Too much in too small a package. In theory amazing, but in practicality annoying and frustrating.
Visually this game is astounding, in particular the flame effects and shade effects will amaze anyone and just watching the African Savannah grasses sway in the wind is a feast for any gamer's eyes. This is really credited as it was selected as a potential winner for Gamespot's GotY award when it comes to graphics. However as any decent gamer will tell you, it's not all about the graphics and visuals where the majority of my score comes from with this game review.
The visuals are defiantly not backed up by game play or the story. The game play as I have said is exactly what they said in the previews. You literally do roam free 50 Sq Kilometres of Africa in a small number of vehicles and this twinned with realism and your car breaking down after being shot about three times within seconds of leaving the safe central area, it results in aggravating play. Having left the safety of the central compound where you receive orders your instantly intercepted by guard posts. Which prove annoying very quickly. Even when they have been 'scouted' and cleared and used for an ammo resupply or for health the enemies respawn. This respawning element feels out of place in a game that's supposed to be realistic. The AI you encounter again at the same post take up the same positions and use the same tactics, which often result in a pursuit in a jeep. These chase often end up with your car breaking down, and it is near impossible to out run the enemy regardless of your car.
One thing that can be said for the realism is the way you approach enemies. One thing that I really liked was the ability to start a fire with the flamethrower and if the wind is blowing in the right direction the flames will reach the enemies and torch them out. These large number of ways to approach the enemy guard posts is what saves the gameplay which is often repetitive. The lack of a fast travel system apart from the buses which only go to each corner of the map and considering the vastness of the map doesn't cover much area, is a big failing. This results in repetitive gameplay that becomes frustrating, coupled with your gun breaking and your car breaking down you end up screaming at the screen in frustration.
Multiplayer wise the game is solid with no surprises from previous instalments. Once again however Far Cry excels in its map editor which is pure genius. Compared to the FC instinct's map editor this is excellent. There is far more opportunities to create your dream multiplayer map. With the ability to upload your map it increases the enjoyment ten fold, allowing your friends to play a large number of old school game types on your dream map.
In conclusion, had Far Cry 2 been given the graphics of your normal 360 game I would have probably traded it in by now. However the visuals are the one saving grace and allow you to play without throwing your controller at the screen in frustration when you get caught in a number of its gameplay faults. The lacking of a solid story that this game could have had and it's poor gameplay features result in a game you'll probably only play once. The map editor is really amazing, but it's tainted by its SP and will most likely be the reason why you won't go back to this game very often.