Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 is the continued saga of a man left in the wilderness to fend for himself, but in Africa you now have a mission and plenty of opportunity to accomplish it.
Ratings:
Graphics & Audio: 24/25,
Gameplay: 21/25,
Creativity 21/25,
Fun 24/25
Total: 90/100
Far Cry 2 may not look a lot like the lush tropical locales that the first Far Cry game was famous for but it does have a lot in common. Firstly you have the hugely open ended gameplay in the wide open expanses of Africa instead of the lush islands which adds a whole lot of land for you to cover.
Next you do have missions but here you can go off on your own and do what you want for the most part which adds up to a lot of free will in your gameplay. Don’t want to tackle that mission on your own just ask a friend and see if they can lend you a hand, but be forwarned, that friend can get into trouble.
In Far Cry 2 they have added several friends in a buddy system that you can ask for help during missions and at other times like guarding you while you sleep. This trade off is great and adds a lot to the game when some missions are broken down to being able to accomplish them on your own or with a buddy.
When you accomplish missions with your buddy you will do more damage and create a better result from the objectives of the mission but you also have to support your friend. If they get hit you have to make sure you go to their aid because in game they can die and will not be respawning later on.
You also have side missions that add a lot to your goals and personal supplies along the way like missions from arms dealers who will unlock weapons for you as well as sell them. You can purchase weapons with diamonds that you either find laying throughout the huge campaign area or earn from missions.
Your main mission and the story line is your hunt for a man known as the Jackal, a ruthless arms dealer who has outfitted both the United Front for Liberation and Labour as well as the Alliance for Popular Resistance. Both factions are in a fictional African State that is at war with each other and both sides state they are for the people but have been warring and mostly being single minded in their fight for themselves.
The diamonds have run out in the countries diamond mines so the country is in further turmoil so you have been brought in to get rid of the one who is causing the most harm to the situation, the Jackal. You get to choose who you are from a set of nine player characters and outfit yourself from the basic weapons to start with but better ones are only a few missions away.
You will start by picking quests on your way toward the goal of killing the Jackal and the main objectives will be varied some but not by all that much. The usual killing an enemy or making one do something before getting rid of him is pretty common here as well as going to get something like weapons or some important tapes are here as well.
The game may not be varied much in what you’re doing but in how you do things they can be quite as imaginative as you are as well as fun. Roadblocks abound in this country and are controlled by one of the two factions but you can usually avoid them by going cross country. It is way more fun to knock them out every time for some extra gun play as well as the chance to get some more goodies like diamonds that are often found near these road crossings.
Scattered throughout the 50 some square kilometers of land are cases with random numbers of diamonds that you locate using a GPS unit. These are usually near crossroads, safe houses and towns so you have to visit most at least once for the loot somewhere nearby.
The land you’re traveling through is a true Africa as far as I can tell, you have vast savannahs with plenty of rocky outcroppings and dotted with vegetation just begging to be set on fire. Yes, you can set your world ablaze as well as destroy buildings and vehicles but this is a mixed blessing as you can be hurt by fire as well as a good way to hurt and stop others.
Travel is something that you will get used to as missions are usually a decent drive away but you can also use a bus to move from station to station or even hang gliders that are scattered around. The traveling is broken up a lot by attacks from roving patrols as well as the occasional roadblocks that add to your excitement.
The PC version and the PlayStation 3 version are almost identical for graphics and gameplay with a few variations and differences. The PlayStation 3 version does look a bit better while the PC version is a bit easier to control your character due to mouse and keyboard use, in my opinion.