Game Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: Sony PS3
Rating: M
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Buy this at: Amazon for $59.99
I’m all into the first person shooters these days. While I’ll pretty much play any shooter, the better the story and gameplay is the better the shooter. That’s pretty much any game, though. I was looking forward to playing, “Far Cry 2″, which was released by Ubisoft in late October. It wasn’t because of the Far Cry name. In fact, “Far Cry 2″ bears very little resemblance to its predecessor. It’s pretty much a Far Cry title in name only. This isn’t a sequel to the original Far Cry. It’s another take on first shooter concepts, that just happens to have the name Far Cry attached to it.
I played for close to 30 hours. By that point, I felt I had explored enough of the game though there was still a chance for more game play. I wasn’t looking to rush through this game and truly, you can take it at your own pace. That’s part of what makes this an “open-ended” gameplaying experience. I didn’t venture too much into the online playing realm. I don’t always play well with others, but for those that do, the opportunity to play with as many as 16 other players is there. I could see the potential for online play in this game, considering you already have NPC allies that work with you, to help you through the game.
What really appeals to me the most about “Far Cry 2″ is the beautiful scenery and what seems like endless opportunities for gameplay and the ability to explore. You sort of dictate what you do and where you go, though your mission is guided by the various quests you go on. Of course, you’ll need to use your adept skills to navigate through a war torn nation in Africa, while building up relationships and playing the various factions against one another. While this concept has been done, I don’t believe it has ever been done quite like it has in “Far Cry 2″.
You are more fully immersed in this game, because it’s fairly realistic. You choose who is your ally, who you betray and who are your enemies. Your actions affect the characters you play with and you also have the ability to change and affect your environment. Ultimately, what you choose to do has the potential to change the world. While you have the chance to interact with a variety of colorful characters, those anticipating another “Far Cry” or an extension of the original game are set to be disappointed. The characters are all different, there are no feral instincts and you won’t be taking on any funky creatures.
Story:
You are a mercenary in a war-torn, Central African nation. At the beginning, you get to choose from a series of characters. These men are of varying ages, heights, builds and experience levels. You can choose based on these features, as well as physical attributes. Once you choose your character, you are immediately brought into the game. You have been hired to eliminate “The Jackal”. The Jackal is playing both sides of the conflict by selling arms to the two, most powerful warring factions, the UFLL and the APR.
You arrive in Leboa-Sako, and are immediately thrust into the harsh environment when you are taken by a cab/jeep to your hotel. Upon arrival, you contract malaria. After passing out, you find yourself in your hotel room. The Jackal is there. He threatens to kill you, but points out your failure to kill him means you can no longer work for the people who hired you. You’ll have to choose a side. The Jackal could kill you, but instead he lets you live.
You pass out and don’t wake up again until the ceasefire has ended and all chaos has erupted in your hotel. You pass out again mid-escape and are revived from an unnamed faction leader. He gives you some missions to complete, and for a short while, you must complete said missions in order to accomplish your goals. Eventually, you meet Reuben Oluwagembi, a journalist writing about the conflict.
Reuben has you find various hidden tapes featuring an interview he did with The Jackal. If you find those and you also find the malaria medicine, you have the ability to choose your missions and you now have ultimate control over the game. I see the initial, guided gameplay as your tutorial and then you decide what to do, who to help, who to trust and what your mission is. Of course, you still haven’t given up on tracking down The Jackal. That is the ultimate goal and one you shouldn’t forget.
From there, you work with the various factions, playing one against the other, getting betrayed, facing illness, and ultimately finding out the Jackal’s true purpose. Despite the open ended play, there is an obvious story and point to the game. You will follow the story through to the end, but how you get there ultimately depends on you and what missions you take. You can also dictate various parts of the story by changing the environment around you, though the story seems to follow the same path, no matter what you do, and what you decide on an individualized basis.
Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 
Features:
The greatest feature is the entire system developed specifically for “Far Cry 2″. It’s called Dunia and is the entire engine that powers the open-ended gameplay. Thanks to Dunia, your environment is realistic with a night and day cycle in real time, exceptionally cool special effects, environments that you can change in various ways, from total destruction to mild annihilation, A.I that appears unscripted when it comes to NPC enemies, a dynamic audio track with an innovative music system, and realistic weather patterns/storms. These are the things that boost the reality of this video game. Ubisoft went out of their way to develop this unique engine with quite a bit of success.
One other cool thing about “Far Cry 2″ is the unique, Map Editor. The editor was designed so that you can use it easily, efficiently and to aid you through your missions. You can make the terrain on your map higher or lower, you can add textures to the map and you can even include specific landmarks or built pieces to pretty up an area. With the map editor, you can use bridges, buildings, specific pieces (like barrels, etc.) vehicles, and pretty much any other object you can think of, excluding weapons. This allows you to more easily store your maps at a smaller file level.
One feature that really isn’t a game feature, but makes game play enjoyable is the realistic setting. From what I’ve seen of Africa, the atmosphere and environment for “Far Cry 2″ are spot on. There are intricate jungles and a vibrantly constructed savannah with a variety of herbivores to compliment this unique setting. You can travel throughout the land in a variety of vehicles, though you start out with a pretty crappy car. One of the biggest parts of this game is the traveling you’ll do between safe houses, towns and guard posts. You’ll also get to use a variety of weapons. One of my favorites is the flamethrower, though the grenades and moltovs are quite helpful in blowing up the enemy!
The weirdest, though most fascinating part of “Far Cry 2″ has to be the restoration of health. When your health is low, you may get the occasional shot to jolt you back to life, but in most cases, you will be required to perform surgery on yourself. The images, as you poke items into bullet wounds to pry the bullets out are quite graphic for a video game. I can see why “Far Cry 2″ received and deserves its M rating. You also might just have to murder a buddy NPC, in the event he’s already dying. You can choose to save them if you have an injectable syrette, or kill them on the spot, if you don’t.
To continue reading this review, Go to Page Two…
—————-Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick is a twentysomething guy, who has been gaming since the days of Atari. Enthralled by his first NES before he even turned 10, he’s long been a gamer and a Nintendo enthusiast. Dominick is in a wheelchair, so he writes from the unique perspective of gaming with limited mobility. He loves playing his PS3, his Xbox 360 and even his Nintendo Wii and DS. His favorite games are action/adventure FP & MP shooter, and racing games. Amongst his favorite game series are Brother in Arms, Fallout, Armored Core, anything Mario and Legend of Zelda. When not gaming, Dominick is a human rights activist, sports enthusiast, political guru, aspiring filmmaker and homeschooling father. You can find him on twitter nearly every day so feel free to add: dominickevans.
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