a little too receptive to my actions. I thought that killing someone with a machete ninja-style equated to a stealth kill, but lo and behold, I had the entire camp breathing down my neck not soon after. I prefer stealthy kills so I was a little letdown by this.



Gameplay wise, Far Cry 2 rocks the house through and through. Gun battles are fierce and you’ll have a blast playing. I don’t really have many complaints about the game aside for two which I already mentioned, but there’s a third minor issue I had as well. The locations you explore while playing are rich and well-detailed, but I was a little miffed to learn that everything wasn’t totally destructible, unlike Crysis. While you can drive through and explode small shacks and barriers, trees cannot be knocked down and most structures cannot be toppled either. Not necessarily a big deal, but I guess Crysis spoiled me. I will say though, it’s really cool when trees shake and their leaves fly off when explosives are introduced to the area.

Also available with Far Cry 2 is 16-person onlinesupport. While gameplay modes are your average selection of Deathmatch, CTF and Territorites, online play captures the combat’s ferocity discovered in singleplayer by utilizing vehicles, fire, and open areas.

Graphics

Far Cry 2 looks simply spectacular. The environments are breathtaking, the lighting is crisp and the character models are well-done. I give special props to the developers for brilliantly-crafted character animations. The movements your guy makes when prying a bullet out of his leg, plugging a hole in his arm or trying to fix a jammed weapon, are nothing short of amazing. Hands down they are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Far Cry 2’s fire effects receive a standing ovation too. Watching it spread and consume buildings, plants, trees, and vehicles is nothing short of awesome. While the game’s graphics aren’t as insane as Crysis’, they were enough for me to exclaim “Awesome!” multiple times. Good stuff all around.

Sound

Excellent is the only word which adequately describes Far Cry 2’s sound. Pure and absolute quality. Traveling through the forests and hearing the leaves rustle makes you feel like you’re actually there. Explosions rock the house and every weapon in the game sounds just like the real thing. Voicework is also commendable and the way the enemies converse with one another is really cool to listen to as well. The game’s musical score changes as the game is being played from a relaxing ambience while traveling and fast-paced drum beats during the action, and it works very well.

Fun Factor

If you enjoy open-area environments with plenty to do and see, Far Cry 2 will fit your bill nicely. I had a ton of fun shooting stuff and blowing shit up. You’ll lose track of time very quickly here. Despite the lack of anything new multiplayer-wise, online play helps bridge what was great about singleplayer over, and it does it very well. I feel like I’m repeating myself, but Far Cry 2 is a quality FPS and you’ll have a blast playing it. That’s all I can really say here.



Lasting Appeal

You’ll have plenty to do in Far Cry 2 and that means this game has a good amount of longevity to it. Coupled with enjoyable multiplayer, Far Cry 2 has an extensive lifespan on your hard drive. And because there is some replayability in the missions, depending on which way you choose to complete, that’ll bring some more time to the table as well as well. With an extensive and easy-to-use map-making tool, you can create your own experiences, providing even more hours of fun. Seriously, this game has length.

The 411

Far Cry 2 is an enjoyable and well-crafted first-person shooter, and is definitely worth some of your hard-earned cash. While not the best game out there, Far Cry 2 is most certainly one of the better ones available. If you’ve got a supercomputer, PS3 or a 360, the game is a definite buy in my book.

Graphics	9.0	A visual orgy.
Gameplay	9.0	Despite a few minor hitches with traveling and checkpoints, Far Cry 2's gameplay is great.
Sound	8.5	Guns and explosions sound lifelike. Good pacing with music as well. Commendable voicework.
Lasting Appeal	8.5	An open world with plenty to do gives the game some longevity. Not to mention an included mapmaking tool and online multiplayer.
Fun Factor	8.5	Balls to the walls fun.
Overall	8.7   [ Very Good ]

Screenshots
All 10 Far Cry 2 Screenshots