Despite all its shortcomings, Far Cry 2 is a step into the right direction for the FPS genre.
Far Cry 2 is an awkward game. It is awkward in the sense that it is the sequel to the original Far Cry from 2004, but moves further away from that title than Crysis, the spiritual successor that Crytek created after selling the Far Cry IP to Ubisoft. It is also awkward in the sense that it constantly switches between visceral realism and logic-defying quirks. But most importantly, it is awkward in the sense that the game is a mixed bag like no other title out there. Ubisoft's interpretation of the sandbox first person shooter can amaze and disgust me in one playing session. Even after 2 years of experience with the title, I still don't know what to think of Far Cry 2.
What can be said with a fair amount of certainty, though, is that the game is likely to disappoint those who were expecting a genuine follow-up to Far Cry, seeing as Far Cry 2 isn't as much as a sequel as it is a liberal reinterpretation of the original. Far Cry 2 trades in the tropical island from the first game for a lush jungle environment in an unnamed country in Dark Africa. The sci-fi elements from the Far Cry 1, as well as its protagonist, Jack Carver, are completely absent in this 'sequel'. Instead, you can choose the character you play as from about 8 different mercenaries.
After choosing whatever character will serve as protagonist, the remaining mercenaries will appear as buddies throughout the game. The primary function of these buddies is to offer alternative ways of completing missions. This will often make the quest a bit longer, as you'll have to go through some extra steps, but ultimately these extra steps will facilitate accomplishing your main objective.
The mission system itself lacks a bit of direction. While your ultimate goal is to find and kill a man named The Jackal, an arms dealer who supplies the country's two warring factions with weapons, you will have to take missions from said factions first in order to obtain information about The Jackal's whereabouts.
The flaw here is that you will have to complete all missions from both the APR and the UFLL faction if you want to progress through the game. Some quests will turn out a bit differently depending on who you worked for first, but in general, there's no real way of giving your playthrough of the main game a personal twist. It would have been much more interesting if taking jobs from one faction would influence the rest of the game and, ultimately, the outcome, but it's almost as if Ubisoft were too lazy to add such complexities to the game's core design.
This laziness can be noticed from other design elements as well, as the developers constantly try to cover up simplistic design choices with farfetched logic and petty excuses. The most annoying example of this is the fact that, outside of the ceasefire zones (of which there are very few), every faction will always be hostile towards the player. This means that if you're doing a mission for the UFLL, the members of that faction will attack you regardless. The explanation the game gives you for this is that you're working undercover, but it seems more plausible that making all AI hostile was easier to program. It may not seem like much of a problem at first, but given the length and scope of the game, it is very likely to put you off eventually.
Another element that contributes to this annoyance is the presence of guard posts. When you're on a mission, odds are you'll have to go on a long drive (or walk), and you'll encounter at least 2 or 3 guard posts. Each post contains about 3 or 4 enemies, all of which preferably have to be eliminated if you don't want them to chase you across the entire map.
Having to go through the process of whiping out guard posts every single time you go on a mission is bad enough, but due to the way the engine is designed, each cell on the map resets after you leave it. This means that the guard posts will respawn and you'll have to repeat the entire process of neutralising them again when you're driving back to town after completing the mission. Even worse, the sandbox map is interrupted by many unconquerable mountains and plateaus, which basically forces you to take one particular route to get to your destination.
Fortunately, the combat itself is pure fun for the most part. A wide selection of weapons is available, ranging from sniper rifles to flamethrowers, most of which have to be purchased at one of the game's weapon stores with the money you make from completing missions. Weapons can also be taken from the bodies of dead enemies, but these have more recoil and are far more likely to jam during combat. Oddly enough, a freshly purchased weapon will count as a 'dirty gun' as soon as you drop it on the ground.
Still, it is very enjoyable and rewarding to experiment with different weapons, as this will lead to entirely different combat situations, even when you are destroying the same guard post for the bazillionth time. Additionally, the sheer variety of weaponry allows any player to develop his own combat style.
The AI functions fairly well, as it manages to adapt to each situation naturally, and it generally makes for a worthy opponent. There are plenty of occasions, however, when the enemy will start playing by its own rules. All too often, enemies automatically become aware of your position after you kill someone, and I have even experienced enemy mercenaries shooting through rocks. This can make stealth a bit more tedious and frustrating than it could have been. It is still possible to eliminate entire groups of adversaries without being seen once, but you'll often need a bit of luck in doing so.
If Far Cry 2 does one thing flawlessly, it is providing incredible graphics that really manage to bring the setting alive. Highly detailed shadows, near lifelike sunrays and a wide array of equally convincing weather effects really give an extra boost to the believability of the jungles, savannas and desert plains you'll encounter. At certain moments, this realistic yet exotic visual design will almost make you feel the murdering heat of the desert sun, or the sultry moist of the river that runs through the jungle.
This sense of immersion is enhanced further by the impressive sound design. The voice acting is top notch and the environment is enriched by ambient jungle sounds that fortify the sentiments described in the previous paragraph. The music is quite good, as well: while the soundtrack mostly sticks to the African folk sound you would expect from a title such as this, the score never really starts feeling stale, distracting or out of place. One slight annoyance is the dynamic music function: whenever a shot is fired, a more fast-paced and hectic combat tune is triggered. This even happens when you're completely alone and accidentally fire your weapon, which gives this feature the same air of superficiality as some of the aforementioned design elements.
As I draw closer to the conclusion of this review, I realise that it is nearly impossible to give a definitive verdict of Far Cry 2. Awkwardly enough, the amount of enjoyability that is derived from this title fluctuates between playthroughs. One moment, the game can frustrate the player to such an extent that he quits in anger, while the other moment it really does play like the progressive, dynamic shooter that we were promised. Far Cry 2 is a flawed gem: it is a magnificent game in concept, but anyone who plays it will soon realise that Ubisoft still has a lot of work to do if it wants to fully capitalise upon the potential this game has always had.
But perhaps the most important conclusion that can be drawn from the experience is that Far Cry 2, despite all its shortcomings, is a step in the right direction for the FPS genre. Even if games such as Crysis and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. provide better sandbox shooting experiences, Far Cry 2 gives us enough evidence that this type of design is the way forward for the first person shooter. Because even if some of this game's design choices are just plain incomprehensible, getting to set ablaze a jungle while TNT explodes in the background is just a whole lot more satisfying than cramming your arse through grey corridors full of grenade-spamming foes.