Far Cry 2 Review from Brady McIntosh on Vimeo.
(Above – footage from Far Cry 2 (PC), played/edited by me and recorded with FRAPS)
In 2004, Ubisoft released the original, award-winning Far Cry – developed by Crytek. Far Cry (original – PC only) changed the face of gaming with it’s ground-breaking graphics, gameplay, and “open-world” environment (the levels were still scripted, but gave the player the chance to figure out his way through each mission). Since then, there have been multiple minor “sequels” made by Ubisoft for consoles (Far Cry Vengeance, etc.).
Far Cry 2 has been named the true sequel to Far Cry, but only in name. It does not continue the original storyline or contain any of the original characters. It doesn’t even take place in the tropical paradise we all remember and enjoyed.
Far Cry 2 (released October 21, 2008) – developed by Ubisoft Montreal, takes place in the war-torn paradise, Africa. You’re dropped into this hardened godforsaken land as a mercenary to quell the fires of both sides of this faction war (and/or to cause a few yourself) by dealing with the source, a man known as, the Jackal.
The Jackal is an arms dealer that is selling weapons to both sides, the UFLL (United Front of Liberation and Labor) and APR (Alliance for Popular Resistance). In the game, you take on missions from both factions, trying to find out more and more about the Jackal, so you can complete your final objective.
Ubisoft Montreal worked a good two years or more on this sequel, which began as a PC exclusive but since then has been ported to consoles (XBOX 360, PS3). Crytek (the makers of the original Far Cry) have no connection to this sequel. Far Cry 2 brought in some revolutionary features to gaming:
- - Dunia Engine – built specifically for Far Cry 2. It delivers amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I., and much more.
- - True Open World Gameplay - over 50Km2 of seamlessly rendered African landscape to explore whenever, however you want.
- - Real-Time Immersion – real-time story telling, systemic auto-healing, minimal in-game interface (HUD), weapon degrading, etc.
I pre-ordered Far Cry 2 (PC) from GameStop a little over a month in advance – so I received the GameStop Pre-Order Limited Edition at no extra cost. The Limited Edition extras contained a large fold-out world map of Far Cry 2, 6 exclusive bonus missions, and the Limited Edition packaging. I recieved the game October 22 and installed/began playing pretty much immediately. The installation went great on Vista Ultimate 64 and SecureRom connnected once at the end to verify the originality of the game (you must have an active internet connection while installing/uninstalling FC2).
Ubisoft implemented a new version of SecureRom with Far Cry 2 – you get a total of 5 installs on 3 different machines (making a total of 15 installs). If you uninstall the game correctly, SecureRom will revoke one install. I’ve never had any trouble with SecureRom so far (and didn’t with FC2), but hope Ubisoft eventually drops the SecureRom in a future patch, after the hype is over.
I’ve played Far Cry 2 for over 23+ hours and am only 69% of the way through the game (playing all the main and secondary missions). This shows how expansive this game is – you really can go anywhere, do anything. You make the decisions. Your decisions pave the way for the rest of the game.
Far Cry 2’s multiplayer is alot of fun, especially when you want to take a break from the main game and storyline. There are 4 game modes in mp: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Diamond, and 
Uprising (similar to VIP). With the recent v1.01 patch, multiplayer has gotten a bunch better, but still has some obvious flaws that could make or break mp. Ubisoft is fixing some of the issues and will hopefully listen to the gamers’ for future patches.
(I haven’t touched on Far Cry 2’s impressive map editor in this review, but will in an upcoming post along with more multiplayer statistics.)
My system performs fantastically with Far Cry 2 – it isn’t as resource-intensive as Crysis or Crysis Warhead (which I could play on Very High), so I can play FC2 at native resolution (1680 x 1050) with everything on Ultra High (no AA – just because I don’t think this game really needs it). Full system specs coming very soon (with pics).
Conclusion: Far Cry 2 really does live up to all the promises Ubisoft made over the past couple years and goes beyond my expectations. The immersion in this game is fantastic – it really feels like you’re there stalking through the jungle, sweltering in the desert sun, taking on missions of your choosing in a bullet-torn faction war. The dynamic weather system changes the mood of the game considerably and the music pulls you through the game, making each mission or just exploring the landscape an unforgettable experience.
Rating: 5/5 – Recommended and one of my favorite all-time games.
Rated: M for Mature
Nominated for 15 awards at E3, including Best First-Person Shooter (Gametrailers), Best Shooting Game (IGN), Best Action Game (Game Critics).
What a thorough, very well said review. Almost makes me want to play it! The video and pics are pretty cool, too. Many gamers will be glad for the effort you put into this and will look forward to the follow-up you posted.
Oops, meant to say at the end, “you posted about.”