Review – Far Cry 2 (Single Player)

I’m driving through a thick jungle, narrowly avoiding branches and trunks as I attempt to stay on a dirt path. Its pitch black and the dusty headlamps of this old jeep are hardly throwing light five foot in front of me. This isn’t exactly the dusty, sun-drenched Savannah from the game’s box.

At any time I could run into a heavily armed checkpoint, find some bloodthirsty scavengers or my vehicle could hit a tree, setting the engine ablaze. I shouldn’t be out here at this time of night, the night sky makes it almost impossible to fight effectively, I should find a safe house and sleep until sunrise, but I’m chasing a weapons convoy and I’m right on its trail.

Far Cry 2 is unreservedly intense. Everything about its construction will make you move with caution and play with fear.

Your new home is a sandbox world stretching a sizeable chunk of the African wilderness, steeped in atmosphere and buzzing with the oppressive militia and resistance. The game takes its structure from a legacy of free roaming adventures; Grand Theft Auto and its ilk, but pushes Far Cry’s shooting prowess beyond its influences. Offering both strategic stealth and explosive action as proportionately enjoyable and feasible gameplay choices, despite the change in developer, setting and cast, Far Cry’s core principles are upheld.

The sequel’s use of this often-copied, rarely- successful sandbox structure makes Far Cry a phenomenally unique and independent shooter. Missions can be chosen at your discretion and completed to your liking; perhaps taking out convoys to unlock stronger weapons is a more worthwhile task than propelling the story. Perhaps you just want to explore the world for an hour, unlocking new save locations and finding the game’s currency, diamonds.

Far Cry offers something that the legions of charmless console FPS titles have missed; immersion. Hits like BioShock and Half Life 2 drew players into their creative and distinctive worlds, while Far Cry 2 trades on its excellent reproduction of an authentic environment. Thanks to both its peerless audio and graphic design, as well as its open and liberated structure, the game will have your unyielding attention for as long as it sits in your console.

The first person camera angle offers a unique chance to fully draw the player into the world – a philosophy that Far Cry champions at every turn. From making the map a physical game-world object to setting your alarm for tomorrow’s rise, the game offers a believable and convincing world for you to absorb yourself in.

Mechanically, action heavy gamers may be put off. In its essence, at the barest concept level, Far Cry 2 is a large number of action hot spots – checkpoints, enemy encampments, riverside shanty towns – punctuated by long roads of driving, where all you may see is a setting sun or a herd of Zebras. No cars to explode and no guards to murder, just a beaten down jeep that fails to cushion each blow with its worn out suspension.

Conversely; those long drives can be intense, battle filled trips. Your arsenal stretches from silenced pistols and sniper rifles to flame-inducing Molotov Cocktails and Rocket Launchers. Your first step on African soil gives you Malaria which must be kept in check on your adventure. Frantic drives across the Savannah when your diminutive stash of pills runs out create some of the game’s most heart-palpitating and brow-sweating moments. Unlike its prequel, Far Cry 2 does not save a checkpoint every few steps so to die is to lose progress. It’s harsh and it’s unsympathetic, but it amps up the tension to an unimaginable scale.

You won’t have played a game in some time where you feel so alien to the culture, like a fugitive on the run. Worlds apart from Niko’s dominance in GTA4 where his AK-47 outranks the bystanders’ cell phones and shopping bags, your constant outnumbering and shoot-on-sight presence makes a simple drive from a save point to the town a dangerous experience. Borderline scary too; the absolute silence on the game’s long drives turn in to survival horror-esque experience, constantly checking your rear for gun-toting jeeps and jumping out of your seat at every rustle of foliage.

The one crux that stands out, however, is the baffling A.I. Every now and again a wayward sniper shot will force enemies to retreat for cover, and a galloping herd of animals can be an early warning of solider presence. All too often though, those same enemies will watch you drive up, man your jeeps’ machine gun and open fire before they click that you’re an enemy. One moment they’re flanking effectively, the other they’re running over their own men.

Far Cry 2 still proves to be a winner, though. Its marriage of an incredible shooter with the open nature of a sandbox world is a creative and ingenious project. On top of that, the injection of faultless immersion, a real sense of place that puts you straight into the baking heat of the African Savannah, makes Far Cry 2 one of the most arresting and incredible shooters this winter – a phenomenal achievement.