Far Cry 2 Review
In the slew of AAA holiday titles, great games can easily slip under the radar. Such was the case with Ubisoft’s Far Cry 2, an open-world FPS in the vein of Crysis. The game slipped into obscurity after Epic Games’ Gears of War 2 dominated 2008’s holiday sales and now you can easily find the title in any bargain bin near you. So is it worth picking it up for a few cheap thrills?
Far Cry 2 is set in an unnamed country within Africa. The inhabitants are fleeing as civil war threatens to tear the county apart. You play a mercenary charged with the task of eliminating a mysterious figure, known only as ‘the Jackal’, the arms dealer responsible for supplying weapons to the warring factions. To accomplish this mission, the player must complete tasks assigned to them by either of the warring factions. These missions include destroying a particular item of importance, threatening an opposing faction member or assassinating a VIP. The missions aren’t particularly varied but there is always more than one way to tackle a situation. ‘Buddies’ that you make along the way will offer alternate aproaches known as ’subversions’, which take longer to complete but result in upgrades for your safe-houses.
Each mission brings you closer to your target and at set points in the game the Jackal will appear to you, revealing a little more about his character with every rendevous. The story offers up a few interesting twists and turns but most of the exciting developments do not occur until the closing segments of the game, which is a disappointment.
Far Cry 2’s gameplay revolves around a Grand Theft Auto-style approach to missions: you will receive objectives at a central hub, drive to a location, complete the mission, rinse and repeat. At times this can lead to a feeling of repetition and with such a large environment to traverse, it can feel like a chore moving between mission locations. This isn’t helped by random encounters at guard outposts, which happen far too frequently along the map’s roads, leaving you bogged down in a messy firefight and short of ammo, when all you want to do is proceed to your objective. Should you be injured, the player must perform self-surgery to repair the damage,. If you are downed altogether, a buddy can save your behind and carry you from danger but be warned: go down twice and its curtains.
For traversing the landscape, the player can shoose from a host of vehicles, ranging from cars, to boats, to the infamous Far Cry hang-gliders. The handling on each vehicle is surprisingly good for a FPS, with the exception of the stiff hang-glider. An irritable nuisance is that the map is littered with sturdy plant life and scattered boulders which can sometimes impede movement. For instance, some ledges that look climbable are in fact not, due to the poor jumping height.
The shooting however, feels good; weapons have a realistic sense of impact and grenades create powerful shock-waves which can level some structures. Enemies take a fair amount of punishment before going down so its important to make sure they’re actually dead. Foes will often cling to life and shoot you from the ground unless you pop a quick round into them to finish the job. Different gameplay styles are accomodated well; players can snipe from distance or charge right in as long as they are properly outfitted for the job. Day and night cycles can help stealthy players to inflitrate objectives. The big selling point of the game was its claim to have ‘the most realistic fire ever seen in a game’ but while the fire looks great and is fun to mess around with, it’s tactical use is disappointingly limited.
The range of weaponry available for purchase in Far Cry 2 is impressive and each weapon can be customised and upgraded for greater accuracy and reliability at one of several weapon stores scattered across the map. Reliability upgrades are particularly important as weapons will degrade in the harsh African climate. A weapon’s status is apparent from its visible wear and tear – the more dust and scratches, the more likely it is to jam or fall apart altogether. Though it could be considered a little unrealistic, guns retrieved from fallen faction members will be in poor condition, so its better to return to the weapon stores frequently.
New upgrades are purchased with rough diamonds, the game’s currency. These are obtained by completing missions or by finding briefcases stashed around the environment. The Jackal’s audio logs can also be found in a similar manner and help to flesh out the story, though they are well hidden and only for the completionists out there.
The focus of the game is clearly on the lengthy single-player campaign but there is an additional multiplayer component featuring standard FPS game types and options. There is also a fully functional map editor, which should ensure longevity, assuming the community supports it.
Visually, Far Cry 2 is stunning. There’s occassionally some texture pop-in but on the whole the game is beautiful. At the height of day the visuals really shine and the environment comes together into a cohesive vision of Africa. The landscape is nicely varied, with deserts, rivers, mountains and jungles and it helps give players a sense that they are really traversing a massive environment. There are no loading screens once the environment is entered, which is something of a technical marvel considering the level of detail in the game world. The only criticism could be that the landscape is so large that it feels a little empty. Well designed first-person character animations bring a touch of authenticity and immersion.
Sounds are well produced. Guns each have a distinctive burst and ambient sounds are well handled and effective in creating an immerive Africa. A nice touch is the backing track of tribal drums, which plays throughout the experience and dynamically adjusts to the intensity of the player’s situation. Voice acting however, is awful. Delivery is so quiet and rapid that you’ll find yourself relying on the subtitles. It’s a blemish on otherwise excellent sound design.
Far Cry 2 has a great, albeit slow, single player experience, fantastic visuals and just feels like a high-quality release. Its potential is unfortunately reduced by minor irritations like the voice acting and the overwhelming sense that the methodical pace is just not for everybody (Halo fans will need to adjust significantly). If you’re willing to take a risk, go into it with an open mind and you might be pleasantly surprised.
