A good game but not great
I too have found myself taking major detours on the map as I am fed up with a fire fight every time you pass a checkpoint. If there wasn't any respawning you'd soon end up with an empty map so it's a necessary evil but perhaps certain areas could have been cleared once and for all.
The AI is pretty poor, using the beds to advance to night makes very little difference for a 'stealth' raid as the enemies always catch on to you. Combine that with enemies that will run right pass you and not fire a shot and you have to ask questions.
Finally this is the first game i've played where a headshot does not guarantee a kill. The amount of ammo needed to down some enemies is just insane and there seems to be very little difference where you shoot these guys. I thought Big Daddies were a pain in Bioshock but it's amazing what a cotton vest can deflect.
All that aside FarCry is a fantastic game and it's bugs shouldn't put you off. With any luck UBI will release an update to sort out some of the common complaints.