A very fun FPS with plenty of replay ability and addicting gameplay, but feels like it's missing something.
The story is simple here. You can play as 1 out of 9 characters and each one has their own unique look and their own backstory and experiences in the military branches they were in. Anyways the character you choose is a mercenary and is sent in to a fictional country in Africa to hunt down and kill a dangerous arms dealer named 'The Jackal', who has been supplying weapons to 2 warring factions in the country, bringing an all out war that is tearing the area apart. The character you play as also has malaria, which also crumbles a mere chance of killing the Jackal as he stands right next to you. While the story isn't its highpoint of the game, and instead sounds like a typical Hollywood action movie, it does a pretty good job of feeling well paced throughout without many plot holes and sometimes any repetitiveness whatsoever. There are a lot of moments where the story will have you feeling a sense of triumph after you complete a difficult task, or may have you feel complete sorrow, especially if you have one of your real good buddies die while in combat, which I experienced a few times, and with a big decision at the end that will test your motives. The game also has a few twists a few times through as well and will really catch you off guard, especially if you don't see it coming.
I beat the game in approximately 20 hours, just mostly rushing through it without doing many sidequests, and just mostly doing the Underground missions as well to get medicine for Malaria, which often triggers a moment as you're driving a car or in the middle of combat, sending you a button command to take the pills before you pass out or die.
The combat here is extremely fun and addictive, since it feels so real as you're fighting your way through the military that infest the countryside, and at times will have you panicking as bullets whiz by your head from unknown areas, to creeping through the night towards an unsuspecting enemy with a machete in hand, to completely destroying the opposition with machine gun fire from a mounted weapon. Each weapon is amazing and unique, but some of them feel like they're the same type of weapon, but just a improved version of it. The guns range from the typical pistol to the shotgun, assault rifle, AK's, sniper rifles, and the powerful machine gun called the SAW. The added heavy weapons like the mortar launchers, rocket launchers, and RPG's are also very unique and hardly feel the same at all, and are also extremely powerful. The flamethrower is also amazing since the fire elements in this game are the best I've ever seen in a video game to date, as they burn a dense savanna to a human running through the night. You can hold 4 weapons at once, the machete, your only melee weapon, a medium weapon like an assault rifle, a small weapon like an SMG or a grenade launcher, and finally a heavy weapon like an RPG or the flame thrower.
The A.I. here is pretty decent as well, but sometimes lacks intelligence as one of their buddies' heads will get blown off right next to them and they'll just stand there without a care in the world. But besides those flaws they are actually pretty small and will often flank you are investigate noises they hear. They act like actual human beings, and will be more alert during the day and will sometimes dose off during the nighttime. Giving the game an even more realistic feel to it.
The graphics and sound here are amazing. The graphics are the best I've seen in a game to date, and everything is clear, from roadways to the sun shining through the dense foliage in the forest, it's truly amazing to see the sunset over a lake, and a fire in the nighttime. The sound here is also very good as bullets fly by your head to the cracking of bones if you fall off a cliff, only to snap the bone back into place, and the sound of the cars is also real good, except the cars really don't feel too, too realistic since the physics for them aren't too well at all, but it is fun to plummet off a car and experience the car roll over while in first person the entire time.
There is also a good buddy system here, as you have a best buddy and a 2nd buddy that will often save you if you fall in combat, while the best buddy will give you different ways to accomplish different missions, but may also cause some damage and danger along the way. You may also have to save some of your buddies along the way as well if they fall in battle, which will increase your history and reputation with them, and it feels good to save a friend in battle, especially since they'll help customize your safe houses for you with extra ammo, health, cars, guns, etc.
Now is in the flaws start coming into the picture. The area of Far Cry 2 is just way too big, and I know that Ubisoft is trying to make it as realistic as possible, and make it feel like a sprawling country, but some of the areas feel repetitive, since you'll mostly drive by trees and shrubs, trees and shrubs again and again. The area is just way too big, and the driving is horrifically bad, since you'll have to drive a lot, and sometimes extremely long distances just to get from point A to point B. The fast travel is the bus stations, but since there are so few and those few are spread out so far, it's hard to get anywhere in the game safely without running into the many, many security checkpoints, or a random security patrol that will attack you out of nowhere. The A.I. can also be a little too smart and will often find you wherever you are hiding. Some of the missions also feel repetitive since most of them are getting from point A to point B, shoot a guy, kill his guards, etc., but since some of the battles are fun and intense they actually aren't too bad after awhile.
Besides those flaws and a few others, the game is extremely fun, since it combines some things very well, and with extremely good graphics and sound, and a lot of realistic feelings, it actually seems like you're a part of this world. The game also has a lot of replay value, since there multiple choices throughout, and different characters to play as, and buddies that change at each playthrough, and many multiple more things, gives this game its true value and a very fun game to experience. A 9 out of 10.
-horrorboy